Spymon

We got up at 7:45 after another good sleep. The limitations of a small bathroom slowed us down but we are more than used to this from home. Breakfast was better than yesterday as we now knew how it worked. We started with fruit and fresh juice to refresh, than Indian or Western to follow. Ms Spymon had pancakes and maple syrup, I had the Indian option, which today was a potato curry and parathas, delicious but not spicy at all.


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We had booked a car for 9:30 at the hotel's suggestion which was too early as N & G had to change some money first. In the end we left around 10, much to the annoyance of our driver who came at 9:15. We arrive promptly at around 10:45 at Ernakulam Town Station and the driver seems to be in a better mood. We knew he wasn't all bad as he had two small stuffed dogs in the back, one was most beagle like much to mine and Ms Spymon's delight, but that's a story for another day!


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Train: Indian Railways Train 16308 Alleppey Express, departs 11:10, ACCC Class, Seats C1 66 and 67

The train information boards at Ernakulam Town Station were hand written and directed us off and over the bridge to platform 2 for our train to Alleppey. Two trains come and go and then its our turn. As our train was running a little late, I asked at the information desk where we needed to get on and it turns out that our carriage is right next to N & G's as we are right next to each other in D1 and C1. After the mad dash down the platform at Coimbatore, today it turns out we are in just the right spot for our carriages. The train was pretty empty and we made ourselves at home. The AC was lovely and cool and we had 6 seats to ourselves.


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At the first station, Ernakulam Junction we bumped into the Australian couple we met on the Ooty train who were sat in the four seats next to ours. After exchanging pleasantries we retreated to our books, window watching and me writing up notes for this report. As we approached Alleppey, the scenery became more lush, with palms, rivers and pools of water, this is what we had been looking forward too.

The train made up it's time and we arrive into Alleppey Station bang on time at 1 PM much to our and it seems everyone's surprise. We waved good bye to the nice Australians, took our things and found N & G on the platform and hauled our cases over the footbridge and made our way to the exit.

Our driver found us and asked if I was Mr Spymon and that we were going to Ourland. We asked if there was space for our friends, after convincing N & G to top up their adventurers budget to join us. A quick phone call later and they agreed to let N & G come with us and we were on our way to Ourland. We drove out of town and down through some back roads, eventually turning off on to a narrow, raised dirt track that led through the paddy fields till we got to the river. A phone call was made and soon an old man in a rickety old boat came to meet us as we wondered how on earth we'd get ourselves and our luggage across in one piece.


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After some wobbles getting on we were away as we were paddled across the river to our home for the next few days, a small cottage at the water's edge and only two other guests on site. We sat outside for a bit before being called over for lunch and formalities.


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We took our seats for lunch and some lovely plates of food turned up. First some bitter gourd and coconut curry, followed by some plain rice, Chinese potato curry, green bean and chilli dry curry, grilled fresh river fish and some popadoms. The food was delicious and spicy but not too hot (slightly toned down for us apparently) the gourd curry and potato curry were particularly tasty. We completed our check in formalities and returned to our rooms for a shower and rest.


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In the next part we head out for a stunning sun set canoe trip and a wonderful dinner back at the resort. Here's a little video clip to give you an idea of what to expect: http://youtu.be/hrOl4yIxWWY

camsean

You aren't kidding IR tickets are a pain to book. You can book them (in theory) using a couple of different Indian websites, but you need to either register your PP or have an Indian mobile number, which is also a pain to get.

Moomba

I downloaded this a read it on a plane yesterday.

What a fascinating colourful report. Thanks for posting spymon

kcmd

Awesome TR food looks amazing!

Spymon

Indeed, luckily I was well prepared thanks to the seat61.com website and the stickies on the India Mike website. Thankfully none of our routes were too complicated though it took a while to work out the routing from Ooty to Kochi. I have to say the trains are definitely more comfortable than they look. Anyway, the rest of the Indian travel is all on Jet Airways.

Thanks Moomba, I hope you enjoy the rest. I think the best is just around the corner

Thanks kcmd, the food in this part of the TR was particularly good, I'm hoping to get some recipes from them! I think you will also enjoy the Mumbai street food section near the end of the report as well.

Spymon

Around 5:30 we took a short boat ride in a traditional canoe boat with the two other resort guests, a couple from Denmark. It was a little tricky to get on the boat but for some reason known only to her, Ms Spymon decided that the best way to board the canoe was to take a running jump rather than carefully climb aboard via the seat, much to the amusement of everybody else.


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We moved silently through the water, unlike the noisy rice barges. Moving so quietly our guide pointed out various kinds of birds and plants.


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After 45 minutes we turned back and enjoyed a beautiful sunset over the river. What a way to end our boat ride.


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We agreed to meet for dinner an hour later and at 7:30 we returned to the lodge for dinner.


