Historical Journey

Jophie and his wife, Subeena, invited me on a tour of historical Kochi, and I was happy to take up their offer.After some island hopping over some new bridges and almost getting lost in a pot hole (some of these pot holes in the road are big), we reached a ferry point to cross over to Fort Kochi. The view was nice because you could see the city on the other side of the bay - fishing boats were a regular site...as well as fishing canoes which toss out small nets.

 

When the ferry came, I noticed it was a "one way loading ferry". This means you drive off the ferry in a forward gear, and you drive on the ferry in a backward gear.

 

I think India's country motto is "If there is a space, fill it.". So, I was wondering how many people and cars they could fit on the ferry without it sinking.

 

The answer to my question was, if the boat starts to sink, nobody else can get on. Once the ferry was over loaded with to much cargo, it backed out and went to the other side.

 

 

Once we got to the other side, we tried to find an old Jewish Synagogue which has been around since 1568. Here is what the sign said:

"The Paradesi Synagogue was built in 1568 by descendants of Spanish, Dutch and other European Jews. It has served as a functioning synagogue throughout the centuries, and preserves a unique record of Jewish presence in India. The Clock Tower was added later in 1760."

Here is a pic of the clock tower and the gates. They don't allow pictures inside. You also must have "modest atire" to get in...there were a couple of guys with sleevless shirts, and they had to go to a shop nearby to get something to cover their arms. They may not allow people with shorts in either...so be prepared to dress in short sleeve and pants...or make the appropriate offering to the clothing shop next door.

 

After looking at old paintings, tile work and other old religious artifacts, we headed back out to the street to look at what the local shops had to offer.

 

There were lots of antique statues and figures. We think a lot of this material was made to look old, but it really wasn't.

 

There were numerous spice shops, and the spices smelled great.

 

We walked into an art gallery, and they had art work from local artists which the gallery sold on commission.

 

I found some old clocks here. So, these picks are for my Grandpa who is the "Clock Maker of the Ozarks".

 

We did find some great works in a few of the shops. Some were new and some were antique. These doors are antique, and the craftsmen ship is amazing.

 

There are some incredible metal work going on. I was told people from all over the world learn techniques to pour solid metal castings. The lion below is a full sized lion, and the vat is the largest single cast vat in the world.

 

We also found some interesting statues.

 

We took a quick break at a local shop and had tea and cake, and then headed off to a temple that was close by.

 

Our final stop was at St. Francis Church where Vasco da Gama was buried. According to wikipedia, his remains were returned to Portugal, but the original headstone is still on church grounds.

 

It was a great trip, and many thanks to Jophie and Subeena. We ended our historical journey eating dinner  at a well known site  of Jewish ancestor y which has been  converted into a hotel\restaurant.

There were a lot of different cultures passing through Kochi over the many centuries, and the current culture reflects this diversity in the wide range of religions that are still practiced today.

Wayanad Jungle

 

I had heard some great things about Wayanad area, and the folks at G.O.C. made arrangements for me to go there for a few days. Here is some info about the district http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayanad . There are wild life sanctuaries, historical caves, waterfalls, lakes, tea plantations, and temples. It's a high mountain range area with peaks over 2000 meters (over 6,000 feet). From a geological perspective, it is a very short distance from the sea to this high mountain area in the Western Ghats (perhaps 200 miles or 300 km). In the U.S., the Washington and Oregon western areas have similar geology which makes for spectacular mountain scenes.

By car, the trip from Kochi to Vythiri is about 6 hours. With encouragement from my co-workers, I took a train from Kochi to Kozhikode otherwise known as Calicut. From Kozhikode, I was to take a taxi for 2 hours to the Vythiri Resort. Of course, with my tendency to get lost, it wasn't that simple. The train was nice because the car I was in was air conditioned. Vendors walked up and down the isles of the train selling snaks, drinks and food. They would call out just like a vendor at a Baseball game..."Coffee, Coffe, get your creamy rich Coffee here". The only thing missing was the amazing accuracy of peanut vendors tossing bags to customers half way down an isle from behind their back.

The bad thing about the train is that it's difficult to know where you are. Apparently, I was supposed to know all the stops before I got on the train or ask someone every 5 minutes "Am I there yet?". There isn't a loud speaker that tells you what stop is coming and what stop is next. All I had to go on was the occasional station sign that wizzed past my window. Since I thought my stop was 5-6 hours away, I didn't get very concerned. When I reached Kunnar, the ticket attendant came to me and said it was time for me to get off. When I asked, "is this Kozhikode?", he replied, "Kozhikode is 90 minutes back. The resort called the station master, and they have been trying to find you." ...Oh...whoops...I guess my stop was 4 hours not 5-6...Oh...whoops...I guess I should have been asking "Am I there yet?" every 5 minutes.

