A weekend in God's Country
Trip Start
Oct 01, 2007
1
10
34
Trip End
Apr 21, 2008
Cochin, India
Friday, November 2, 2007
The resort is really off the hook. The grounds are so beautiful and the people so kind. I got there kinda early and just relaxed, walked around the grounds and signed up for a massage and facial at their ayurveda center. Took a sunset cruise on a boat propelled by sticks with traditional flute and drum music performed by staff. After that just hung out by the pool and had some beers and made small talk with the staff and other guests. Unfortunately the local dialect is not hindi so what few words I have mastered were worthless this weekend. The next day I went to the Ayurveda Center (an ancient Indian holistic herbal medicine ) for my rejuvenation massage. It was the best massage I have had and quite an interesting experience. First, they ask you to strip down (and don't leave the room like typical American massages) and proceed to wrap a little linen square around you. Than you sit for the first 45 minutes and that is the first position for the massage. Mind you you are dressed with less on than an ancient Egyptian. Next they move you to a table ...yes they, there two of them. There is no towel on the table and they use a lot of oil. The fun begins when they flip you over and repeat exactly what they did on the other side. For those of you who have had professional massages, they repeat exactly what they do on the back on the front. They had such a rhythm going and I was so greased up I thought any minute I was gonna fly off the table, out the window and into the little canal that ran gently behind the center. But I was so relaxed I didn't care.
Afterwards one of the girls accompanies you into the shower and rubs you down with herbal powder and than washes your hair. Now I have been naked in front of a lot of chicks from swim team, locker rooms, college dorms and my sorority house but never did I think I would be having a woman rub me down with herbal powder in the middle of the backwaters of India. It even came with a complimentary toweling off. I only laughed harder when a couple I ran into later that night did the same thing and the guy was explaining the two bearded men that flipped him over. I was laughing so hard I thought I was going to fall off my chair. After my massage I lazed around the grounds laying in a hammock and went and got my facial and than got back into the hammock. It was a very relaxing day.
I went to dinner at the seafood restaurant on the grounds that night and was trying to be low-key since it was my birthday and I was dining alone. But shortly after I finished eating the staff come out equipped with a cake they slyly smuggled in and proceeded to get the whole restaurant to serenade me. So much for being low key. But is was sweet and the cake was good and I shared it with everyone in the small open-air restaurant. They noticed on my passport when I checked in and I should have been clued in when all day long the staff was wishing me happy birthday.
The next day I took a backwater cruise on a canoe. It was so peaceful and the scenery so beautiful. I only hope it comes across in the photos I have attached. The people are kind and funny along the way. The children happy and wave as they run along the shoreline. They have a vast amount of birds and the property cares for 5 vechur cows, a species that is endangered. There is also a butterfly garden and fish sanctuary. I saw the butterflies but the fish must have been resting from the midday heat at the bottom of the lake every time I walked by. There were all sorts of boats everywhere on the lake from locals just getting around to all the various tourist rides including huge houseboats that carry guests overnight. Very cool way to travel. I highly recommend stopping in this neck of the woods if you are ever in this part of the world. You will not be disappointed. As I floated away in my boat, I waved to the staff lining the canal and truly meant it when I said I hope to see you again.
Comments
Happy Birthday!
I love your entries. And your pictures are gorgeous. The backwater pictures remind me of the sights I've seen in the Caribbean. What a memior this will be.
nice pics...
great blog.... pic reminds me of my hometown kerala...
That "sarong" the men wear is called a lungi, but sorry to disappoint you ... there are shorts underneath, and often just regular shorts, not briefs. If a wind whips up or the wearer wants to walk fast, he picks up the hem and tucks it in his waist, creating a half-lungi. Tamils may tie this "half" loosely in front.