Kerala

I just returned from a rejuvenating trip to beautiful Kerala! Kerala is a state on the southwestern coast of India. It is well known for its beautiful hill stations, serene backwaters, fragrant spice gardens, and numerous tea plantations. It was colonized by the Portuguese, Dutch, and British, and therefore has one of the largest Christian populations in India. Interestingly, Kerala has the first freely elected communist government in the world (1957), and consequently has the highest literacy rate and best health statistics in India.
Upon arriving in Kerala, we (Chetna, her sister, Vijay, and the boys) all packed into a car with our driver and set off on the potholed road to the hill station Munnar. I never knew tea could be so beautiful! Up and down mountains and along roads, rivers, and waterfalls were lush evergreen tea plants. I’m constantly amazed that so many different kinds of tea can come from just one plant.
For my first full day in Munnar I desperately wanted to go trekking. The family went on a tour of Munnar so I hired a (much needed) guide (named Joy George) and set out for a glorious 15 km. hike. The mountains certainly weren’t the highest I’ve hiked, but the trek was outstanding.
We started winding our way through deliciously fragrant herb and spice fields, and stopped at a small house where a generous and kind elderly couple showed me how they process cardamom. A ways up the (nonexistent) trail I was engrossed in my conversation with the guide when he abruptly stopped me…
I look down and, shocked, immediately blurt out, “HOLY JESUS!!!” (in front of Joy, the devout Catholic).
On the side of the trail, about a foot away from my feet, was a lovely cobra basking in the hot morning sun. After getting over the initial shock, I was giddily happy. I LOVE snakes. For the past fifteen years I’ve been dying to see a deadly poisonous snake in the wild, so for me this was a highlight of all of my wilderness experiences and my stay in India.We slowly backed away from the snake, took photos, and watched it for a good 15-20 minutes. It was angry enough to constantly make a low humming (almost machine-like) noise but not angry enough to rise up and extend its hood. I’m not going to lie; I contemplated pulling an “Uncle Bo” (reference for the Rizzo family) just to see its hood, immediately decided that was a stupid idea (duh!), and instead wished that Uncle Bo was there to be stupid for me :-)
Eventually we had to move on since there were three more mountains to climb. And when I say climb, I’m not joking… instead of hiking up and around the mountains, or on switchbacks, we literally hiked straight up trail-less mountains, which made for a tiring yet exhilarating experience. At one point the ground was so wet and the greenery so thick that we had to run up the mountain to avoid leeches latching onto us. I escaped unharmed, but unfortunately cannot say the same for Joy.
Other highlights of the day included hiking into Tamil Nadu, walking through beautiful tea plantations, talking to the workers, and getting a full tour of a real working tea factory! Although I forgot my hiking boots in Mhaswad (creating a somewhat painful experience), the trek was absolutely stunning... exactly what the doctor ordered.
The following day we piled back into the car to go to the backwaters. It was Election Day in the US, and for the first time in as long as I can remember, I wanted to be around Americans for the sake of our shared national identity and supposedly common interest in the elections. When we stopped at a small stand on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere, however, I got a nice slap back into reality.
When the stall owner learned that I was from the US, he got very excited as he knew the elections were taking place. Through the little English he knew (a few dozen words maximum) and with tears in his eyes, he conveyed to me his disdain for George Bush and how much he had been praying for Obama to win. He reminded me just how much everyday people around the world care about and depend on the political situation in America when America so easily forgets about them. This conversation made watching an already emotional election even more intense; I was happy that the following morning, in the backwaters of Kerala, I could celebrate not only for my own sake but also for his.
Chetna and her family were also excited about the election results. We celebrated at our hotel in Kumarokam, and then on our houseboat in the beautiful backwaters. Our trip ended two days after the elections with some sightseeing in Kochi. I got to experience some of the city’s religious diversity… beautiful churches (Christianity in Kerala is really interesting, and it was nice for me to talk to Joy about his practices in Munnar), a unique synagogue (for the three Jewish families left in Kochi), and a very strict Hindu temple.
The entire trip was a much needed getaway, providing me with the opportunity to get to know my family better, learn about a different area in India, and refresh my body and mind. Plus I saw a cobra!!!