For a few rupees more
With his first Indian wedding in the books, your intrepid correspondent was ready for some rest, relaxation, and pampering. A group of seven of us flew south from Bangalore to the state of Kerala. It’s a fairly diverse state; we started off with a visit to Niramaaya Backwater Retreats, an Ayurvedic wellness retreat located on the shores of Vembanad Lake in Kumarkom, India’s second-largest lake.
It was otherworldly. The placidity of the lake reflected endless palm fronds, and colorful tropical birds populated the marshy habitat near the shore. For those two days, we got Ayurvedic massages, relaxed by the pool, and went on a houseboat day trip cruising the backwaters.
This lake is known for its tiger prawns, so we took a pit stop at a local fishmonger to pick up the day’s catch. Our houseboat chefs prepared them as part of our lunch. I’ve never been a big crustacean guy, but after eating about a pound of these I’m coming around on them.
We spent New Years Eve a few hours away in Kochi, the capital of Kerala. My friend Sugu had close family friends living in the suburbs nearby, so we stopped along the way to visit their home and they took us to one of the best seafood meals I’ve had in my life. More tiger prawns, please.
Our hotel for the evening was located in the historic part of Kochi. As we said our goodbyes and prepared to pile into Ubers, we learned that all roads into the historic part of Kochi were blocked off for New Years — our only option was to take a ferry over with the locals. Now looking back, that ferry ride was the first “real India” backpacking experience of the trip, much more in-line with how I’ve been living my life for the past five months. Everything else in India had been on rails up to that point — having to shove my way in line to buy us ferry tickets and overcrowd onto an unwieldy barge was a change of pace, and for me, a whiff of the familiar.
But then we arrived at our hotel and it was right back into luxury. Kochi, interestingly enough, was actually a Jewish settlement that traces its roots back to the 12th century. Most of the remaining Jews made aliyah to Israel in the 1950s, but I asked around and learned there are still a few left. A lot of sightseeing and shopping takes place in the “Jew Town” district of Kochi. Very surreal seeing a synagogue in India, and hanukiahs and mezuzahs on display in the shops. In fact, our hotel was the former home of wealthy Jews — it came complete with a mikveh!
The Kochi hotel was stunning, but I’m learning being a “heritage” hotel just means you can get away with things like not having mosquito nets, charge double, and call it authentic. The New Years party they threw was a bit lame as well; though not entirely their fault — the state mandates no alcohol be sold after 11pm. Emboldened by our smuggled-in vodka and and Red Bull, I spiced things up a little at the event by jumping in the pool clothed when the clock struck twelve.
We were down to five people for the final leg of our barnstorming Kerala tour: a visit to the highlands and tea country surrounding the city of Munnar. We stopped on the way up at a spice garden, taking a short tour and learning about how every medical problem you could possibly have can be cured with fruits and nuts. I did cross off another mini-bucket list item at this stop — eating the fruit from a raw cacao pod.
Our hotel, The Panoramic Getaway, was one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever stayed. Situated on the edge of a cliff overlooking a valley, it featured two pools, one of which is an infinity pool overlooking the sunset, and two delicious restaurants.
Our first full day, we ventured into tea country to see what it had to offer. We paid a visit to a tea museum factory (my third such factory, given I hit two of them in Sri Lanka), and took a jeep ride through the Kolukkumalai Tea Estate, the world’s highest tea estate. The area and experiences reminded me a lot of Sri Lanka, but I wasn’t bored in the slightest. These tea fields were simply stunning. Our rickety jeep made it all the way to the top of the estate to a viewpoint that straddles the states of Kerala and Tamil Nandu, but unfortunately the late afternoon fog had already settled in.
The following day, we were told of a spot where it’s possible to see elephants crossing the road. We drove over there, but didn’t have any luck with elephants. We instead visited a popular lakeside spot for locals called Echo Point, and did a short hike through tea country. We also stopped for lunch and shopping in the city of Munnar, where we had paper dosas and another dose of my favorite Indian snack food, gobi manchurian. We returned to the hotel in the early evening to enjoy another sunset from the infinity pool.
Greg and Nicola left us the next day, bringing our Kerala expedition down to three members. We lazed about in the morning, and spent the entire afternoon and evening at a cooking class with Nimi’s Culinary Adventures. It was an awesome class, and Nimi is an inspiring woman. She walked us through everything from combining spices through final plating, and we all sat down as a group to eat and hear her story. Her cookbooks have won international awards, and she regularly travels within and outside of India to do cooking demonstrations and shows.
The next day, it was time for all of us to go our separate ways. Venkat and Micky started their long journeys back to the US, and I, solo once more, continued on to the northern India state of Rajasthan. Rajasthan would be prove to be much more aligned with what I had romanticized India to be: historic temples and forts with bulbous domes, vaulted gateways, and vast open halls. Street markets crammed into narrow alleyways, teeming with shouty shopkeepers and women adorned in colorful saris. Dry, dusty mountains leading out into endless deserts.