The ticket attendant dropped me off at the station master's headquarters, and there were smiles on a number of faces in the room when I arrived. It's a good thing I enjoy entertaining people at my own expense. They were all very helpful, and they bought me a cup of tea. After talking with the resort on what to do next, I elected to to take a taxi from Kunnar railway station to Kozikode railway station where the resort taxi was still waiting for me. The positive in this mis-adventure is that I was able to see Kunnar at night. After about 90 minutes of driving, we ended up in Kozhikode, and we got lost. The taxi driver asked people along the street for directions, and we eventually made it to the Kozhikode railway station. I was about 3 hour late at this point.

It was about 10:00pm when we left the Kozhikode railway station to head to the resort. I still had 2 hours of traveling by car left as we needed to get to the top of a mountain pass to reach the resort. Since there wasn't anybody on the streets in the small towns we passed, the taxi driver sped through them at 80km an hour (50 mph). Any occasional lost goat or night life pedestrian quickly leaped to the side of the road as the taxi driver blinked his bright lights on and off which communicated, "I'm not slowing down under any circumstances...so if you don't want to be road kill, you better get out of the way". I was amazed at how effective and universal this form of communication was on humans and non-humans alike. I have also been suspect that drivers in India only have two modes of driving - pass and stop - where stopping is only allowed when you reach your destination.

After about an hour of driving, we hit the winding cut back roads that headed up to the top of the mountain pass. The moon was out, and I could see across the valley below. We had the windows rolled down, and the air was much cooler but still humid. It was a surreal feeling when I thought about starting the day in Kochi where there are a couple of million people in their tall buildings, and ending the day looking over a moonlite jungle at 2000 meters.

Another 30 minutes later we reached the top of the pass, and I was waiting for a band to be playing and fireworks to declare my arrival, but that didn't happen. Perhaps my 3 hour delay via Kunnar put the band past their bedtime. A few minutes after reaching the top of the pass we were at the road that lead to the resort. I was told this was a "Natural Road" which was 3 kilometers long heading deeper into the jungle. I determined that a "Natural Road" means a road made of small boulders that should be driven at two miles per hour, but my taxi driver thougth a "Natural Road" was a road made of small boulders to be driven based on how much air time you get out of your seat - he drove at about a 0.25 second air time. When his head hit the roof of the car, he slowed down a little bit.

After 15 minutes on this "Natural Road" getting a "Natural Massage" and "Natural Bruises", we finally reached the resort around 12:00am (midnight). I had started the day at 6:00 am, and 18:00 hours later, I reached my destination. Of course, like the station master headquarters, the people waiting for me at the resort reception desk were all smiling. I apologized about my delay, and made a joke about it. We all laughed. I thought I would be the running joke around the resort for a number of days, but then I assumed people would forget me as soon as the next foreigner did something really stupid - which turned out to be  two days later, and I was all but forgotten.

The next morning, I was able to take a look at the resort for the first time. One thing to remember about Vythiri Resort is that it is very eco-friendly. They are so far into the jungle that the electricity must come from generators. They use solar power for heating water for showers. Vythiri Resort is an attempt to embed itself into the jungle without disturbing nature itself.

 

I apparently had one of the better rooms at the resort. The balcony overlooked into the jungle and I could see the small waterfall and creek below me.

 

When I came back from breakfast, I opened the doors to the balcony and went into the bathroom to brush my teeth. When I came out there was  monkey looking at me from the top rail. She stared at me, and I stared at her for a few moments. I guess she was checking out the new guest, and when I went to get my camera she leaped off into a tree. She may have been camera shy, or she thought I might try to put her into my backpack as a souvenir.

There are different types of units at the resort. I had a cabin type, but there are others as shown in the pics below.

 

 There is an exercise room, play ground and court area.

 

The resort has a large conference area.

 

There is a cool rope bridge you have to cross to get to reception with a view of one of their small water falls.

 

There is a swimming pool. This wasn't used much, but I noticed a lot of baby monkeys were hanging around playing with each other from time to time. I didn't see any of them dive in and splash about - maybe they needed a monkey bathing suit for that.

