3 buses, 4 hours, and approximately $3 later, we arrived in Kannur. It was interesting to do the trip as 4 people rather than 2, I was more along for the ride than the one asking questions. Also interesting is to have a male in the mix. Being two women traveling together people were forced to address us directly but put a man in the mix and they will only address him. It didn't seem to matter that we weren't actually traveling together in the sense that we wanted to buy our own bus tickets etc. since we had only met them 2 days ago, the attitude is all the white people must be traveling together. Funny the things you might not notice just due to circumstance. We found ourselves on a winding mountain road going down on switch backs on a bus whose breaks squeaked so much and took about 5 minutes so stop us each time. It was rather comical. As I sat there, imagining this scenario in a different setting made it absurd. We then arrived in Kannur and hopped in a tuk-tuk through the craziest tiny winding dirt roads with water and palm trees all around to a lovely little paradise called Thottada Beach.
It is amazing here! We are situated right along a creek with the beach just a 3 minute walk away and it can be seen from the porch. The entire area is covered with palm trees and the water in the ARABIAN SEA (!) is warm and delightful. On top of all this our hosts are excellent cooks and I am starting to understand the great appeal of Keralan food. Last night I watched the sunset with a group of 16 year old girls and their mothers who were keen on having to to their house but I declined in order to rejoin my home stay for dinner. It is relaxing and beautiful here and I feel a million miles removed from the city exploration that started this trip. Right now I am watching 4 guys hoist 2 beds from the ground to the second story of the house we are staying in, I think this is the room we are switching to tonight as more guests are arriving, its pretty entertaining.
PAUSE
Day 2 1/2 on Thottada Beach is just as marvelous as day 1. The plan was to take a day trip to Valiyarparamba the northern backwaters but since it is so beautiful and peaceful here we scratched the backwaters (which I am sure are also wonderful) to take in some more sunshine and palms and scrumptious food. Yesterday our host Sreeranj allowed us to watch as he and the housekeeper Lucy made dinner. In theory I can now make shrimp biriyani although I have little faith in my ability to find all the correct ingredients let alone recreate this deliciousness. This morning we woke up early and took a walk to a farther beach where you could walk endlessly and see fisherman along the way. It was lovely to stroll on the beach and we got lost trying to find our way back along a road so we returned to the shore climbing over rocks until we hit familiar territory. It was a nice adventure although I felt bad that we were extremely late for breakfast causing our host serve second round for us. He seemed pleased enough to do so and we had appam (fermented pancakes) with chutney and some type of coconut and doughy thing with curry - yum, yum, yum! Besides these small activities our days are full of beach and arabian sea dips, quiet time on the porch overlooking the stream, and mini siestas when the heat gets to be too much. It's a nice slow pace surrounded by beauty and getting us ready for another travel day and whatever comes next in Bangalore. India is fast creeping to the tip of my countries to return to list.
PAUSE
The sound here are fantastic, its like turning on every setting on a noise machine at once - crashing waves, rusting palm leaves, bird chirping. The air buzzes with the sounds and all the critters making it peaceful but not dull. I could listed for hours and not get bored of the sounds and yet when you wish t sleep it is a soft background lulling you towards dreams. Absolutely perfect. Sadly we had to bid farewell to this delightful oasis. We were sent off with full bellies, of course, a "small simple breakfast" (ha!) which was appam (fermented pancakes) soaked in sweet coconut milk along with strong coffee and an omelette, yum. Another long travel we are halfway through. 1st train - we missed our but managed to catch the next one and still get to the airport in time for our flight - which did come despite my doubt because the security guard told me "don't worry madam the plane comes every day, almost every day." So now we are in Combiatore 5 whole hours to chill at the airport and hope that we end up in Bangalore tonight. Perfect for catching up on the blog. Its hard to believe we are starting our 3rd and final portion of the trip and even harder to believe we are less than a week away from Christmas. Oh my, I'm already sad to leave.
It is amazing here! We are situated right along a creek with the beach just a 3 minute walk away and it can be seen from the porch. The entire area is covered with palm trees and the water in the ARABIAN SEA (!) is warm and delightful. On top of all this our hosts are excellent cooks and I am starting to understand the great appeal of Keralan food. Last night I watched the sunset with a group of 16 year old girls and their mothers who were keen on having to to their house but I declined in order to rejoin my home stay for dinner. It is relaxing and beautiful here and I feel a million miles removed from the city exploration that started this trip. Right now I am watching 4 guys hoist 2 beds from the ground to the second story of the house we are staying in, I think this is the room we are switching to tonight as more guests are arriving, its pretty entertaining.
PAUSE
Day 2 1/2 on Thottada Beach is just as marvelous as day 1. The plan was to take a day trip to Valiyarparamba the northern backwaters but since it is so beautiful and peaceful here we scratched the backwaters (which I am sure are also wonderful) to take in some more sunshine and palms and scrumptious food. Yesterday our host Sreeranj allowed us to watch as he and the housekeeper Lucy made dinner. In theory I can now make shrimp biriyani although I have little faith in my ability to find all the correct ingredients let alone recreate this deliciousness. This morning we woke up early and took a walk to a farther beach where you could walk endlessly and see fisherman along the way. It was lovely to stroll on the beach and we got lost trying to find our way back along a road so we returned to the shore climbing over rocks until we hit familiar territory. It was a nice adventure although I felt bad that we were extremely late for breakfast causing our host serve second round for us. He seemed pleased enough to do so and we had appam (fermented pancakes) with chutney and some type of coconut and doughy thing with curry - yum, yum, yum! Besides these small activities our days are full of beach and arabian sea dips, quiet time on the porch overlooking the stream, and mini siestas when the heat gets to be too much. It's a nice slow pace surrounded by beauty and getting us ready for another travel day and whatever comes next in Bangalore. India is fast creeping to the tip of my countries to return to list.
PAUSE
The sound here are fantastic, its like turning on every setting on a noise machine at once - crashing waves, rusting palm leaves, bird chirping. The air buzzes with the sounds and all the critters making it peaceful but not dull. I could listed for hours and not get bored of the sounds and yet when you wish t sleep it is a soft background lulling you towards dreams. Absolutely perfect. Sadly we had to bid farewell to this delightful oasis. We were sent off with full bellies, of course, a "small simple breakfast" (ha!) which was appam (fermented pancakes) soaked in sweet coconut milk along with strong coffee and an omelette, yum. Another long travel we are halfway through. 1st train - we missed our but managed to catch the next one and still get to the airport in time for our flight - which did come despite my doubt because the security guard told me "don't worry madam the plane comes every day, almost every day." So now we are in Combiatore 5 whole hours to chill at the airport and hope that we end up in Bangalore tonight. Perfect for catching up on the blog. Its hard to believe we are starting our 3rd and final portion of the trip and even harder to believe we are less than a week away from Christmas. Oh my, I'm already sad to leave.
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