9/2/10 Munnar to Cherthala (Tuesday)

We woke up to the lovely view across the valley and the tea plantations, had breakfast, than left with Rajul to head towards the Keralan backwaters homestay. On the way we stopped just outside Munnar town to visit the Tata Tea Museum. Tata is a huge company here producing and sponsoring all kinds of goods from tea to cars. Tata still distribute and sell the teas but the local workers now own the production and processing side. When Tata pulled out of this side of the operation all the workers bought shares and it is now owned as a cooperative...revolutionary in India and really successful. When we arrived at the museum Rajul pushed us both in, past a queue, as a video presentation was starting and he didn't want us to miss it. Unfortunately we had missed half of it so we went back in to see the bit we'd missed. The documentary film was really fascinating about the history and current situation of the tea plantations. It showed old footage of a huge flood there and the rebuilding of the place afterwards. There was a 34km ropeway built from the top station we had visited to Munnar to transport the tea, before there were any roads built. After the British pulled out, the tea estates were owned by Tata, who then sold the production to its workers. The tea areas had roads, medical care and education set up by the British and maintained after they left. There are education and craft employment schemes for physically and mentally disabled which was very moving to see as there is little opportunity elsewhere. The cooperative works well as each member and share holder wants the company to do well and they have won many awards for their teas as a result. It was very inspirational to see. After the video we went to see a mock up of a tea factory to see the processes involved in making a tea leaf for a cuppa. We will both appreciate our tea much more now we have seen the amount of effort it takes to get into the cup. The museum had lots of old photos fom the days of the British Raj when all the management were white and living in large estate properties. There were photos of rugby tournaments and hunting parties etc so quite an insight. It was good to see that the little man can do as good a job as the fat cats and the people there certainly seemed to have a much better life than some. We carried on our way and stopped just outside Muvattupula to visit a small private spice garden. A young lad showed us around his family garden where they grow all kinds of fruit and spices to use and sell. He showed us cinammon, clove, cocoa, vanilla, rubber, chile, lemon grass, cardomon, nutmeg and curry leaves. You could really smell the disinctive scents when he pulled the seeds from the trees. The family made rubber bath mats to sell at the market and he showed us the rudimentary machines they used for that. We bought a few little spices from them and then carried on towards Cochin. We stopped for lunch of chicken sandwich and finger chips, as they call them here. On the road we passed a big procession of catholics all walking carrying large crosses and brightly decorated banners. We have seen all sorts of religious parades and celebrations which seem to occur on most days. The people here are very devout and expressive with their religions and it makes for alot of interesting sight seeing for us. We pulled into Chervally 'Farmhouse' at about 4.45pm and were met by a member of the stafff there who helped move our things into our room. The room was really lovely and had a porch right on the banks of a large water channel that ran in front of the property. It was a bungalow with attached open air bathroom and was much more than we'd expected. Rajul left us to go back to Fort Cochin and we sat on the sunchairs on our porch watching the world float by. The scenery was idyllic and we watched as the many birds fished and hunted on the water including briliant blue kingfishers, sea eagles and herons...beautiful. It would have been incredibly peaceful except for a rediculously loud Hindu festival in the neighbouring village which was being broadcast on loud speakers. The family at the farmhouse told us that it would go on all day from 5am till 10 pm for seven days !!! Every now and again the noise stopped and we were able to truly appreciate the serenity of the area. We met brothers Api and Francis and their elderly father Anthony who were all really nice and friendly. They bought us cold beers to drink while we waited for dinner to be cooked .We were asked to go for dinner which was freshly cooked Keralan dishes of curried prawns, rice and chapatis which was very tasty and prepared by the ladies in the family. Next to the families two guest bungalows they had, had a house built for themselves. It was a beautiful wood framed bungalow and so much bigger than the one they were sharing with the parents next door. It just so happened that the house was finished that night with just cleaning up left to do and the family were having a small celebration with the builders after six months of work. They told us they were having the house blessed by the catholic priest and then a big family and friends gathering the next day too. Francis, whose house it was invited us to see the blessing and said we were welcome to join the party too. Francis was very concerned that the parties wouldn't upset us...far from it, we are always up for a do!! As usual we blagged an invite to the builders gathering and there were many of the family there too . Lots of them came to us to say hello and we chatted to one of the families cousins who was a nun in Poland for a while. She had become a nun when she was seventeen (now in her thrities) and sent to Italy then onto Poland to work. She was really interesting with excellent English too. It all came to an end pretty early and after a really pleasant evening we went to bed under our mossie net,as there were loads around the water, listening to some music.

