Week 4 (part 1) - Fort Cochin and Munnar

Fort Cochin

We left Mumbai on a plane and landed in Cochin or loving called Kochi by her people. We’ve had a driver arranged at most of our places to come and get us and Denisan was there at the airport waiting for us. We had about an hour drive to get to our “homestay” at Reds Residency.  We drove through a HUGE shopping district. The main island of Kochi (where we landed) was really built up. We were so surprised at the number of billboards and car dealerships. Really a different site then so many other places we’ve been.

When we arrived at Reds we were greeted by Mary Anne, who was so sweet, gave us a map and explained where to go to see the Chinese Fishing Nets, beach, places to eat, historic district, major sites, etc. We went up to our room, which was on the top of this 3 floor home and had a balcony on one side and a patio on the opposite side. The lock to our door was AWESOME. It’s the traditional lock of Kerala (the state that Kochi is in).

We started walking toward the beach and I said to David – This is my FAVORITE place. (I said it about a thousand times). I really liked that it was a residential place, we weren’t being hassled to buy anything or take someone’s rickshaw on a tour, and there were awesome trees lining both sides of the road. We walked straight to the Chinese Fishing Nets, which are pretty amazing - they were catching TONS of fish. We watched the sun set and then went to eat a DELICOUS meal of freshly caught squid - boiled in garlic butter - and coconut prawns!

We walked home after dinner and just really enjoyed our first day there. Our second day we enjoyed a little less, cause the hassling began ;) and we were trying to look in some of the shops for different things. And UGH! Do we hate shopping? We just hate how it’s just STUFF! There were so many “junk” stores that just are selling junky stuff – poorly made, or actually dirty, or just the same as the store next door, and the prices are so ridiculous. David and I don’t like to bargain. It’s not our thing. So we just end up leaving, frustrated at the whole process – fighting that feeling of obligation to get something for everyone from the countries we visit. Ugh. We hate shopping.

We saw a traditional Kathakali dance that night. The make up is fantastic and takes over an hour to put on, which is something people are welcome to watch before the show. David and I laughed a good bit during the performance – the actors are incredibly expressive with their face and eyes, there’s no words, but there’s a visual language with their expressions and hand motions (we of course couldn’t crack the code – but back in the day all the audience would know it).

This was a good guy ;) Although he ended up killing the "lady" you see below - like I said, we didn't crack the code.

The next morning before we left Fort Cochin we stopped off at the a museum. This is a personal collection that took 25 years to compile and was so much more amazing that the national museum we saw in Delhi. It was spectacular the things this man had collected, and the incredible condition they were in. Really amazing things.

We then took a BEAUTIFUL drive to Munnar. Munnar is in the mountains, and we loved our ride. So many picturesque moments on the drive. We really enjoyed just staring out the window for the 4 hours it took to get there.  We visited a Spice Plantation on our way there, and that was really incredible. I’ll write more later about thoughts I’ve had about food and our proximity to our food in the US.

Munnar

Oh Munnar! How we love you! I LOVED this place. My ABSOLUTE FAVORITE! I laughed when we got here how much I’d raved about Kochi, cause this was by FAR my favorite. First, our room was amazing! We had a second floor room, so our balcony was open air able to look out on the beautiful mountains and tea plantations, and also the beautiful sunsets and stars and moon as they came out at night. We spent both nights out on our balcony and they were so wonderfully peaceful.

The place we stayed was INCREDIBLE! So peaceful, the people who owned it and worked there were so kind, and it was in a beautiful place. Our room was wonderful, the meals were amazing (prepared by owner’s wife- fantastic chef) and the morning yoga sessions (given by the owner himself) were the absolute BEST I’ve ever attended. We were in an open air gazebo facing the mountain, and I literally had the sun break on my face as I was doing sun salutations. LOVED it!

David and I did get out and go on a long and beautiful drive through the mountains and around the tea plantations. But we turned down an opportunity to go to another National Forest in order just to go back to our little haven and relax on our balcony. This was really the first place where we’ve just kicked back and relaxed! 

What would you do for food?

This was the conversation that arose as Janine and I ate lunch today.  It wasn't about how much we were enjoying the veg fried rice and Haka mixed noodles at a beach side cafe (and I mean literally on the sand, on the beach), it was about the little girl who performed circus acts and then went around asking for money afterwards right in the sand in front of the restaurant.

Janine wrote a post about poverty, about it being in your face in the places we have lived over the last 4 months, and all the feelings it invokes, I did not weigh in, but here we go.

We watched as the little girl, maybe 9 or 10, helped her partner, likely her mom or older sister set up a tight rope from a few bamboo poles and yellow nylon rope.  She had a mallet and beat a big metal stake into the ground that served as her rope’s anchor.  She honestly had the poise and look of what I imagine John Henry having as he raced that machine laying down railroad spikes.

She started the show by doing contortionist acts, I wondered in my head whether being doubled jointed here was a curse or a blessing.  Her partner beat out a rhythm on a little drum, as the girl danced with a few gold bowls on her head and then climbed the bamboo pole and started her act. At first she simply walked across the line, then she walked with an old bicycle rim in between her legs, placing each step on the inside of the rim. The maneuvers continued to increase in difficulty as the 5 minute show went on.