 

The climate was much cooler than I expected, but still humid and wet. I'd recommend a light jacket around the resort because much of the resort is in the shade. Here is the reception area.

 

Now that I've seen the resort, it was time to see the rest of Wayanad. The resort reception hooked me up with an all day taxi, and he took me around to see the sites. By the way, he knew about my train mishap, and we joked about it. I was really hoping another foreigner would do something stupid, and I could stop being the running joke for the week.

Our first stop was Eddakal Caves which took us past Phantom rock. I found a map painted on a boulder there. This is probably the best map I've seen in India at this point, and I couldn't take it with me. I think being lost in India is supposed be a regular state of mind.

 

Eddakal Caves called a cave, but the curator said it was a natural rock shelter from an ancient earthquake.

 

There are carvings on the walls from the stone age era and other writings from over 300 B.C. The leader of the tribe is on the left and the queen is on the right. There are also figures of pets and children along with many other carvings from these stone age people.

 

Here is a nice pic from within the cave.

Getting the cave is quite a climb, but there are great vista points. Along the way, tender coconut was for sale to quench your thirst, and monkeys were everywhere eating the leftovers.

 

My next stop was at Soojipara Waterfalls which was through some tea plantations. This area was spectacular as it's many square kilometers in size. I've been told Munar is even bigger. Perhaps a good analogy would be that Munar tea might be like Kansas wheat, and Wayand tea might be like Washington apples. Kansas wheat acrage is enormous, and Washington apple orchards are huge. So to me, one is enormous and one is huge…which means they are both big in my view.

 

 

We also had some nice views of the mountains.

 

After about 2 hours driving, we arrived at the waterfall parking lot, and then I took a very pleasant hike for about a kilometer to the falls. There are some people under the fall to give you an idea of the size. This waterfall is always running, and it is the biggest in Wayanad.

 

The next day, I went to an over look point across the valley. This is the valley I saw at night on my up to the pass.

 

 

There were a number of monkey's looking for hand outs, and they got their fill of goodies.

 

We then went to Pookot Lake which has paddle boats and pony rides. It's a very family oriented place. A historical site called Chain Tree is up the hill from the lake entrance.

 

There were even more monkeys here. I saw at least 2 or 3 dozen, and they were all playing with each other. I watched them for a long time. Her e is a pic of a small family I saw up in a tree. They appear to be grooming them selves, and an infant monkey can be seen in the middle of the pic.

 

The next stop was at Muthunga Wildlife Sanctuary on the other end of Wayanad. You need to make sure you have your Visa with you or they may not let you into the park. I was told it's best to be there around 6:00am or 6:00pm as that is when all the animals come to the water holes. I got there to early in the day, and I didn't see much. One group saw a python, and we saw spotted deer.

 

This is one of the water holes we visited to find animals. Since it was still to early, nobody seemed thirsty.

 

Our best find of the day was some tiger tracks. The paw print below is as large as a human hand from finger tip to the heal of the hand with the fingers spread. This is not a zoo but a sanctuary where wildlife is allowed to be on it's own to fend for itself. We had a guide with us, but nobody was armed because we were in a jeep which would allows us to easily get away. There was definitely a heightened sense of our surroundings because there could be animals in the brush that could attack the vehicle. We kept our distance from any wildlife we saw because their behavior was generally known but ultimately unpredictable, and we stayed on the side of caution and safety.

 

I was also able to get some nice computer desktop pics while in the area which is always a bonus for me.

 

My favorite pics were these:

 

 

 

My travel back to Kochi was long, but uneventful. I had learned my lesson, and I kept asking the guy next to me on the train, "Is this Kochi?", "Is this Kochi?", "Is this Kochi?" ...He didn't seem to mind, and I think that is because I think it's normal for everyone to be lost in India.

 

Back in Kochi

I'm back in Kochi. I was about ready to leave from work, and Franklin opened up the window, and there before me was the Indian sun in all it's glory posing for me and telling me to take it's picture. I was happy to oblige.

 

The picture above was a zoomed in pic.  Jophie mentioned that the weather comes in from the west during monsoon, and if the sky is red, then no storms are coming. Since monsoon is over, and the weather now comes from east that no longer is true as there is a shower coming in as shown in the pic below

It rained heavily for about an hour after I took this picture, and all is calm again. It was a nice welcome back.