10/2/10 Cherthala (Wednesday)

We were woken at the crack of dawn 5am by the Hindu preacher yelling into the microphone which was nice!!! We had to be up for the priests blessing at eight oclock so we got up about seven and had cold showers in the open air which was more pleasant than it sounds. We went along to the house and there was absolutely no sign of a service happening except that the priest was there waiting. The family and builders were running around tidying up and finishing stuff off. Things don't tend to run to time here and there was no urgency in anyone so we just sat and waited for something to happen. We were due to go out for a day trip on the canals so we didn't want to be too late but eventually at 9.20 the priest started the service. The whole family gathered in the new house while the priest said a few prayers, candles were lit and the house and all of us were sprinkled with holy water. Phil said when we get another house hes having a water pistol party . It was Francis's sons 9th Birthday and he got a bag of toffees which he then passed around to everyone there. After the service we congratulated the family for their new home which they were going to spend the day moving into. We boarded the rice barge, called a Kettavallum, which was made of wood and woven leaves. It had a bedroom, bathroom with shower and toilet and a sundeck with laid back deckchairs to relax on all day. There were three staff for the day two punters and a cook. Manu, the cook, bought us tea and some yam crisps to eat and we set off along the waterway. It was quite peaceful when the Hindu racket went quiet but it did spoil the tranquility most of the way. Eventually when we were out of earshot it was really pleasant just looking at the water, palm trees, lakes, birds and bits of village life. We spent an hour and a half floating gently along the small canals. There was no other boats there as we'd been promised by Mr Wilson. The main hub of backwater cruises is in Alleppey a few kms south of where we were so we missed the busier stretches of water. We saw plenty of local fisherman wading in the water up to their chests tending their nets and plucking the small fish from them. There were a few of the large chinese fishing nets along the banks of the bigger channels. They are used to catch fish in the morning and prawns in the afternoon/early evening. We waved and shouted namaskara (hello) to people along the way and they were all very happy and friendly. The backwaters is reclaimed and so houses are perched on pieces of land sometimes only a few feet wide between fish lakes and canals. Some of the lakes are used to grow rice during the drier seasons outside monsoon time. After about an hour and a half we were in a large channel presumably the main Alleppey to Kollam route and we drifted to a place to drop the anchor for lunch. The anchor was just an enormous rock on the end of a rope but it did the trick. Another rice barge from the farmhouse anchored about 200 meters away but otherwise there was no one else around. A few local canoes and fishing boats passed by but it was really peaceful and we couldn't hear the Hindu temple either. Manu made us lunch of fish curry, rice and veggies but we both ate too much of it and were stuffed. Phil had asked for a chapati but Manu bought him four which he just couldn't eat so the river fish had a treat. We had a beer with lunch but it tasted off so that went into the drink aswell !! After lunch we just sat taking in the view and relaxing but then realised an hour and a half had passed and we hadn't moved. Liz went to investigate and discovered all three staff fast asleep on the deck!! It was another hour before they woke up and we started to move again, it was a bit disappointing really as we'd paid for a full day along the backwaters not a few hours. The boat turned around and we floated back the same way we'd come. Once back at the farmhouse we went a bit further downstream and then turned back towards it again. We pulled up at the farmhouse to get the things for dinner but we realised that we would be stuck in the middle of the river for a very long evening and wouldn't be able to get to the party. Lots of the couples friends and family came along to say hello and were all very pleased to be speaking to the foreigners. Phil went and found Francis who said for us to eat with the family and then go out into the river later. Manu had made us some food already but we said to put it with the other food and we could eat it too. The food was delicious and we ate it chatting to the couple from the other boat. We ate chicen curries, fish, vegetable and coconut stew, chapatis and rice plus an egg curry made by Manu. We had a couple more beers and then got onto the boat to go out into the river to spend the night. It was all a bit weird reallly as we had a perfectly good room on the shore . We had thought we would stay al ong way from the house and then return the next day but as it turned out we were steered to a spot in sight of the room...bit bizarre. It was only about 8.30 when we had anchored