Kerala and The Backwaters

These two songs remind me of this boat ride, so feel free to listen them while reading this post for a multisensory experience!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MauA2Adejgc, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzhtQFz-CBM&index=3&list=PL2gxaGXEGl6kGQWVcQVhB8BAQ2UbJOkRU

View from the front seat of the boat in the backwaters

One of the quintessential activities while visiting Kerala is touring the backwaters, which are a chain of canals and lagoons that link five major lakes in the region. The backwaters connect many villages and serve as local commerce corridors. To experience the backwaters, many visitors chose to rent a houseboat, such as this one, and spend a couple of days meandering through the canals.

Typical houseboat in Kerala

Since I was exploring Kerala on my own, I didn’t really want to spend the night on a boat by myself, with the boat driver. As much fun as that sounds, I prefer my resort room with helpful room service, and security, staff :)

So to experience the backwaters, I rented this blue gondola-type boat for a couple hours one morning while I was staying in Lake Kumarakom. The driver, Benny, was friendly and gave a swift tour of the local canals. Benny pointed out his house to me, which was on the main channel. He also introduced me to his wife, who we passed while she was fishing in a separate boat.

Boat I rented

Benny the boat owner and operator

I enjoyed the morning ride as I got some fresh air and really got to soak in nature, including many numerous palm trees and herons. I even saw a Kingfisher bird, and a water snake.

Selfie on the backwaters!

The ride did feel a bit strange though as I felt like I was riding through the villagers’ backyards and peering into their daily lives. Many small houses are located on the backwaters, and since we were out for our ride in the morning, the canals were full of families going about their daily business. All of the houses on the canals had an opening to the backwaters from the yard, covered in large stones, where the women performed tasks ranging from doing laundry, washing dishes, bathing, and brushing teeth – all right there in the river.

House among the canals in Kerala

Most of the shallow waters we went on were opaque and I spotted numerous water bottles, shopping bags, and other refuse scattered in the lake. I wondered how this “dirty” water could be used for all of these tasks.

Overall I enjoyed the boat ride and being in the sun, distanced from the traffic and honking horn cacophony that permeates Bangalore (the residents there mainly used boats or two-wheelers to get around), but I felt a bit sad during the ride looking at all the pollution that humans have caused to these beautiful habitats.

Mangroves and other life on the backwaters

It really makes me wonder how I can have more of impact on sustaining the environment, both here in India and in Charlotte when I return home. I want to make sure I am recycling all I can and making smarter choices when it comes to my water consumption and use of plastic.

Clip from the trip:

Kerala and Lake Kumarakom – The Creature

“It looked…kind of… like…this.”

I put the pencil down and showed the front desk worker at Lake Kumarakom Resort my rough depiction of “guess the animal that was in Michelle’s room earlier.”

Thankfully he drew version 2.0.

“Did it look like this?”

“No,” I said. “It wasn’t a rat.”

“Ok – what about this?”

“That looks more like it. What is it?”

Google images revealed that what I’d seen that morning was possibly a grey skink, aka an Arana lizard. It looked kind of like this little guy, although not exactly:

My "roommate" looked kind of like this

Assured that they weren’t poisonous, I returned to my room to relax a bit.

You know the noise the smoke detector makes when it runs out of batteries?

That's the noise I heard when I went to grab something from my purse.

Guess which one I drew??!

Luckily I had recently ordered room service, so I knew help would be on the way soon. I sat still as a log until I heard a knock on the door.

I ushered the resort employee in and explained the situation. He picked up my purse and carefully went through it, finding nothing. He searched around all the curtains, carefully looking in each pleat, coming up empty.

Then I saw it, perched at the top of the curtain, debating a jump to the man’s head.

I squealed and he placed his hand on his head, averting the danger.

Pest control showed up with two long, skinny sticks. Not Raid, not poison - sticks.

As I learned over the next squealing minute of drama, there is some type of tree that grows a substance at the end of the branch that acts like a glue. This “glue” is so sticky it traps pests, such as lizards and rodents.

Once captured, the lizard was placed outside and I was informed that I could “sleep safely now.”

It's at this point, as I'm writing about this poor lizard, or rat, or mouse, or whatever it was, trapped in my room all day, that I realize I’ve given way too much thought to this particular creature. I guess this points to the broader issues of development, loss of wild habitations, deforestation, overdevelopment, etc. Man tries to coexist with the rest of God’s creation and sometimes helps yet sometimes hurts.

Any interesting lizard or creature stories from your vacations? I’d be happy to hear them!

Kerala – “God’s Own Country”

Kerala is one of India’s 29 states, and its motto is “God’s own country” due to the natural beauty and lushness of the state. Kerala is in South India, on the West coast, aka the Malabar coast. Kerala is known for its beaches and backwaters (network of canals), and its lush greenery and peaceful way of life.