North of India

While in India, I've been to a number of places, but India is a big place, and it is hard to see everything. I was told to go up North to see new things, and my trip to Northern India began...or so I thought. I traveled for many days and nights, but I became lost early on in the journey. I have a really hard time asking for directions, as most American men do...which means I ploddingly moved by way of mental compass to the north. It started to become evident to me that my wayward path had gone wildly astray as the weather turned wet and cold. I didn't remember anything about wet and cold in the India travel books except perhaps in the Himalayas...had I gone that far off course. I continued forward until night fall, and I checked into a hotel which was over 15 stories high. Perhaps a view from high above would allow me to get my bearings.

 

It was really too dark to see anything at this point, but something didn't seem right. Where were all the billboards?

 

When the sun arose, I thought everything was good. I didn't see any big mountains. So, I wasn't in the Himalayas. The problem was that I still didn't know where I was. I waited for the sun to rise further, and perhaps I would see a land mark.

 

Once the sun peeked above the city landscape. I was a bit confused. There were not many cars on the road. The roads were in good condition, and people were riding bicycles everywhere instead of motorcycles. There were not three wheeled auto rickshaw death mobiles to be found anywhere. Pedestrians were crossing the street without fear of being run over by a large red government bus...what fantasy land was this. I zoomed my camera in further to get a closer look at the building in hopes for a clue.

 

O.K. Those are windmills in the background. I've never read about windmills in India, and that clock tower...how far off course was I. I guess now would be a good time to ask for directions. I went down to the hotel lobby, and asked the clerk where I was. He looked at me a little strange, and blinked his eyes while looking down at the floor with a confused look. I asked again, and he raised his head, while wearing squinty eyes and a very curious brow. He then said, "Sir, you are in Copenhagen." Hmmm...I don't remember a town in India called Copenhagen. I then asked, "Where is Copenhagen?". I believe he took a step backward at that point as the situation was getting very unsettling to him. "Sir, Copenhagen is in Denmark.". The clerk paused, and took a step forward, and then assertively said, "Next to Germany and Sweden.", as if to interrupt any more stupid questions I might have. At this point, I was a bit dumb founded. I knew I was a bit off course but how did I get all the way to Denmark. I thought about introducing a cover story about space aliens, but the clerk was already calling the local police for his own safety, and that's when I left to go outside to see if he was right or not.

 

This is the pic of the hotel, and it's called the Scandic. I wonder if that is shor t for Scandinavian - maybe the clerk was right. But then I ran across the "Irish Rover" pub. I wasn't in Ireland was I?

 

I then started to see pedestrians who all had blond hair and blue eyes. That means I was definitely not in India. I really did go to far north. But, all the way to Denmark...it can't be. I continue to look around the city.

I tried to talk to this guy, but he wouldn't stop playing his accordion. It did sound like polka, but that's Germany right?

There was a bull a top this building, but what country has pastel colors with bulls. Spain doesn't do that.

I think this was a science experiment gone terribly awry, but the building is great. Maybe I was in England. When I went a little further I found this canal.

O.K. Either the clerk was right, and I am really in Denmark, or I discovered a long lost ancient European city in Pakistan. If I discovered a long lost European city in Iran, I'd be killed because they would not want anyone to know about their Euro Envy....so with that logic, I must be in Denmark.

Since I'm in Copenhagen, I might as well take advantage of it, and take some pics.

Here is another canal. I guy in the bottom right seemed to be following me around a lot, and he was constantly looking at his cell phone. Perhaps he was waiting for a call or trying to find a good signal. I kept my eye on him in case he was one of those sneaky Denmark pick pockets we have all heard about.

Another guy asked me to take his photo in this shot, but he is not there. Either I imagined this person or I used the wrong camera.

This is proof to my India colleagues that there isn't much traffic in Denmark - notice how the people are walking on the road and not looking for large red busses. I'm sure they think I've doctored the photos though.

In Denmark, bicycles have the right of way over cars and pedestrians. This was a bit of a shock as I was almost run over a couple of times on the numerous bike routes which are everywhere. These bicyclists are bloody and ruthless, and they wield their power with ultimate authority. The bicycle in the bottom left of the picture with the brown basket attached had a freshly severed head in it. After feeling sick to my stomach, I could not help but notice it was the head of a taxi driver that forgot the "rules of the road" in Denmark.

This is a park with some rides, but they are going broke because the three people standing outside are the only customers, and they are stuck in the middle of the square because they are afraid of the bicycle crossing zone of death.

