Tea, Forts and Houseboats - India Three Ways

India is a delight to the senses, with its colorful patterned scenery, jovial people, and brilliant saris; its flavorful food and constant sounds -- be it soothing sounds of the jungle or the incessant honking as cars jostle for space along the narrow roads. 

We were last in India in 2009 when we visited the large towns of Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi and Agra (Taj Mahal).  Our current visit brought us to the southwestern part of India and the region of Kerala. Kerala is less hectic, cleaner, and more orderly but just as full of life as the other parts of India we have visited in the past.  This time, we ported in Cochin and quickly left its sweltering heat for the cool mountains of Munnar, about a 4-hour drive up narrow, twisting roads to the East of Cochin.  If you look back to our blog post about Sri Lanka, you might see some similarities with the road travel there. 

Munnar

Munnar sits at about 5,000 feet above sea level and is surrounded by thousands of acres of tea plantations.  Textured green fields cover the contoured mountains in every direction.  Munnar is a destination that attracts locals from Cochin escaping the heat and vacationing honeymooners and families from all over India.  We stayed at Chancey’s Windy Woods and since there were few foreigners at the resort, we had a truly Indian experience with wonderful cuisine.  The hotel was set on a mountainside with 4 distinct buildings that were connected by a maze of elevators and stairwells.  We got our exercise by trekking up the man-made jungle path, complete with waterfalls and bridges, which wove its way under the buildings from our room up to the lobby.   It was an 8-story climb from our room up to the lobby (or three different elevators)!

Rather than try to navigate the very very windy roads full of crazy traffic, we hired a driver for our two days in Munnar and explored the tea plantations, high mountain lookouts, reservoirs, and spice gardens.  The tea and spice tours were interesting and we saw where so many of our foods and spices come from and how they can heal us as part of the Indian Aryuvedic tradition.

The second day, we were entertained at Dream Land, an adventure park where we could try 25 activities including riding mechanical bulls, walking the tight rope over a pond, climbing rope walls and attempting obstacle courses.  It was good fun and provided some much needed exercise.   After a VERY oily massage, we went to the local martial arts show where young men demonstrated their skills in fighting with swords, spears and sticks in addition to acrobatics where they flipped over top of Jay and Ryan (and six (!) other people) and through fiery rings. 

Allepy Houseboats

After three nights in the mountains, we headed back to the coast to explore Kerala’s extensive backwaters with 550 miles of lakes and channels.  1,200 houseboats take visitors on daytrips and overnight excursions on the tranquil waterways that weave through immense rice fields and small villages.  Our two-bedroom houseboat had a large air-conditioned, glass walled sitting room where we played games, ate meals and enjoyed the scenery as we cruised around the backwaters. 

We docked for the evening alongside one of the villages, which backed up on literally miles of rice paddies.  The homes lined the channel and were connected by a dirt path running in front of them.  Christy took an early morning walk down the dirt path and witnessed how the local people started their day.  People were bathing, swimming, washing dishes and brushing their teeth along the channel.  One couple loaded their round basket boat with bananas while others played with their children before breakfast.  It seemed out of place when a man walked by while taking on his cell phone.  As in many parts of the world, in India it seems that the cell phone is the one ubiquitous technology that bridges the gap between 100 years ago and today!

Fort Cochin

We spent our last day and night in Fort Cochin, which was packed with tourists and retained a European feel from the colonial era. We went from among Indians on their vacations to among foreign tourists in the lap of luxury. Kerala is trending towards being a “dry” state and Munnar and Allepy were leading the charge so it was nice to find a glass of wine and a cooling swimming pool at the Old Harbour Hotel.

We adventured out in the sweltering heat to try our hand at the large Chinese fishing nets that line the harbor.  After casting the net, we each grabbed a rope line and heaved as hard as we could to lift the net into the air.  Alas, it was not the season to catch fish in the harbor, so no fish for us. 

During our visit we had a taste of life in Kerala for a few days.  India is so vast and diverse that we always find ourselves saying that we need months, not days, to explore even the smallest corner of this fascinating country.

Myanmar - Emerging from the Shadows?