This weekend I had a couple of days off of work and I chose Kerala as I was in desperate need of some rest and relaxation - the constant traffic and work stress in Bangalore were really getting to me! After consulting a Lonely Planet guide and many Tripadvisor reviews, I chose Lake Kumarakom in Kerala for my R&R, and stayed at the Kumarakom Lake Resort.

Kumarakom Lake Resort - a bit of Indian paradise

The resort was a little piece of paradise. The climate was tropical, complete with palm trees, humidity and friendly lizards (more on those later). My room was HUGE and came with a private jacuzzi. It was in a two-story building that looks like it’s made up of 4 two-story condos, but each floor is a room to itself. 

Front porch of my "villa" :) 

Every evening from 5:30 – 6:30, the resort offered a “sunset cruise,” complete with live local music, consisting of a drum and a flute. I really enjoyed this part of the day - I went on the cruise all three nights I was there. Check out this video to hear some of the tunes:

The resort specialized in Malayalam cuisine, which is characterized by rice and rice-based breads, seafood, coconut, cashews (which I avoided), fried onions, tamarind, and spices. Bananas are also frequently used; some typical snacks in Kerala are shown here:

Kerala snacks and coffee (I may or may not have eaten four of the rice balls)

Kerala snacks and chai

At one dinner, I tried a vegetable called drumstick. I had initially inquired about the item as it was listed as vegetarian, and I was confused (aren't drumsticks chicken?). I learned that drumsticks are a green fibrous vegetable, boiled as part of a stew; the taste of it reminded me of okra (which Indians call “ladyfingers”). The drumstick remains tough when boiled, so most people chew it for the “meaty” inner portion and juices, then trash the fibers.

Eating the drumstick required more work than eating an artichoke, to put that in perspective.

Kerala rice is another staple of Malayalam cuisine. This red rice is promoted for its health benefits as the fibers are not removed before cooking, giving it the reddish tint.

I liked most of the food I tried; the seafood especially was fresh, and I enjoyed the prevalence of coconut and rice in the cuisine. The resort has a sister hotel in Bangalore that has a Kerala restaurant; I will be sure to check it out.

Appam and prawn curry

I'll post more on the backwaters and other adventures I had soon, so stay tuned!

Birthday in Bangalore

"Many many happy returns of the day Michelle!"

The first time someone in India wished me a happy birthday like this, I thought it was a sarcastic blessing, as in they hoped I was able to easily return all the gifts I didn't really like.

Cake, pre-smearing

I quickly realized that this greeting was a typical Indian way of saying "Happy Birthday," with all the associated blessings and well wishes.

My recent birthday on Saturday was the first one I've celebrated abroad. Overall it was good, although I missed being able to call more of my family and friends since I was out for most of the weekend and, well, timezones.

On Friday night I went to an expat social event hosted by a group called the Bangalore Expat Club (bec). I've met some young adults there from Italy, Germany, Mexico, the U.S., Iraq, and the Congo, as well as India. Most people are working in India, while a few are here for school. At midnight, the DJ and my new friends wished me a happy birthday.

My new friend Sheryl - yes it was hot and humid!

On Saturday, my work team took me for a day event at a resort called Mango Mist. We started off the day with the traditional "cake smearing," where after you cut your birthday cake, those closest to you make your face eat the cake:

We are part of the cake tribe! 

No I didn't have to wear it all day!

I liked Mango Mist as I was able to enjoy nature and play paintball, which I've never done before. I was also able to conquer a "difficult" level ropes course, enjoy a BBQ and lunch buffet with my co-workers and some of their families.

The downside of the event was that it took over 90 minutes to get there, and 3 hours to get back. Traffic in Bangalore can be horrendously frustrating - it took that long to go less than 20 miles.

When I finally reached my hotel, I found a nice birthday display including a cake, personalized bottle of wine, card and a bouquet of red carnations in my room. This helped put me in a better mood!

Gifts from the hotel

After resting for a bit, one of my new friends from the bec took me out for beef tacos as this is what I was really craving. The beef was imported from Brazil, and I devoured four hard shell tacos, and some taco soup.

I then had the hotel tech support help me connect my computer to the TV, so I could watch El Clásico on the big screen. Even though the game started at midnight, I easily stayed awake to watch Real Madrid come back from a 1-goal deficit, and a red card (thanks Ramos), to beat Barca 2-1. It was a great end to the day.

Group shot from Mango Mist

Sheryl took me out for dinner and dessert on Sunday night. We ate Thai curry and some chili chicken at an Oriental place, then she was craving McDonald's soft-serve which sounded good to me at that moment, too. We stayed out for a while walking around an area called Koramangala, and it was a really nice, chill, enjoyable end to a great birthday weekend.

It was so hot inside that suit

Even though this birthday felt much different than the others, I felt loved and appreciated. Thanks to everyone who sent me birthday wishes - may you have many many happy returns :)