This is a great building. It's unfortunate that there are no people in Denmark to appreciated it. I should also note that the blue bicycle lane was really stained blood red. I changed it blue in PhotoShop to keep people from getting sick. I also removed a few beheaded corpses which were mashed by the numerous mountain bikes...and yea...it smelled bad too.

Yes, those are inflatable head phones attached to a tower. Yes, I thought I was not in Denmark, but completely delusional. Apparently there was a week long music festival going on, and I was not invited...how rude.

These are not real people but manikins. They are of course taxed  50% like all the other non-living people in Denmark.

This is a bull with it's head diving into a serpent of some kind. It scared the pigeons, but not the guy just left of the statue. It's the same guy who was staring at his cell phone. I really think he is following me, and I'm getting a little scared.

This shot is for my Grandfather who is the "Clockmaker of the Ozarks". He like clocks, and they are all over Denmark.

One of the reason for the lack of people in Denmark is not only the beheading bicyclists, but these creatures are running around without a leash. They only seem to eat over paid union workers. So, I was safe taking this pic...and no, this union worker did not make it up the ladder in time. Like most union workers, he was to slow or his union card only allowed him to climb ladders very slowly.

I eventually reached a central square with a nice fountain in it.

On closer inspection of the fountain, there is something coming out of the woman's 2 nipples at the top of the fountain. I guess that would explain the foam in the pool below.

Here you go Grandpa, More clocks. I guess wrist watches are too expense in Denmark, and they need clock everywhere.

This brown building is a bank - it's empty. The white building is a hospital for pedestrians who try to walk across the bicycle lanes - it's full.

It looks like I found some real people hiding away in an obscure alley way. I think they all owed tax to the government as they looked very paranoid and edgy.

Yes, this architecture goes on and on and on. Amazing isn't it.

Yep, it just keeps going.

No, it doesn't stop here.

I feel like I'm being brain washed. Go to Denmark. Go to Denmark. You will go to Denmark and spend all your money. Go to Denmark.

This was an entrance to a park where people never seem to walk on the grass. I think it costs more if you do that.

This is the middle of the park. Which is fairly large, and nobody seems to want to use it. There are no bicycles here, and therefore I expected there would be lots of people and vendors selling hot dogs in a loaf of bread...or whatever they call it. I then realized all of this was someone's front lawn.

I guess we know where all the Denmark tax money goes. This palace\castle has a moat and armed guards carrying M-16 type rifles. Since I wasn't a citizen from Denmark and I don't pay Denmark taxes, they had nothing to fear from me. So, they let me walk around.

And my favorite pic...

All of this walking has made me hungry. I headed to one of the oldest restaurants in Copenhagen called "Det Lille Apotek". The stalker guy who was following me all day, was still hot on my heals. I thought I would play a trick on him, and so I headed into the restaurant. The stalker guy walked in behind me as I expected. When the waiter asked how many, I said two, and the stalker guy looked a bit stunned. He didn't know what to do, but followed waiter to a table. My plan was working well. I started a conversation with the stalker guy to try an convince him I was a lonely tourist in a foreign land who was looking for someone to talk to over dinner. When I told him I was paying, his tensions eased, and he sat back relaxed and ordered a Apotek beer. We chatted for a while, and the stalker guy didn't seem that bad of a person, but I don't like being stalked. So, after dinner I told him I was going to the restroom. When I got to the restroom, there was a small window open to the street above as the restaurant was in a half basement. I opened the window and crawled out leaving the bill to be paid by the stalker guy. I felt a little bad afterward because who know what first century tortures would by applied to the stalker guy - I was in Denmark after all.

I did manage to get a pic of the restaurant. So, if you are a family member of the stalker guy, his remains are probably in the vicinity.

Now that I've walked and eaten in Denmark, and seen what a high taxed society is like...people in constant fear of bicyclists, great architecture that nobody can afford to look at, parks that nobody can afford to walk in, and a country nobody can afford to live in...it was time to go back to the hotel and try to get out of paying the bill which I could not afford to pay.

Here is the room in case you are curious.

 

The view was great...if one could afford to look at it.

 

On the way back to my Hotel, there were police cars around the building with a few snipers on the roof tops, I quickly turned the opposite direction, and I started to head south as the government of Denmark didn't really want me in their country anymore. I guess it all worked out. I missed North India by a smudge, and now that I'm heading south again. I think I might ask for directions a couple of times. I think life becomes to risky if you don't ask for directions from time to time.