Author: Juliet Stratton (Page 8 of 39)

Kerala Day 1- Monkeys & Waterfalls

3 February 2024 / Juliet Stratton / 1 Comment

On a Monday evening we caught a short internal flight from Goa south to Cochin for a prebooked escorted trip around some of the sights in Kerala.

We were “upgraded” on the flight from row 32 at the back to the Emergency Row seats in row 12, with 6 seats between the 4 of us, nice and spacious!

On arrival in Cochin, we were shocked and surprised at the comfortable lounge seating, clean polished marble floors, clean toilets and posh airport, totally unexpected! On exiting, we were met by a gentleman who directed us to a car and we were whisked off to the Airlink Hotel for the night.

First impressions were: its much cleaner than Goa, much more greenery and less animals! The hotel was fine, although David was upset that the bar had closed at 10.30, we arrived at 10.45!! Hot and tired, we headed to bed, sleep evaded us because it was hot and we had noisy fans, the beeping traffic started about 4am and it got light at 6am! We were the first ones to arrive for breakfast at 7.30, a curry buffet or toast and jam 😀

Our bedrooms, lots of Indian wood furniture.

On Tuesday morning, a driver called Jo met us after breakfast and we headed out on the long drive to our first stop at Munnar, a hilltop station (a mountain top town). Jo was a local who spoke fairly good English. We told him we loved to get involved and explore local life so immediately he started mentioning his village and his family, and how we can stop off at his home town….so we agreed!

Our first encounter with monkeys was just outside Cochin city, a troupe of monkeys were playing on the roadside.

We headed into Athirappilli National Park and stopped to admire its waterfalls, which, after Monsoon season, are known as India’s Niagara Falls.

A short drive further upriver and another set of waterfalls on the same River, much more spectacular and a popular tourist attraction.

As we walked along a pathway to a fabulous viewing area, we were all mobbed by men, women and school children who asked for photos with us! We could get used to this celebrity status!!

The water was roaring despite the water levels being so low, I’d hate to imagine the noise when it was in full flow!

Monkeys were all around us again, some were pregnant, some new mothers and some youngsters, all inquisitive and yet natural and gentle and so funny.

We drove further to Vazhachal Forest border point with Tamil Nadu and stopped again for a different view of the waterfalls.

Fierce, swirling and fast water created so much noise and yet it was also calming and beautiful. Here we found another troupe of monkeys all happy to be admired, filmed and photographed, they were interesting, funny, playful and real posers!!

We headed into a palm oil plantation (plantations are usually thousands of acres in size) to cut across country to Jo’s village which was enroute to Munnar. He pointed out the rows and rows of palm trees and rubber trees, which were endless.

A rubber tree that has been cut to bleed rubber.

Arriving in Jo’s village we saw lush green paddy fields, beautiful houses and stunning scenery. We were quickly introduced to some of his family before arriving at a neighbour’s small pineapple farm, where he showed us 10 acres of pineapples, papaya and other fruits growing around a sprawling new house. We met the owner who showed us his honey bees, so tiny you could hardly spot them going in and out of the hives!

Next stop, another neighbour, who’s land had thousands of rubber trees on. Their small processing plant was still in their old house, a large new modern house had been built for them next door at a cost of 1.5 million rupees, about £140,000. Check out the beautiful wooden doors and windows, all teak wood from surrounding forests!

Jo showed us how the bark is removed so the trees “bleed” rubber, the liquid is caught in a cup tied to the tree, collected and put through two mangles to flatten it before it is dried in a wood fired oven for 3 days. The resulting black strips of rubber latex are sold to make vehicle tyres and other items. Around the area were much larger scale processing plants, it’s a real big business in this area!

We took a walk to a dam, and strolled along a wobbling suspension bridge that connects people on one side of the river to the other, to drive around was a good 10 mile trip. It was a daunting but interesting walk but well worth it for the amazing scenery.

Another few hours later and we arrived at our hotel in the Western Ghats in Munnar, it was a twisty hairpin bend slow drive on a busy narrow road that is meant to be a Nstional Highway! Trucks overtaking busses, cars and motorbikes, scooters and tuktuks all fighting to get by each other, on tight bends made it a very long hard journey, but we finally arrived after 11 hours being on the road!