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We had a green pea curry, a chicken and coconut curry, roti and rice noodle cakes with coconut. The food was again delicious.


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We had a nice talk with out guide/host after dinner where he told us more about South India and the birds we would see tomorrow.


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Ms Spymon and N were happy as they see two barn owls fly over their heads, after hearing them call out. We were lucky to see the owls as they nest in Alleppey only from November to February where they lay their eggs and teach their young to fly. A perfect end to the day as we headed back to our rooms to rest for an early start tomorrow. The gentle calls of the wild sent us to sleep.


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BlrGuy

Excellent trip report! As a native of that part of Kerala, it's always nice to see someone from so far away try out some of the local cuisine and enjoy the experience. The 'rice noodle cakes' are called idiappam. Ahh, just seeing those pics makes me hungry!

Spymon

Thanks BlrGuy, glad you are enjoying the TR so far. The food in Ourland was definitely some of the best of the whole trip and will be in the next couple of posts as well. Everything until the street food in Mumbai on our final day was a bit of a let down after the food at Ourland.

patnlcc

Can't wait for the rest of your TR, especially Mumbai/LHR in BA 1st. We're booked in October and I'll be interested to hear about the new T2 at Mumbai.

Spymon

We started our morning of bird watching around 07:30 and if it were anywhere else I think we would have struggled to make it out of bed.


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Our guide met us and we took the short boat ride from the island to begin our walk. On our way to the boat we saw a huge snake skin by the foot of a tree. Hopefully its former owner was not nearby anymore!


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Ms Spymon decided to climb in carefully rather than jump on to the boat this morning. We walked for about two hours around the rice fields, using the small paths at the edge of the canals. We passed people's homes, boats and animals with the occasional school child waving us on our way. The birds we had come to watch were quite shy and regularly flew off when we get too close. Despite this we made some good sightings with the binoculars and the naked eye, unfortunately our cameras didn�t do such a good job. This was the one time on the trip we missed the 55-200mm zoom lens we tried to buy before we left.


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We saw the following birds on our two hour walk: Indian Pond Heron, Indian Cormorant, Blue Tailed Bee Eater, Barn Owl (back at the hotel), White Throated Kingfisher, Kingfisher, Oriental Magpie Robin, Black Drongo and Black Hooded Oriole. How may did you spot?


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We also saw some henna plants, coconuts, papayas and a root vegetable popular in the local cuisine. We had worked up quite an appetite by the end of the walk, thankfully it was soon time for breakfast.

At 10:00 we sat for breakfast and it was yet another great meal at Ourland. We had some coconut porridge/pickle, pancakes, omelette, toast, fresh pineapple juice and pineapple jam. The latter two items being particularly good. We settled up our room charges and confirmed our departure times for the next day before retreating to our rooms for a rest.


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Before lunch there was time for a little competition, starting first with Kalanay Belanay (Black Elephant White Elephant) and a play fighting game N & G taught us (you do a scary pose and the winner gets first slap, you then take it in turns to slap the hands of the other, freezing in the pose from your previous move, first to slap both hands wins). Ms Spymon and I won Kalany Belanay in a tense fianle and I won the play fighting game (the pictures and video seem to be missing from this TR, can't think why that is).


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Spymon

Thanks patnlcc, unfortunately we missed the opening of T2 by a few weeks, the closest we got to it was getting on to our plane from the bus gate... Our flight back in F was fantastic with a really great crew. I'm pretty sure someone has already started a a TR promising some pictures of the new T2.

Spymon

We had lunch at 13:00 and it was another delicious treat of a meal. We had Sambar (veg curry), cabbage and papaya curry, fried fish straight from the river, popadoms and a curry made with a local courgette type vegetable, with a huge bowl of rice to soak it all up. Every single bite of this meal was fantastic and as someone who doesn't really eat fish or courgettes that is a big compliment. We were a little disappointed that there was no cook book or cooking class on offer.


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Around 16:30 when it had cooled down a notch we decided to take a walk through the local town. We were rowed across the river and left to our own devices for an hour and a half to do a walking circuit of the local area. We saw lots of waving children asking us where we were from and then for a pen! Apart from the odd motorbike or tuktuk it was peaceful Indian village life in full swing. It was nice to watch the world go by in no hurry at all, from the cows and goats to the man up a tree preparing the branch for collecting sap to the 'put put put' of the noisy rice barges.


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Our last dinner at Ourland and again they spoil us rotten. Tonight it's vegetable rice and chicken curry in a coconut based sauce. Simple and delicious, served with bread and a couple of sauces. Other than trying to remove the chicken from the bones this was another tasty meal and the food at Ourland left a lasting memory. We couldn't wait for breakfast tomorrow.


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We spent the rest of the evening arguing and laughing over a deck of cards playing a game I took a while to understand. The President and a***hole, I end up as the latter, something to do with being English perhaps. Tomorrow we part ways to meet up in Mumbai at the end of our trip.