and the boat went quiet. Liz had a look and we realised we were alone in the middle of the water. The crew hadn't said anything but had disappeared back to shore so one of them could get off then the other returned. The boatman staying with us overnight bought out some mossie coils. We asked if we could get a beer assuming there might be one on board but then heard the water splashing. The boatman had to row back to the farmhouse to get us a beer then he returned with them. We asked him to have one with us then he disappeared again. It turned out he had gone to get some glasses as there weren't any of those either and he hadn't thought of that when he went to get the beer. We'd have drunk out of the bottles if we'd known it would be such an effort. The boatman had no English but we gestured to him to have a beer with us after his day punting. He looked a bit dubious but poured and then gulped down the glass full in a second. Phil then pointed to the bottle for him to have the rest and he reluctantly did. He drank it all really quickly then disappeared off to the back of the boat where we could hear him wretching!!! He only had the beer to be polite and obviously didn't like it..ooops. He went off to bed and we were left drinking the one and only beer on the boat (we daren't asked him to row again) then went to bed about 9.30pm as there was nothing else to do on the boat.

11/2/10 Cherthala (Thursday)

We woke up after a suprisingly good nights sleep on the rice barge. Only a few mossies found their way through the mossie net to munch on us. The boatman rowed the boat across to the farm to collect Manu to cook our breakfast of omelettes, toast and fruit, then after eating we travelled back to shore, which took about five minutes!! The celebrations at the Hindu temple were still going on but were alot quieter than the previous day. The family told us that a young girl from the village had commited suicide so they had turned the noise down a bit out of respect. (Phil said she couldn't stand the noise any more...sensitive soul isn't he!!) We went back to our room for showers and chilled there for a while before going for a walk to find the Hindu Temple. We called in to Francis to check that we would get dinner in the evening as we weren't sure. It was about a ten minute walk to the village and we passed a fish factory following directions from Francis. We walked over a canal bridge and along side a railway track into the village. We followed the noise and found a large group of people gathered under an awning listening to a group of three holy men who were singing and drumming. To the Hindus it all made sense but to us it was a bit of a din but fascinating to watch. There were a few men there cracking open coconuts and pouring the milk onto a deity of Lord Shiva who was being celebrate. We went inside the area and were made to feel very welcome by the people. They had come from the village and there were families from elderly to small children. Phil went to the front to get a few shots of the musicians and managed to get us invited to join the people for food...again !!! He is latching far more than Liz. The music stopped and all the people lined up to recieve some blessed coconut milk then joined a queue for food. We were ushered to a table where a couple of the local men bought us two plates of food and a plate of sweet rice for pudding. They bought us knives and forks to eat with but we declined as we were eating with our right hand just as the locals do. We aren't very good at scooping the food but we are having a go at least. The food was really good rice and vegetable curry and the sweet rice was delicious. We washed our hands at the taps with the locals who wouldn't let us clean our plates and then chatted to a few of the locals. They were all very happy to see us there and asked us to go again the next day as that was the biggest celebration of the festivities. We were catching a train though so had to try and explain but we don't think they really understood us. Lots of the local children were hanging around us asking us to take photos of them and they followed us down the lane for a while. We wandered through the village which was very basic but quite large with several streets laid out among the wooden and brick houses. We came across a group of indian ladies chatting in a grassy area and they beckoned us over. They asked us where we were from and our names and we asked their names. The names were all Western so we knew they were christian hence they weren't at the festival .One lady was called Elizabeth and Liz had her picture taken with her. Unfortunately Pammie didn't do too good a job so the picture had to go. India is quite unique in that people of all religions seem to able to live together even in small communities like this one. There isn't a feeling of religious ghettos anywhere we have been and there are temples and churches and mosques all in similar areas. The women were all very giggly and funny when they were speaking to us, they obviously don't see many foreigners. We left the village and crossed