Udaipur was my first stop in Rajasthan. It’s built around several lakes, several of which feature old forts on small islands in the middle that have been converted into heritage hotels. It is an incredibly beautiful and mysterious place. I spent my leisure time there hanging out on the roof of my hostel, playing cards and trying to keep warm by the fire (it was between 40–60 degrees throughout the remainder of my stay). It was fun getting back into making backpacker friends — a few standouts are Luc, a French diplomat, and Jason, a fellow tech worker escapee from Los Angeles. I also visited several local landmarks, including a visit to the City Palace, the Moonsoon Palace, Jagdish Temple, and the nearby Bahubali Hills.
Rajasthan is really big. Getting between cities can take several hours at minimum, so that means planes, trains, and automobiles. I had my first Indian train experience making the trek from Udaipur to Pushkar. India now has an online booking system for trains, making it pretty easy to book them a day or two in advance.
Pushkar is a holy city known for its Brahma Temple, one of the only temples dedicated to him in the world. The city is centered around a holy lake, with ghats (ceremonial steps) ringing its borders. I only had a night here, so I spent my time engaged in my favorite backpacking activity — eating street food and wandering around the market. I did also pay a sunset visit to Savitri Mata, a temple accessible by gondola. Plenty of monkeys abound, and the sunset was magical.
I took a bus from Pushkar to Jaipur, “The Pink City” of Rajasthan. It makes up 1/3 of the Golden Triangle, the well-trodden tourist circuit of New Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur. It’s a bit difficult to get around Jaipur with public transportation, and there weren’t many backpackers in the area, so I hired an autorickshaw driver to chauffeur me around the two days I was there. There have been noticeably fewer backpackers in each of these cities thus far, which my hostel owner attributed to the unrest around India’s new citizenship law. As the capital of Rajasthan, it was definitely busier and dirtier than the other two, but featured incredible architecture and forts looming from cliffs down on the city below. That first full day was a whirlwind of these forts and palaces, including the Hawa Mahal, City Palace, Jantar Matar, Amber Fort, Jal Mahal, and Gaitore.
Given there were so few guests at my hostel, I ended up spending a lot of downtime in the evenings hanging out with Bhavik, the owner. We played a lot of carrom together — it’s like pool that you play with your fingers and checkers pieces. I don’t think I won a single game; the man is a shark.
That second day in Jaipur primarily consisted of visiting the Nahargarh Fort and shopping before my train to Agra in the evening.
I arrived in Agra quite late and wound my way down narrow streets through an evening drizzle to the next hostel. Agra has a few landmarks to see, but far and away the biggest draw here is the Taj Mahal. I planned on falling asleep early in anticipation of being one of the first at the Taj in the morning, but the hostel owners plied me awake with endless cups of chai, hookah, and funny stories, so I ended up only getting a few hours of sleep in before my alarm yelled at me at 5am. The fog from the previous evening had not lifted, so those backpackers with less of a tight schedule snoozed their alarms to try for a visit with clear air in the evening. I didn’t have that luxury, so I trudged alone down a damp promenade toward the East Gate.
Walking through the mosque in the entryway, the Taj Mahal appears framed by the massive vaulted gate that leads out into the sprawling garden complex. The building takes up all the space in the gate, appearing larger than life, but as you approach the building strangely shrinks in size. I‘ve seen countless pictures of this scene, so I thought I’d show up, take a picture, and go back to the hostel. But I was really profoundly moved by my communion with the Taj. I ended up staying there for two hours, circumnavigating the complex a few times and ponying up the extra few hundred rupees to venture inside.
On the way out of Agra, I made one final sightseeing stop at the Red Fort before boarding my bus to Delhi.
I primarily used my time in Delhi to shop and rest. On recommendation, I did get some KFC with local spices which turned out to be delicious!
I ended up having a long layover in Singapore, so I made the effort to leave the airport. Singapore is truly a city of the future; it’s surreal. I checked out of the view of the roof deck of the Marina Bay Sands, wandered the Gardens by the Bay, and toured the Cloud Forest. There’s definitely some more to check out there; I’ve heard the street food is amazing. I’d definitely make another trip back.
And that’s the end — I’m back in San Fransisco! The trip may be over, but the blog sure ain’t. I’d like to do one more write-up on Indian Food Power Rankings, as well as a more well-thought-out conclusion to this series once the jet lag wears off and I have a little more distance from the trip. Thanks for reading :)
Update: I mentioned in a previous post staying in my pregnant friend’s driveway in Wanaka. She’s since had her baby and sent along this photo! Jelle and I got her a bottle of wine with instructions not to open until after her due date.