In the next part we get back in the air to Chennai for our next stop, Mamallapuram.

Spymon

We started our day around 10:00 with breakfast. There was something new for me to try today. Alongside the staples of toast, coffee, pineapple juice and pineapple jam was a steamed rice paste with a sugary, coconut filling which has been seasoned with cardamom, like some kind Indian rice pudding, wrapped in a coconut leaf. Once again, we ate until we could take no more!


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After breakfast we relaxed for an hour or so playing catch with a fallen coconut. I went top up our water bottle and whilst at the water cooler, I say hello to two of the newest hotel guests. Like the previous guests we spoke to, they were also from Denmark and it turns out the lady had done quite a bit of travelling and she was particularly keen to hear about N & G's adventures. Our conversation was interrupted as it was soon time to leave for the airport.

Around midday our bags were loaded on to the boat and we are rowed across the river to our waiting car. We drop N & G in town and say our goodbyes with the intention to have lunch in Mumbai before we return to London. We then have a 2 hour drive to Cochin International Airport. The drive is not particularly scenic and as we approach Ernakulam and the road to the airport there are numerous developments everywhere, high rise flats, hotels, shopping malls, dozens of half built buildings rising upwards as well as the Cochin Metro train development. The drive goes pretty fast and we are soon at the airport.

Flight: Jet Konnect 9W2734 COK - MAA Departs 17:15, ATR 72-500, Seats 3A and 3C

We arrived at the airport around two hours before our flight as the car journey was shorter than expected. I spot a rather forlorn looking Mastercard lounge that takes Priority Pass on our way to the check in desks. The lounge looked a little worse for wear and with it being landside and us not knowing the airport we give it a miss. At the check in queue Ms Spymon encounters some slightly inebriated Scotsman trying to charm and trick their way to the front of the queue, national stereotypes to the fore as she deflects them back to their rightful place whilst I watch on quietly hoping they'd go away on their own accord. "They should really have known better than to try and queue jump a French person!" exclaims Ms Spymon, once our intoxicated friends are out of earshot.

After a short wait we are checked in and our boarding passes are issued for 3A and 3C. Had we been split up, or was it good luck of a blocked middle seat? Perhaps adding the CX gold to the booking helped? We go through security whilst a bunch of 6E Girls try and barge ahead of me at the bag scanner, nice…

After exiting security we enter the departures lounge which is filled with good comfy seats and not much else. I grab some masala crisps and apple drink and wait for the inevitable boarding zoo to occur.


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I now realised why we had seats A and C as this flight was on an ATR 72 and not the larger plane I thought we were on. It was my first time on a turbo prop and I found our flight to be smooth but very loud. Our flight attendant didn’t look the least bit bothered and must have set the record for worlds fastest safety demonstration. Not the greatest introduction to Jet Airways, though thankfully they would redeem themselves on the remaining two flights.


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We arrived on time at MAA and were quickly off to our waiting car.

Our car to Mamallapuram was a Toyota Innova and our driver drove with real intent as he didn't like to wait. Barely a minute went by without a loud honk on the horn or flash of the headlights. Upon striking up a little conversation it turned out he was only aggressive on the road. He was a local to the Mamallapuram area and had completed 3 years study at the local art college and was now training as a sculptor.

Our check in at the Radisson was quite a show, with a welcome drink and a necklace but not as slick or special as at the Oberoi where they knew me before I introduced myself. Our check in agent went through all the benefits, but quite quickly. Wifi details were not given out.

We were driven by golf cart to our room, a Sea View Chalet on the top floor with an Ocean View (Each chalet consists of four separate rooms, 2 up and 2 down). The room looked lovely, but due to the proximity of the ocean it suffered from damp and condensation. The configuration of the bathroom was not great either. On the plus side the view was spectacular.


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We had our dinner at the hotel and went to The Wharf, the higher end of the places here. We ordered chicken and lamb kebabs, both were nice but the food went cold very fast. The lamb was definitely the nicer of the two. Our kebabs came with two daals, naans and a vegetable curry.


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Whilst they were not the best, the side dishes were good overall for where we were and reasonably priced. The portions were more than generous, leaving no room for anything sweet. We had a large kingfisher to share in nice icy glasses. Service friendly and prompt. Over dinner we planned our day sightseeing tomorrow before returning to our room for coffee and biscuits.

BlrGuy

Not quite a pudding - it's more like an asian steamed bun, but with glutinous sticky rice. The insider is a mix of grated coconut, ground jaggery and cardamom bits. It's quite addictive, as you found out!

camsean

I think the whole Kerala backwaters is one of the most over-rated things in the universe, although your photos are nice.

If you want to try better "backwaters" try Tanjung Punting in Indonesia.