the railway tracks to the other side where the village seemed to continue. We passed by a St Josephs church and bought some drinks from a tiny stall. The girl in there didn't speak English at all and didn't understand even when we said the names written on the drinks bottles. After some pointing we managed to get the two bottles of Sprint (sprite rip off). We took the drinks and sat on the nearby river bank to drink them. It was very peaceful and we watched as a canoe ferry bought people from the other side. We decided to take a ride over to the other side as we had all day to explore. The boatman had no English and Phil said how much? then after a blank reaction Liz put up 5 fingers as that seemed about right for the tiny journey. He nodded and we climbed in to the wooden canoe to go to the other side. As we approached the other side though the boat veered away from straight to go along the bank. We assumed he was taking us to a better landing point but after a few minutes he just headed back to the shore we'd started from !! Liz had managed to arrange a five minute boat ride !! It was quite funny and there was no point trying to explain anything else so we just climbed out and made our way back towards the farmhouse. By this point Phils bowels were on overdrive and he needed a toilet and quick. We had to keep stopping for him to compose himself befroe moving off again. We passed a few people and goats then crossed back over the canal towards the farmhouse. Liz took us on a detour and we went the long way by mistake which wasn't too amusing for Phil. We made it back just in time. Phil ran off to the bathroom and Liz settled into the chair on the porch. One of the family came along and said where had we been and they had prepared lunch for us..it was 3.30 Pm !!. We didn't realise they would be cooking lunch as well and we both felt very bad but the family didn't seem to mind. Phil felt a bit rotten though and really didn't want to eat so Liz ate both fish that had been cooked and tried to make an indent on the rest. The food is delicious and very fresh but there is loads of it so we keep leaving loads. Phil went off to lie down as he felt a bit rough with his belly and Liz listened to some music on the porch. A small canoe from the house with another guest on it passed by and when he came back to shore he was in the room next door. Liz chatted to Tobias (Swiss) for a little while and discovered he was going by rickshaw to see a temple festival where there would be elephants. Liz went to tell phil who was feeling alot better and we asked Tobias if he minded us sharing the rickshaw so we could see the elephants too. He said he didn't mind at all and we went off with him about 4kms to a small town and a Hindu Temple. We could see straight away that there were three elephants there all painted and dressed in gold and coloured head dresses. We left our shoes as is customer outside the temple gates (not sure if they'd be there when we got back) and walked into the temple grounds. The festival is called Maha Shivratri and worshippers offer coconut and light butter lamps to pray throughout the night. The elephants paraded around the temple itself then stopped beside the front doors. Then a large group of musicians came out and lined up banging their varied drums. It was quite a loud intense sound as the rhythms banged out across the temple ground. The area was filling with people and we were made to feel very welcome again. All the people we have met who aren't trying to make money from us have been inredibly nice and welcoming. Another line of musicians came along and stood facing the drummers. They were playing pipes and horns and it was as if each musician was outplaying their opposite number in the drummer line. It sounded almost frenzied and manic and was very affective. A third row of musicians arrived with huge brass curved horns. All the mucicians were wearing traditional Kerelan skirts (Mundus) and were bare chested. It got dark and it was very busy with worshipers lighting butter lamps all round the temple. The atmosphere was intense with praying, music, drumming and the hundreds of butter lamps flickering, a fantastic experience. The driver had said he would collect us at 6.30 but when he came things were just starting to get going so we all decided to stay a little while longer. Tobias seemed to think the festival would be finished by 7pm but he hadn't realised Hindu festivals go on through the night and also for days as he'd only been in India a few days. At about 7.15 Liz suggesting getting back to the farmhouse to be there for dinner as we'd been too late for lunch earlier. Tobias said it wouldn't be a problem and they'd cook for us anytime which we thought was a touch bad mannered, as we weren't staying in a hotel. We said we thought we should get back but we would go and leave him there but he decided to come with us. We arrived back at the farmhouse and had freshly cooked Masal prawns which were really tasty as well as veggie curry, rice and chapatis. We sat having a few beers with Tobias then went off to bed.