At the conclusion, the drum stopped and the partner started breaking down the tight rope.  It went up in 5 minutes, the show lasted 5 minutes, and it was down in 4.  The little girl started making her rounds to the outer tables of the two beachside establishments.  I watched as she stood staring at a european couple that acted as though she was not there.  They looked intensely at one another, not saying a word to each other.  You could hear the words in their head formulating “If we pretend she’s not there, she will go away, and go bother that other couple eating the fish curry.”

She walked to the couple eating the fish curry.  Janine asked me if we could purchase another bottle of water to give them.  I had the same thought only moments earlier, so within a minute Janine was handing the girl a cold Aquafina to the response of “thank you,” and then she traveled to the next table.  That couple told her they “didn’t have anything” and the next couple gave her 10 rupees (20 cents).

We watched her slowly drink the water we had given her, then her partner lifted the bamboo poles on to her head, the little girl lifted a bundle containing the rope, stakes, mallet and other possessions on to her head, and they headed the 2 km walk down the beach to next group of beach shacks.

Janine and I sat at our table and continued what seems to be a pretty constant discussion of poverty.  How giving money is not sustainable.  How she is only being encouraged to keep asking for money when she receives it. I remarked how I wish somebody would give the girl a college fund, and how America truly is the land of opportunity, because people don’t walk on tight ropes on beaches in Florida just hoping to get enough money to eat that day.  In America, there is option after option to get an education, to get food, and to have some resemblance of a stable safe environment to live in.  That is not the case for many people in India.  Even the people we serve in Africa are in a better situation than that little girl and her partner seemed to be.

That little girl had no choice. Sadly, it’s doubtful that in the smallest state in India, Goa, with one of the highest Christian populations in the country, this little girl will know much else than performing for survival.  She will likely walk a tight rope until the day comes when its her turn to carry the poles and beat the drum.

Janine remarked that she would likely do the same to eat if she had to, she said she actually feared to think what she might do if she was actually starving.  The fact is that most likely anyone reading this post hasn’t been in that situation, and by God’s grace won’t be.  But the question for me is, what do we do for the little girl?

Do we just give her money, so that she will continue to walk the same beach, performing the same acts, for the children of the sun burnt tourists that watched her years before?  I pray not.  Money is not the answer to poverty as we have observed over and over.  Choice, education, and resources are the way to end poverty and give little girls, like the one who heart-breakingly provided our lunch time entertainment, an opportunity to live in the God given dignity you and I experience every single waking moment.

Feel free to weigh in with your thoughts and opinions. Thank you once again for taking an interest in our lives, as we pray for God to give us eyes to take an interest in the lives of others.  Grace and Peace. 

Week 3 of Our Whistle-stop Tour

So it's been way too long since we told you what we've been up to here in India.  Our trip has been really fast moving but in doing so, in only 4 weeks we have seen many of the highlights of north, central, and southern India.  We have only stayed in each spot for 2 nights at most.  We are going to continue to let the pictures tell the stories, so here we go...


Khajuraho

This place is famous for these temples that different Maharajahs built throughout the history of India.  They are really old and were not destroyed during war times because they were hidden so deep in the forest.  They are ridiculously intricate. 

This is a close up on the temple.  There are millions of these intricate carvings covering every inch of the temple. If you've heard of Khajuraho, you've probably heard of the "suggestive" carvings some of the temples have. It's true, but to be honest, they weren't as prominent and distractive as we thought they might be. The temples were really beautiful and incredibly vast. 

Janine has made it a point to take the "self photos" everywhere we go, she's become an expert! (For you "Friends" lovers - Janine is totally Joey from the London episode - and David is actually kinder than Chandler, but still hates it.)

On Safari - Bandhavgarh and Khana National Parks

TIGERS!  Two adolescents male brothers.  They were the only ones we saw the whole time.  It was on our first game drive about an hour in.  We had 5 game drives total.

This is the countryside as we drove in between parks. We've had an opportunity to see a lot of the country side as we have driven and riden trains throughout India. Really lovely places. 

 A male Somber Deer after his mud bath.

The Monkey King's Throne.

Mumbai aka Bombay

This is us on New Year's Day in downtown Mumbai by Chowpatty beach.

 We took a 4 hr tour around the city with an 18 year old girl who works for the travel agency we booked our trip with. She was FANTASTIC and took us all around. One place we stopped outside was the Taj Palace hotel; this is where some terrorist attacks occurred in 2008.

This is Dhobi Ghat, the largest of this type of laundry system in Mumbai.  There are multiple areas like this in different sections of the city that the people of that neighborhood use for their laundry service. This one has been around for more than 150 years! The men who work there (men only) are incredibly savvy - a large majority are illiterate and use a symbol or tag system to help them keep the clothes together for each person or family. AMAZING! There are no clothes pins - there are 2 ropes twisted and the clothes are pinched between them. The clothes are handwashed in concrete stalls - beat against the walls - look right in front of all the white clothes hung together. Pretty Incredible stuff. 

We had laundry done through our hotel service, and when it came back every piece had a thread stitched through a tag or button or something with this tag on it. EVERY piece!

We walked thru a market in Mumbai... as we have in many many places. But we love the fruits and veggies everywhere. We love how families buy daily and eat these fresh everyday. Jealous really, and have thought sooo much about how in America we are so far away from our food. It's sad really. We are way to insulated. More about that another day. 

Coming up in our next Blog... Week 4: Cochin, Munnar, Alleppey and where we are now, Goa.