Chinese fishing nets
Boathouses you can rent and spend the night in
What you see actually is a river bed covered with overgrown plants
Kerala is a communist state, governed by communist political parties so you see such signs and posters all over the place
Chinese fishing netsFirst day I arrived in Kerala the whole state was on a strike against the local government. Every single business was closed and the city (Ernakulam) was like a ghost town. Being the southern most state in India, temperature was much warmer and more humid than the north. I spent the day walking around the empty streets of Ernakulam and more touristy Fort Cochin. Kerala is known for its backwaters, which are river-ways and channels that make their way through dense tropical forests of palm trees and small villages scattered around on the shores. I took a boat ride through these backwaters that lasted for eight hours with magnificent views of the nature and life on the river. As quiet and peaceful as it is, there’s an endless activity on the waters as the locals use them to fish, wash, transport, and swim. Traveling along the coastline, I reached the beach town of Varkala on New Year ’s Eve. Not knowing what a popular tourist destination the town was and not having made any reservations I desperately started looking for a room only to find out that every single hotel in town was full despite their outrageous prices. But my protective angels were busy at work as always and I ran into a guy who offered me a spot on the rooftop of his hotel for free. Washing away my exhaustion with the best shower I have taken in my life in open air on a rooftop under a full moon I was ready for 2010 filled with optimism and enthusiasm. Celebrating the midnight with a British couple and two Swedish brothers I met at a restaurant, we made our way down to the beach after cops forced the restaurant to shut down for some obscure reason, and joined the crowds of people on the beach celebrating to the early hours of the new year. I spent most of my last days in Varkala just enjoying the beaches with the company of new friends. Soon (always too soon) it was time for me to close the India chapter of my travels and start a new chapter in Malaysia.
Spending two months in India was nowhere close to being enough for such a vast country with so many different cultures and sights to explore. India feels like a different universe than the rest of the world, and it’s very easy to lose yourself in this overwhelming place. I don’t know whether it’s over one billion people living together, all the religions existing in harmony, endless spices you eat in the food or the colors that surround you, but the country grows on you and before you know it you become addicted to it. I think most of all it’s the people smiling unhesitantly with their perfect white teeth despite the poverty or conditions they’re in that leaves the deepest mark. I know that I will go back to India someday and she will welcome me with the same joyful head wiggle.
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