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:

Month 1 Reflections

I've been in Bangalore for just over a month now - can you believe it?! Work has been going well and I am settling into the hotel room which will be my home for the next few months.

Although my original plan was to stay in a serviced apartment (furnished place with daily maid service), none of the options I was shown felt particularly safe to me. The hotel has been good so far.

I've noted a number of little things over the past month that hit me as either unexpected, surprising, or just plain weird. Since you've been on this journey with me so far, I'd thought I share some of them with you:

English is common, but so are misunderstandings
To avoid the astronomical laundry charges at my first hotel, I ordered laundry service through an app on my new local phone. The first time I used the app, the courier showed up on the wrong day. The second time I used the app, he showed up at the wrong location.

I thought the instructions were pretty clear!

Worse still, my entire second order was dry cleaned. Upon realizing the mistake, all my clothes were actually laundered, including the pieces I had designated as dry-clean only.

I did get a $5 voucher for my troubles that I have yet to redeem.

Pervasive recommendations
Indians are an agreeable bunch and also an opinionated one. Most Indians I meet are quick to offer recommendations on trips to take, restaurants to try, and shops to visit.

Although many people have provided recommendations, very few have invited me to do something with them. A partner at PwC and his wife invited me to join them on their Valentine's Day dinner, and a co-worker invited our team to his daughter's 2nd birthday lunch. A few more people have extended invitations for future events, but particularly the first few weeks I was here, I was surprised at how few people invited me to do things with them.

Outside Valentine's Day Dinner

These experiences have definitely made me sympathize with what immigrants and foreigners in the U.S. must experience daily. While I think I am generally a welcoming person, this experience has made me more acutely aware of the challenges and loneliness of settling in another place.

The lack of good nail salons
I did not expect to miss my go-to nail salon, Decor Nails, so much. Since Bangalore is 9x the size of Charlotte, I assumed there would be a plethora of quality nail salons in Bangalore.

I was wrong.

Gel nails, after one day :(

I've set foot in three different places in search of a quality manicure. I walked out on one after deciding that one of my new personal maxims is, don't go to a nail salon that also doubles as a tattoo parlor.

I've had to return to two nail salons for nails that chipped <2 days after the manicure, and most recently, I had to remind the nail tech that the manicure should happen before the polish is applied, and that a base coat should be used before applying coral polish.

Wild monkeys
There are many wandering cows, dogs, and goats in Bangalore. Surprisingly, I have only seen cats on two occasions. What I was not expecting was how many monkeys I would see!

Monkey's eating a cucumber on my shoulder!

In my trek to Nandi Hills, I shared how shocked I was to see wild monkeys. Yesterday, I took a colleague who's in town for two weeks to the largest park (Lal Bagh) in Bangalore. She desperately wanted to see monkeys, and we found them alright - and we also found a local who has trained the monkeys to eat fresh veggies off the heads and out of the hands of brave tourists:

Wild birds
In addition to being entertained by the many monkeys running around, I have also been enthralled by the number and sheer size of the birds in Bangalore. Every morning I see at least ten birds circling outside my window, and while eating breakfast, I watch them fly at least as high as the 15th floor.

Egyptian Vulture, image from
http://bangalorecaptured.com/tag/flycatcher/

The Asian paradise flycatcher is the most unusual one bird seen. I saw one at Nandi Hills. If its flying at the right angle, it resembles a fish.

Google Image

Google Image

Social activities, aesthetics, and wildlife - hope you enjoyed some of my observations from month one. Stay tuned for month 2!

First Trek to Nandi Hills

In Moving to India - the FAQs, I mentioned a list of the Top 55 Most Popular Places Around Bangalore, according to Thrillophilia (which sounds like a disease I desperately don't want to catch). Number 2 on this list was a trek to Nandi Hills, which I was fortunate enough to do this past Saturday.

View from Nandi Hills

Not quite hills and not quite mountains, Nandi Hills remind me of the smaller foothills in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Nandi Hills is the biggest hill, and is where a historical figure in Mysore, Tipu Sultan, used to go for holidays. You can read more about the hills here.

Everyone I consulted with suggested that Nandi Hills was only worth the trek for sunrise. So, being the semi-professional travel planner that I am, I used a co-worker's trusted driver and left plenty of extra travel time so I could make it there for sunrise.

Enjoying the breeze

My plan would have worked well if the driver hadn't used my call asking him where he was as his wakeup call! The driver did try to make up his almost an hour tardiness by driving aggressively, even by Indian standards. We drove through the sleeping city, past the airport, and into the outskirts of the city. Through the darkness, I could just make out street vendors starting to stir from the sleepy settlements.

It took a little less than an hour to reach Nandi Hills. While most of the trip was in the morning darkness, our drive to the top was illuminated by a hazy morning light.

Line for entry

Because the hills are very popular for sunrise, by the time we reached the entrance to the top of the hill, there was a long line of people waiting for the entrance ticket. While I didn't get to see the actual sunrise from the peak of the mountain, I did see something better - something unexpected:

Monkeys. Wild monkeys!

The first ones I saw were perched on an awning over the public restrooms. They were scampering for their breakfast of bananas and chips, handed over by the trekkers, or stolen from unattended backpack.

After obtaining the entrance ticket, I walked up a stone-step pathway (ala Machu Picchu) to the top of the hills. The walk took about 10 minutes, and was punctuated by the sound of car and bike horns. Unfortunately, the park allows cars and two-wheelers (aka motor bikes) to the top of the peak, which somewhat destroys the serenity of the place.

Just begs you to sit down, doesn't it?

The top of the hill has a circular path, with expansive views from all sides. This was by far my favorite view:

Given that Bangalore has a pollution problem, it felt good to be surrounding by nature and somewhat fresher air.

The morning sun felt so good

I even found a tree to climb:

I had to fight monkey for this branch
(kidding, kidding)

The hills are less than an hour from the city center, and I intend to do this trek again and chase the sunrise. Next time, I may even bring some food for the monkeys!