Three years ago we visited Myanmar at the height of their hot season with temperatures soaring above 100 degrees.  It was so hot we couldn’t even get in the swimming pool to cool off!  The heat sapped our energy and we felt we missed out on some experiences in Myanmar because it was simply too hot to go out and about.

This visit was different. The recent election results, the debate over whether the military would allow the elected government to assume power, the future of Aung San Suu Kyi, and the delightful monk who sailed with us for the days leading up to Myanmar sparked everyone’s enthusiasm to explore the country.  There were discussions on the ship about whether tourism was akin to financially supporting a repressive regime or whether tourism supplied foreign “observers” who could be a positive influence and ensure that the Burmese people got the change they were looking for. Although we heard that the military still has a stranglehold on the country, its oppressive presence was almost non-existent in the places we visited. 

After a brief visit to the largest city and former capital, Yangon, and the famous Shwedagon Pagoda, we flew to Inle Lake, a community of fishermen and artisans who have built their stilt homes and life around this picturesque lake.  The cooler mountain air, bustling village life, delightful people and delicious food energized us.  

On our first full day in Inle, we borrowed our hotel’s bikes and did a 14 mile loop around the lake to see the countryside. A couple of the bikes wouldn’t shift and were effectively cruiser bikes so it was a bit more of a challenge than we thought it would be! Along the way, we witnessed all the stages of development from people plowing their fields with oxen, to pushing a basic motorized plow to the modern farm equipment you would find in the West.  

We needed to cross the lake during our ride and piled the bikes into one of the small long-tailed boats.  The driver wove his way through passageways cut through the reeds surrounding the lake.  Stilted villages are scattered along the lake’s edges and are only reached via boat.   It is remarkable to see schools, post offices, “gas stations”, stores and monasteries all raised up on stilts and accessible only by boat.  

The next day, we all piled into another little long-tailed boat for a full day exploration of the lake. Fisherman dotted the lake as they let out their fishing nets while "paddling" their boats with one leg.   We wondered how long this lake could sustain all these people and the increasing number of visitors each year.  It seems hard to believe that the lake could produce enough fish to replenish stocks with the level of fishing we saw. Another concern, especially as increased tourism is inevitable, is that there are virtually no sanitation systems anywhere and toilets flow directly into the lake that people used for cooking, drinking and cleaning.    

We were “boated” to the local artisan floating shops to see how goods were made – but really so that we would buy from their shops.  We visited jewelry making, boat making, and weaving factories, all which used techniques from the last century.  A highlight was the chaos of the floating market where people sell you goods from their boats (and don’t let go of your boat until you buy something or come up with a good excuse).  With motorized boats careening amidst the much smaller, dugout canoe style boats of the vendors, it was a miracle that no one ended up in the water.   In addition to feeding the local economy with our small purchases, we also visited a Pagoda and Monastery where we found about a dozen friendly kitties.  

We stayed in a wonderful boutique hotel near the main town north of Inle Lake - Thanakha Inle Hotel.  A canal connected the town and our hotel to the main lake and there was a constant stream of long boats roaring past the hotel each day.  We learned why most hotels do not have rooms facing the canal – those long boats are really noisy and run constantly from dawn to dusk!  

The food in Myanmar was delicious and TripAdvisor’s website steered us to great places that did not make us sick, unlike many of our shipmates.  Christy had the best salad of her life in Yangon with freshly made mozzarella cheese, pumpkin and roasted seeds (check out Sharkey’s if you are in Yangon).

On our fifth day, we navigated the rudimentary airport system and highly trafficked and pot-holed roads to get back to our ship.  Jay and Christy used the last hours in port to join thousands (and thousands) of locals in their Pagoda festival that included endless rows of markets, carnival rides and food stalls.   It was a very crazy couple of hours as we shopped and people-watched.

We left this Buddhist country loving our experiences and wanting more.  It was the most interesting country so far on this voyage and it is really poised to take off after decades of mismanagement and oppressive government.  We can only hope that the democratic transition actually happens and the new government can deliver on improving life for the Burmese people.  Next up...India!