If Mumbai represents the mayhem and chaos of this country, then Kerala is India’s kindred spirit. This beautiful tropical state features everything from postcard sunsets to long stretching fresh water canals. Kerala is quite unique as it is divided between humid rice paddy fields and lagoons to the lush inland mountain ranges which are carpeted in tea and spice plantations. Kerala’s contrast to Mumbai is very apparent, through simple things like daily attire to the food that they eat. Life moves at a slower pace, snail’s pace really and it is literally a breath of fresh air after our few days in the city.
Deep and I started our south Indian adventure in the Keralan backwaters of Alleppey by hiring a luxurious house boat equipped with air conditioned room, fully decked out lounge room as well as a chef and captain. It was quite an experience watching the lives of locals pass us by, women cleaning their clothes in the fresh waters, children catching the ferry to school, such a peaceful, simply life. After Mumbai we couldn’t have asked for a better way to unwind and see how the people of the south live. The landscape of Alleppey is quite serene with palm trees lining one side of the backwaters, while rice paddy fields appear on the other side of the banks.
After our three day, pamper session on the boat we moved onto Kumily and then Munnar, two towns situated in the peaks of the Keralan mountains. The air is crisp, the people warm and welcoming and once again the food amazing.
Deep and I have been joking that we are slowly becoming vegetarian, as Kerelan food is mainly vegetable based. To be honest we really aren’t missing any form of meat as the vegetable dishes are flavoursome enough. Walking through these two towns, the smell of fresh spices is alluring; it fills the air morning to night. As the sun sets the small towns come to life with store owners encouraging us to spend our money on local handcrafts, woven carpets and locally made chocolate.
I highly recommend these two towns as future holiday destinations, as the scenery is breathtaking. Munnar is laced with hundreds of tea plantations, they roll down steep mountain ranges and are littered with 10s of 1000s of local workers, mainly women. Tea picking is one of the main forms of income for women in Munnar and surrounding towns and villages. The plantation managers offer childcare facilities within the plantation grounds as the women spend their days in the hot sun picking the tips off the tea plants.
Munnar and Kumily are both the tidiest places we have seen so far in India. To be honest, there are many places in this country where rubbish litters the ground, sometimes hiding the beauty of the natural surroundings, though in Munnar and Kumily there are more warnings of saving the environment and maintaining the Natural Wildlife Park’s splendour. Deep and I spent a few days each in these two towns, visiting flower gardens, seeing wild elephants in their natural surroundings, as well as bathing with one in a wildlife sanctuary.
Both places were just last minute travel destinations, and we are now glad we made the four hour local bus journey in stifling heat to this slice of paradise.
(We are now on a local express train to the beach-side town of Goa, a 12 hour journey. Will keep you updated with more of our travel stories in the next few days.)
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