Manic Republic Day

27 January 2024 / Juliet Stratton / 3 Comments

Yesterday, unbeknown to us, was India’s Republic Day, a celebration of the adoption of the Constitution of India, and the country’s transition to a republic which came into effect on 26 January 1950.

A neighbour invited me to come to our resort’s Reception and watch “a ceremony to raise the flag”, little did I realise that it was the start of a huge celebratory day in the whole country……well, it was 8am in the morning and pre-coffee!!

We had already decided to take a drive out to the North of the state, to look at the beaches and resorts, which we have found in the past, were known as the equivalent to Blackpool or Benidorm’s Strip. During our time here in lockdown, of course, that was very different, the resorts were totally empty and shut down so we wanted to see things in full swing again.

We stopped off at a viewpoint called Mormugao and looked down onto a beach called “Grandmother’s Hole”. The beautiful beach was a long way down from the car park and as it was another hot day, we headed back to the aircon in the car and headed up the coast again to Calangute and Candolim.

Once again, Di and myself were stopped and asked if people could take selfies with us, we could get used to this “celebrity status” ☺️

Lunch was a quick snack at a beachside cafe in Calengute, where we shared a table with two very interesting lads on holiday from Leeds!

Traffic was diabolical so we headed to the areas main tourist attraction Aguada Fort, thinking that as its a holiday, people will either be with families at home or at the beach……but no! Half the population of Goa was at Aguada Fort!!!

A few images from the back seat of the car whilst in traffic….

Next to a Police box, what else would you expect to find but a mother and baby feeding station, on the side of a very busy junction!

Unusual roundabout decorations and the Obligatory kitty picture 😁

So we arrived at the Fort, the rare white man in a sea of coloured faces, dresses and shirts, only to find that the Fort is simply the walls, and a water tank and a few explanatory boards. For your info…

Yes, it was HOT there!!!

We arrived back at base sweaty and tired after what should have been a relatively easy trip but it turned into a chaotic nightmare, due to the traffic and chaos on the roads – simply manic!!! A quick shower and off to our reserved beach side table where yet another massive seabass was waiting, along with kitty and her baby who got fed the remains of my chicken dinner.

Week 2 – Dining and Discovering

25 January 2024 / Juliet Stratton / 0 Comments

A few long days out exploring and being a tourist have been balanced against chilled and relaxing days around the pool and down at the beach.

One morning we drove into our nearest town Margao to visit the Market, we’ve had a rodent visitor and was hoping to find a mouse trap, no such luck. Instead we found a truly authentic cafe for lunch, 4 samosas, 4 potato patties and a few dips, 2 banana cakes, several drinks and bottles of water later = a whopping bill of £2.60!!!! Graham was sooo pleased, it was his turn to pay!!! 😁😁

Explanation = 10 rupees = 10p, 100 rupees is about a £, so 150R = £1.50 etc.

We’ve eaten in a few restaurants around us, mostly intercontinental foods on offer (Indian, goan, Chinese, Italian and steak dishes) and we are still amazed at the prices, 2 or 3 course dinner for 4 is usually about £20, unless the boys order a kilo of giant prawns (costing approx £30), or a massive seabass (£20) 😁. We’ve also stayed in and cooked, enjoying 650ml bottles of Kingfisher beer for £1 and gin or vodka at £3 a bottle!

On Sunday we took advantage of a Sunday brunch offer at the local Novotel, 3 hours of all you can eat food and drinks plus lazing about by their pool, all for £15. Graham enjoyed more giant bbq’d prawns!

Whilst at the Novotel, a very loud but colourful Indian wedding was taking place, we sneaked a peek…..

Fresh bread is delivered by men on bicycles, fruit and veg are bought off fruit and veg stalls and taste how “real food” should and are so cheap. Rather than give you small change, you are given another piece of fruit, or some lemons, or in a supermarket, you are given a boiled sweet as change. No one bothers, no one argues, we just enjoy the way of life.

Crossroads are a sight to see, the rule is whoever gets there first has right of way and it doesn’t matter if people pull in front of you or drive the wrong way up a road or even just lay down on the road, in the shade, for a snooze, you just drive round them!!!

