Shanti means peace/tranquil in Hindi, or "slowly" which is exactly how we have been moving through the mountains, beaches, and cities of South India. We ended up staying on Kudlee (it's really pronounced kud-lay, but we called it cuddly, like the Charmin bear) Beach in Gokarna for 8 days, enjoying the slow pace of life and the company of other travelers. There are three beaches you can hike to south of Gokarna and a large group of us stayed the night on Paradise Beach, the furthest south and most remote. There were about 25 of us from 11 different countries, and surprisingly 4 Americans. We arrived, thinking we would only have what we brought with us, but a few enterprising Indians were already set up selling snacks and drinks. We placed a group order and they climbed the hill behind the beach to get us anything we needed for the night, including firewood, a box of samosas, and even fresh idly (steamed rice cakes) and chutney for breakfast in the morning. Just a reminder that this is India, and anything is possible!
Leaving Gorkarna we headed south along the coast for a quick stop at the temple town of Udupi, which is famed for it's delicious vegetarian food and the birthplace of our favorite, the masala dosa. We found bed bugs in our room and immediately fled, leaving us homeless and unconsciously itching at 10pm. We found another dumpy pilgrimage guesthouse and spent the night with a cockroach nestled between our heads in bed. We did get some tasty food, but all in all it was a bit of a bust, especially after over a week of beachside bliss in Gokarna. Welcome back to the road.
Heading inland we stopped in the culturally interesting city of Mysore. We spent a couple of days walking the old market bursting with rows of fresh flowers, fruits, and essential oils. The smells alone were enough to get us to come back several times, along with a pair of cute kittens that we found nestled in the kitchenware or crawling on a mound of chrysanthemum blossoms. We also visited the exquisite Maharaja's palace, designed with a combination of Hindu, European, and Islamic architectural styles by an Englishman. It was incredibly opulent in the interior, with solid silver doors, stained glass from Glasgow, and Italian marble.
Ready for some cool air we made our way up to the Western Ghats to the hill station of Ooty. We climbed up to the "highest peak in South India," ate delicious homemade chocolates, and visited the well manicured botanical gardens. We also got to witness a pretty crazy game a group of guys were playing in the gardens where five people would line up and bend at the waist interlocking arms, then a bunch of people would run and leap onto the backs until every person bending over would have another person on their back. It was pretty hilarious to watch and surprisingly athletic.
From Ooty we headed to Kodaikanal, leaving the refreshing breeze of the hills to drive through the hot plains for ten hours till we reached our destination, again in the hills in the night. Just outside of Kodaikanal is Karuna Farm, where we planned to stay 5 days or so and ended up staying two weeks. We stocked up on cooking supplies at the weekly market in Kodia before making our journey to the farm, excited to cook after 6 months of eating out every meal. The farm is perched precariously on the side of a hill with steep terraces of fruit trees, coffee plants, and other seasonal crops. There are about ten cabins for rent, which are all connected by small trails around the property. There are also a few western families that live there permanently and have built their own houses.
Everyone on the farm called one the Earthship, which is quite the enticing name. Turns out that it aims to be completely self-sustaining and reuses common materials like tires and bottles in the construction of the home. The building was circular with a huge domed tile roof rising twenty feet to a skylight that could be opened to regulate the internal temperature and humidity. This is important since there were also large planters on the inside filled with tropical plants that are meant to provide the occupant with food and are watered by the grey water that is used in the home, which they help clean. He also had large solar panels and a solar heater for hot water. It was very inspiring to see a sustainable and nearly self-supported house (he still cooked with gas) that was so aesthetically pleasing and comfortable. The owner even invited us to watch the newest documentary on Earthships Mexico in his home.
We, on the other hand, stayed in the "rustik hut", which was a very simple room with a kitchen outside and an outhouse a little way down the hill. The cabin was surrounded by coffee plants and banana trees, as well as many interesting animals (strange ferret like weasels, crazy bat-like moths, and monkeys along with the resident mouse of course).
Our first few days on the farm were raining and cloudy which gave us time to relax, read, and do lots of cooking. Once the weather cleared up we went on some hikes to surrounding villages, waterfalls, and climbed some of the mountain peaks around the farm. It was a really relaxing and wholesome place where we met a lot of nice people and got to have lots of time to ourselves away from the hustle and bustle of the Indian plains.
Finally checking our calendar and with so much more to see in India, we ventured forth to slowly wind our way down from the hills to Kerala, home to coconut trees, spice plantations, and the famous backwaters. We took several "hold on to your butts" buses to Allepey, where hundreds of large rice barge house boats lined the canals. We did a canoe tour of the backwaters, slowly cruising through the tiny villages and observing the slow pace of life. Women were washing clothes on river rocks, men were swimming among the invasive African moss that cloggs the waterways, and children dressed in school uniforms rode their oversized bikes on the small dirt paths. We had a traditional Keralan thali for lunch as well as toddy, fermented coconut beer and definitely an acquired taste.
