India

We woke up on the train around 05:30, brushed our teeth, and jumped out into Alwaye station.  Nipin’s friend was waiting for us on the platform.  He didn’t speak English very well, but he smiled and waved excitedly when he saw us.  He had us follow him to a bus stop and talked to the bus driver for us.  When he found the correct bus, we shook hands, thanked him, and waved goodbye.  That bus ride was very intense and over four hours long.  We were going extremely fast and weaving around all other traffic.  Generally people only drive on the correct side of the road when there are vehicles on the other side.  Munnar is in a mountainous area, so the road was steep and extremely windy, as in twisty, not breezy.  Every time the driver would speed around a tight corner he would just blow his horn as a warning, instead of staying on his side of the road.  When we got on the bus it was only the two of us, and a little old man sitting in the way back.  We were squeezing into a seat for two people, so I decided to move since the bus was so empty.  The minuet I got up the man jumped up from the back and ran over to sit right next to James.  It was hilarious the way the man was awkwardly invading James’ personal space for no reason at all.  I start laughing at him because he clearly didn’t know what to do about the situation.  He ended up moving over to my row of seats after about ten minuets.  People started piling into the bus as we made our way up the mountains. 
        Munnar was beautiful.  I wouldn’t be satisfied with any selection of words I could possibly think up to describe it.  Rolling hills covered in low-lying bright green shrubs stretched on endlessly.  Because of the high altitude the weather was comfortable, and almost on the cool side during dusk and dawn. 
        James and I walked around the little town and got some food.  I got a chicken sandwich and a cup of tea for 35 Rupees, that’s like 80 cents.  Munnar is famous for its tea, as it should be.  The tea there was delicious.  After eating we found a small outdoor adventure company.  We went outdoor rock climbing with a guide.  It was a very small wall, I would rate it a 5.6.  I double checked the guide’s knots and set up before I decided to trust him.  So far I have climbed at The Gunks, New York and Munnar, India, next up Table Mountain, South Africa.  I hope to find a guide to take a small group climbing when we’re in Cape Town.  Anyway, climbing was great except for the fact that he didn’t rent out shoes and I had to go in my Converse.  It was James’ first experience with outdoor climbing.  The minuet he got his feet back on the ground he exclaimed that it was absolutely terrifying.  I don’t think he’s going to be much of a climber, which is unfortunate because he goes to school in Boulder, Colorado.  I’m going to have to make my way over there for climbing sometime in my life. 
        We walked around the mountaintop and had some tea before looking for a place to sleep.  We found a little home stay that was more like an extremely cheap hotel.  There was a street filled with little shops and restaurants.  We happened to stroll by a restaurant that was recommended in the Lonely Planet, and stopped in for dinner.  I finally found my favorite dish, chicken tikka masala.  I ordered that, raita, naan, tea, and a coke.  Everything was delicious and it cost about five dollars.  After dinner we walked around the shops for a while.  We found an Internet place and went online.  James was taking a long time checking his facebook so I decided to venture out by myself for some shopping.  I was getting quite a reaction from people by walking around without a male companion.  An Indian man basically asked me to be his wife, and he managed to do it in a very nice, un-creepy way.  After a short while I couldn’t manage all the attention I was getting so I headed back to where James was.  The two of us walked back to our room in the dark there weren’t any streetlights.  We arranged for a taxi to pick us up at 06:00 and were sleeping by 21:00.
        The next morning we had a four-hour taxi ride to Thekkady.  This is almost directly south of Munnar.  As soon as we arrived at our next hostel we just dropped our backpacks off and left to go ride an elephant.  James and I shared an elephant for a half hour ride through the jungle.  Her name was Maria, and she was 35 years old.  The trainers tied a mat with handles on Maria’s back.  James and I climbed into a shed on stilts to get on her.  We had two trainers walk us through the path in the forest.  One was instructing Maria, the other was running around with my camera taking pictures of us. 
        After the elephant ride we took a tour of a spice garden.  That place was incredible.  These are just a few of the goods the owner produced: pepper, lemongrass, allspice, mimosa, tomato, cardamom, nutmeg, coffee, coconut, rice, honey, alovera, papaya, jackfruit, lemons, eggfruit, pineapple, clove, chilipeppers, and cinnamon.  The owner took us into his home to show us how he processed the cardamom and other spices on his own.  He also showed us his system of using methane from cow manure for cooking fuel.  The owner was very smart and clearly loved what he did.  I bought a pint of honey, and a bottle of alovera from his wife. 
        Later that day we took a riverboat safari.  We got on a small boat in the Thekkady Tiger Reserve, and saw wild elephants and other animals.  We didn’t see any tigers though.  People rarely see tigers there.  The trail back from the boat passed a small beach completely filled with frogs.  Frogs weren’t just covering the ground, but were stacked on top of each other in some parts.  They were hopping all over the place.  It was like a beach covered in millions of tiny bouncing pebbles.  Walking back to our rickshaw driver we saw maybe ten monkeys.  They were walking with us or running and jumping over our heads through the trees. 
        We were exhausted from such a packed day.  After grabbing some dinner, we walked around the town for a while before going to bed.  We had arranged for a taxi to pick us up and bring us to Alleppy at 08:00 the next morning.  This was another four-hour cab ride.  Halfway through we stopped at a little roadside coffee and tea place.  The front looked like a rundown shack, but when you went through to the back it opened up to a porch with a gorgeous view of the mountains.  We were on the side of the mountain so the porch was on stilts and jetting out into the scenery. 
        We got to Alleppy around noon and rented a houseboat for the day, and through to the next morning.  It was an entire day of relaxing and enjoying the surroundings.  The boat had a bedroom, kitchen and a dining and lounging area that was outside.  It was just James and me, and the chef and driver.  We were served lunch and went to shore to walk around a small village.  The whole day was spent lounging and eating.  We had done so much and had been so many different places that we really needed to just relax for a day.  The chef caught fish from the river and fried it up for our dinner.  It was absolutely delicious.  Every meal had about five different dishes, and rice.  The stars were the brightest I’ve ever seen before.  There was a mosquito net over the bed, and geckos running all over the ceiling.  I woke up to the birds the next morning.  They sing a slightly different song in India. 
        We ate breakfast on the boat and then departed to make our way to Cochin. We walked over a mile looking for the bus station.  It was very confusing so it took us quite a while to find the correct bus.  It was a two-hour bumpy ride to Cochin.  Every time I see the ship after being away for so long I think home at last.  It was very comforting to turn that corner and see our ship there waiting for us.  India has been my favorite country so far.  I absolutely love Kerala.  People would wave and smile at us all the time.  Everyone wanted us to see them and for us to wave and smile back.  I’m going to miss all the beautiful colors of India.  The buildings would be painted lime green, bright teal and magenta.  All of the fabric was gorgeous.  Even the men’s business shirts were made out of strikingly detailed materials.  I’m definitely going to miss the food.  It is normal to just eat with your hands, no matter how messy it gets.  I don’t think I could get a cup of tea in the states quite like one I got in Munnar.  The landscape is magnificent and in every direction is something new and exciting.  I’m going to miss that Indian head bob people do sometimes while your talking to them.  It’s very distracting. You just have to stop and wonder how they are moving their head in that way.  I’ve tried to imitate it, but it’s just not the same at all.  I Know I will be back in India sometime in my life.