Out in the villages or at tourist spots, we (the white european) are often asked for selfies!!! Indian people want photos taken with us, so we must be amazingly good looking 😉😁. We’ve also had so many genuine invites to the homes of Indian people we’ve met, offers made after we’ve danced with them or simply chatted. The inclusive culture here is simply heart warming and very old fashioned.

Old Goa Churches and Crocodiles!

23 January 2024 / Juliet Stratton

Mad dogs and Englishmen went out in the midday sun to look at two important churches in Old Goa (town) before heading to an island for a ride out with Jake the Snake to search for real life crocodiles.

It was a long busy day, not the sort we are used to where we have chores to do or shopping or maintenance but we packed in such a lot that it truly tired us out!!!

We started with breakfast on the beach, poached eggs, French toast, fresh fruit juice and a Full English for some (greedy Graham no less), washed down by fresh coffee and a dash of a dancing dolphin. The dolphin was considerately right in front of us so we didnt have to move too much from our table!

We then had a frantic drive around town negotiating the scooters, cars, busses and cows before heading inland, stopping occasionally to top up our religion intake, before making our way onto an island to meet up with Jake the Snake.

Our Lady of Pilar Church was being renovated when we visited….Still beautiful.

We then visited Old Goa, to stop at the Bom Jesus Basilica a Baroque Catholic church completed in 1605.

Across the road was a 17th century large Catholic cathedral built by Portuguese colonialists and still in use for worship today. It claims to be the largest Catholic church in Asia.

We then drove a little further onto St Estevan’s Isle to meet up with Jake! Slathered on mozzie spray before departing!!

Jake was extremely knowledgeable and friendly and led us upriver for at least an hour, diesel engines puffing away, pointing out dangerous wildlife – by that I mean real wild crocodiles – and beautiful birds before leading us back downriver to the safety of the island and our car.

The following photos are just a selection of the 100s taken of Brahminy Kites (brown with white heads), brown kites, eagles, sleeping fruit bats, peacocks and peahens, egrets, sandpipers, cormonants, brown common kingfishers, tiny blue kingfishers, and the 6 or 7 crocodiles that we saw, they ranged from 3m to 7m in length, some resting on the bank, some in the water.

Our “stressful day with dangerous animals” meant we really needed a drink to calm our nerves, so to the beach we headed, for another fabulous sundowner, of course 😁

It’s been a hard day!

23 January 2024 / Juliet Stratton / 0 Comments

We’ve had an afternoon out to two Goan tourist attractions, not quite the level of the Tower of London, Madame Tussauds or a UK museum but still informative and imaginative, just on a much lower level.

First stop was a guided tour through Casa Alvares, a Portuguese lawyer’s ancestral home built around 250 years ago and lived in until 1960s. It housed several private collections: 2500+ statues of the Lord Ganesh, 500+ icon cards in a private Chapel, a small collection of handmade smoking pipes, old wine bottles as well as a collection of ancient farming implements.

The mansion was traditionally constructed around a cool inner courtyard and had its own chapel in the middle. It was furnished with European antiques and old photos, each room has been preserved as it was centuries ago, including the kitchen filled with traditional implements and a primitive cooking range, water well and inside WC and shower house.

The house was advertised as having a state of the art “light and sound” tour, this equated to a young girl talking (very quickly) and turning on lamps as she went along 😁. The tour was advertised as being 23 minutes long, no wonder our guide kept saying “hurry along, move along, stand here please……” she was on a timer!!!

Next stop, Big Foot. This was an open air model based walk through story about the historical evolution of rural trade and culture in ancient Goa, and the legend behind a large footprint embedded in a rockface. There was also India’s largest laterite (red clay type rock) sculpture on display and a well cared for bird collection.

The story goes…..a wealthy man called Mahadar was so good natured that he was conned into giving away all his wealth, and eventually his house, making him and his wife homeless and living on the streets. The wife died from sickness and stress, and he still kept on helping others, never losing his faith in God. God eventually approached him and asked what reward he would like, his reply was simply he wanted a small place to stand and pray for mankind, so God gave him a rock in Goa, where Mahadar stood for years on one leg and prayed. He left behind only a footprint and those who stand in that same footprint are granted their wishes.