Out next stop was a very rushed tour of Kochin, since we had to book last minute train tickets to Mumbai using the tadkal system (basically, you can buy a ticket on a train that is full one day in advance if there are any cancellations at a premium rate). Kochin has a long colonial history, functioning as a port town for the Portugese, Dutch, and British in their competitive quest to squeeze the other European powers out of the lucrative spice trade. It was also a place were many Jews settled after the sacking of the temple and has an aptly named "Jew Town", where you can see the oldest synagogue in India. We walked the old town, taking in the historic palaces, bungalows, and churches left by the colonial imperialists. Chinese fishing nets from the 15th century lined the shore, showing that the Malabar coast has been a draw for outsiders for a long long time. We even got to try our hand at hauling in the nets and caught a very small catfish along with a discarded half of a watermelon. We also went to a Khatakhali performance, the traditional dance of Kerala, which uses subtle eye movements, gestures, and intricate makeup to tell religious stories from the Ramayana, Mahabharata, and the Puranas.
We are now on our 26 and a half hour train ride to Mumbai. The hot dry air of the Deccan Plateau rushes through the windows of our sleeper berth. Wallahs of all kinds walk the dirty aisles of the train over encumbered with everything from chai to keychains. We just snacked on vada pav, a fried lentil patty in a soft bun, and a sweet lassi with cumin and cardamom. We are about 3 hours from our destination and will arrive just in time for rush hour on Friday evening to join the 6.1 million people that use the commuter trains everyday. Another day on the road and rails of India.
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| Hippie camp on paradise beach, Gokarna. |
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| Hiking back from Paradise to Kudlee Beach, this is the view of the small cove where we squatted. |
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| Women carry large, heavy bundles of wood from the woods to Gokarna town. |
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| Amanda poses in front of the opulent Mysore Palace. Photos weren't allowed inside, you're just going to have to come and check it out yourself! |
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| Kittens for 100 rupees only! Just kidding, they weren't for sale, but the owners didn't mind us oogling over them. |
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| Is that baby Krishna with a butter ball? No, it's just Colin eating a delicious sweet made of puffed rice, raisons, coconut and many spices in Mysore. |
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| Vivid colors for sale at the Mysore bazaar. |
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| Oh yeah, the kittens again, back at the bazaar. Couldn't get enough of these cuties! |
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| Who you callin' chicken leg? Someone must have dropped their chaat on the street in Mysore. |
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| The cactus house at the Botanical Gardens in Snooty Ooty. |
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| Our Rustik Hut on Karuna Farm, the last one in the remote corner of the property. |
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| Eucalyptus trees march to the top of the hill in the fog that surrounded us the first week at Karuna. |
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| Colin looks out into the clouds on "the rock" that jutted out over the valley on Karuna Farm, a great place to sit and meditate. |
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| A view of Karuna Farm from above. The red roofed building in the left corner is the Earth ship. |
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| Our outdoor kitchen. Not a bad place to fry some eggs and read in our hammocks. |
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| Hiking around Elephant Valley outside of Karuna Farm. Just to Amanda's left is a sheer drop of about 100 ft and a trickle of a waterfall. |
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| GO DAWGS!!!! Do you ever wonder what happens to the clothes that you donate to foreign lands? Well, it ends up for sale on the street in India or some other place. This sweet Huskies jacket was only $7, and I'm sure I could have bartered him down. If only I had room in my bag, it wasn't a triple XL, and it wasn't 95 degrees... |
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| Back in Kodiakanal Colin and I play tourist as we take out a swan shaped paddle boat around the lake. |
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| Jammin' through the Western Ghats on the bus, trying not to slide out of my seat! |
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| One of the many tea plantations we drove through as we made out way to Kerala. |
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| One of the 500 massive houseboats for rent in the backwaters of Kerala. They are all converted rice barges and go for $100 minimum per night. |
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| Our boat through the backwaters was of the paddle variety, which let us get into the smaller canals like this one. |
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| Rooster vs. Eagle. Did we mention Amanda now has a glass eye? |
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| Colin getting fit for a longi in Kochin. It's the best thing to wear in the Keralan heat. Not to mention that he loves getting dressed by shopkeeps. |
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| Traditional Khatakali dance in Kochin, Kerala. |
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| These fishing nets have been dipping in and out of the waters near Kochin for over 500 years. |
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| Lending a hand to the fishermen to drag their net from the water. The cheeky fisherman who took this photo asked for $20 from us for the chance. |
