Travel Article - Southern India Kerala and Goa

If you had asked me before I left Australia if I was intending to go to India during my travels, I would have said no way. The thought of millions of people packed into a space the size of a typical Australian suburb is enough to give me claustrophobia, acrophobia and several other phobias as well. Anyone I had ever talked to about India said it is hard work, only for hard core travelers. The poverty, pollution, health and security issues had always made me think twice about India.
However the way things turn out in reality is always different. After traveling for so long, eight months when we made our big decision to take a side trip to India, we had been through Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand Greece and Turkey by that stage and tends to make you somewhat braver.

While staying in Bangkok, I was trawling through the internet, (free broadband and plenty of time) and came across some really cheap flights from Kuala Lumpur to Bangalore, about $300 or so each. And without too much thought I booked the tickets. Here is where I find that at least a bit of research should be done before attempting a trip like this. Firstly we needed a visa before we got there. That bit alone cost us a week’s delay in Bangkok. Travel warnings were current for every boarder shared with India. Mumbai was also mentioned and since the writing of this article has suffered terrorist attacks. That aside, I discovered that November to March is an ideal time to visit and since we now had our six month tourist visa, we figured the time was right to go.

We had booked our tickets to Bangalore by default and luckily enough it is in the middle of the south and not close to any borders. We found Bangalore to be a safe and gentle introduction to India. It is the IT capital of India and where all the call centers are located. The people have a bit more money here and as a result have better facilities and services.

Once again having made no plans we wondered where we would go from Bangalore, so hit the internet again and invested in the Lonely Planet guide. A bit of intensive research brought us to the State of Kerala, which follows the coast up the western side of southern most India. Kerala comprises about 35,000 sq km about half the size of Tasmania and has about 30 million people.

We traveled to Kerala’s central town of Kochi (also spelt Cochin) by bus. You can travel by train which would be the preferred option but you need at least one or two weeks’ notice to book your train tickets online without any fuss or waitlisting. Kochi itself comprises several areas, the main town of Ernakulam where bus Train and airport connection are, Fort Kochi and several beach areas north and south. Fort Kochi is an old fort town area on Mattancherry Island at the entrance to the large bay or lake as they refer to it.

The Fort area is a charming slice of colonial history, small streets lined with guest houses, hotels restaurants and shops all with Portuguese and Dutch architecture. There are also many old churches showing the European stamp of early Christianity in the district. This is a perfect place to stay. You can walk out to eat at a large variety of good restaurants, serving local and traditional Indian food and a good range of European style food as well. A walk around the river and foreshore area is a pleasant walk and you can see Chinese fishing nets in action. These huge wooden crane like structures are operated by up to a dozen men to haul out their catch, although considerably diminished these days.

Close by is Mattancherry, the old commercial district also called Jew Town. There is still a Synagogue there, the oldest in India. Only a few of the original Jewish families still reside here. There are also a number of other attractions to see in the area, including the Dutch Palace.

One of the real reasons for visiting Kerala is to do a Houseboat cruise of the backwater. A large inland waterway system made up of lakes, rivers and reclaimed swamp land make up the Kerala backwater and this is an ideal place to spend a few days cruising in your own private floating losman. We hired the boat for three days and two nights. The boat contained 2 air conditioned bedrooms with ensuite, an open dining and lounge area at the front of the boat and an upstairs veranda and viewing platform. We had three people looking after the two of us for our trip and needless to say we were well looked after with 3 cooked meals a day, morning and afternoon tea that included fried banana. The scenery along the way is stunning with palm trees as far as the eye can see lining the never ending water avenues. It’s great to see how the local people live their lives on the shores of these waterways, children going to school, people preparing food, washing and bathing in the rivers. Other sights not to be missed are the duck herders and duck farms, fish farms, oxen ploughing fields, teams of men running up coconut trees, every time we turned around there was something new and interesting to see. The bird life here is great to see as well, Kingfishers hunting from overhead power lines, flocks of water fowl, Ibis, flamingo and more. Of course the sunsets could not be more romantic or special here.

These waterways are also a real highway, as barges plough up and down the river full to the gunnels of produce, building supplies, sand, gravel and anything else you can think of. Most tourists seem to take the overnight option but we thought it was worth doing the extra day as we saw some much quieter areas that you would not see otherwise. Any longer may become boring unless you are travelling from one place to another as the waterways here span several hundred kilometres.

After reluctantly leaving our houseboat, we stayed in the local town of Allepy where most of the Houseboat tours start and finish from. Although it is a pleasant town it is only a base from which to do your House boat tour. From here you may wish to do a trip to Periyar Tiger reserve.

From here we travelled to Munnar a hill station and tea growing region, one thousand eight hundred metres above sea level. The drive up through the towns is a bit tedious, but then you start through the jungle with views overlooking grand waterfalls and eventually clear the jungle for the splendid tea plantations above, beautifully manicured as far as the eye can see. The town of Munnar itself is not the jewel but the surrounding country side. Our small homestay, JJ Cottages has a fabulous view overlooking the distant hills and tea plantations. There are a number of local tours you can do with a tour company of just with a car and driver. A trip to the top station is recommended as it takes you past two dam walls and their lakes beyond, along the way you pass elephant rides, market stalls run by local ethnic tribes, some stunning scenery and most probably see the women in their colourful saris cutting the tea leaves you will be drinking sometime soon.

Another daytrip option is to visit the Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary. However this requires a 4am start and a 4 hour drive to be at the park to do a three hour trek at the right time of the day. On offer are deer, leopards, buffalo, elephants and some rare and endangered goat and the giant grizzled squirrel, however I can’t tell you how big it is as we didn’t see one, or any of these critters. It’s all down to luck I was told, however we did see paw prints of the leopard in the sand and some elephant dung. However having missed the animals, the park is in a beautiful valley some two kilometres above sea level and well worth seeing on its own.

After staying in Munnar and the surrounding district for a few days you probably won’t want to come down off the mountain as the fresh air and the temperate climate is addictive. But come down you must if you want to experience the beaches. There are some nice beaches in the north and the south of Kerala that are worth going to. However, depending on your time limit, a train trip to Goa would round out your southern India experience fully.

We took a second class sleeper train from Ernakulam to the main station in the south of Goa, Margao. The trains in India are an institution and at one time the pride of train spotters the world over. If you have ever travelled one kilometre on an Indian road, you will know why taking the train is such a good idea. Second class sleepers offer bunk beds with curtains, including linen. The trains stop regularly even if you are on an express train, I guess to allow the hordes of tea, coffee and food vendors to step on and off the trains. Our big tip if you are catching the train is to make sure you know when and where your stop is, as there are no announcements on board and staff can’t be relied upon, especially if your stop is in the middle of the night.

Goa is mainly a beach haven. And before you say hey, I come from Australia with some of the best beaches in the world, you would be right, but you should really see these ones as a comparison. Our first stop was Padnem Beach, one of the most southern beaches in Goa and ended up being the cleanest and least crowded. A slower pace means no loud music and fewer hawkers trying to sell you t shirts and beads between entree and main. Yoga, massage and relaxation is the order of the day here with a beautiful beach to stroll on at sunset and don’t forget that the sun falls into the sea here. Night time brings on a fairy land landscape on the beach with a plethora of candle lit restaurants to choose from, all offering fresh caught seafood. Be discerning and look into the eyes of the fish, prawns and lobster.

North to the capital of Goa is the city of Panaji. We stayed in the old part of Panaji town filled with Portuguese houses and churches. We chose a nice traditional house, Alfonso Homestay with peal shell shutters on the windows, a roof garden for serving breakfast and a lovely Portuguese family running the place. The main town itself, on the banks of the Mandovi River, is a compact and clean enough for Indian town standards and has the usual smattering of upmarket hotels, stores and restaurants as well as some parks churches and old colonial Government buildings, lining the river. A pleasant enough town, but half a day will see it done.

The reason for staying here is to visit old Goa, the site of the former Portuguese city and capitol of Goa. The city was abandoned during the mid eighteenth century due to plague and most of the city has since disappeared except for a string of churches in a varying state of decay. The old cathedrals’ and churches are worth seeing and the Church of St Cajetan is based on St Pauls in Rome with the Italian baroque dome on top. The site is a UNISCO protected site.

If you can’t get enough beach, there are several more options available, including Anjuna beach which is home to some fantastic flea markets twice a week where you can buy everything hippie, cool and smooth. There are literally hundreds of beaches up and down the coast here offering the same familiar hut style accommodation at really reasonable prices.

If you decide that the south of India is enough for you at this time or you have run out of money and need to return home, Bangalore is probably your best choice. And since you are going that way you should probably stop in the religious town of Mysore for a few namastes on your way home.

Highlights; Houseboat trip, Allepy; Tea plantations, Munnar; Padnem Beach, Goa
Helpful websites to google for more information; Australian Government Travel Safe site, India Visa requirements, Lonely Planet for tips, India Mike’s travel resources, and India rail information pages.”