Kerela - Kovalam/Varkala/Kollam/Cochin
Trip Start
Aug 17, 2005
1
5
7
Trip End
Nov 20, 2005
Cochin, India
Friday, September 9, 2005
I arrived in Kovalam in the early hours. A light but persistent rain was falling as I walked around trying to find a place to stay. After drying off and waking from a nap the rain had stopped but the beach was still empty and only a handful of tourists sat in beachfront restaurants. The sun eventually broke through but I could still count more vendors and stray dogs on the beach than sunbathers. This was definitely not the right time of year to be here. I gave it a couple of days, but if anything the place just felt more and more like Ghost Town-On-Sea. After accidentally stepping on a sleeping dog I decided this was not the place for me.
The next morning I packed my bag and boarded a train to Varkala, another beach town described as 'A place for those who find Kovalam too developed'. I checked into a place called Mamma Chompos and noticed that no one else had signed in since the 28th of August (5 days before). No wonder there was such a big smile of the face of the owner. I took short walk to the coast. Rust red cliffs fell into the ocean... Where was the beach? The only thing I saw were huge waves crashing against the base of the cliffs. Ok, the tide must be in I though. It turns out that the tide has been in for months and it wont be out again until November. I noticed some life on the top of the cliffs away from where I had walked from. It was in one of the bars up there that I met Mo (hammed), a lean African who has represented Sudan in a football match against Lybia. He is now working in Chennai as 'Overseas Marketing' for a herbal doctor. The more I spoke to Mo, the stranger the conversation got. We started talking about football and medicine, 2 days later he was talking about ghosts, voodoo, killing snakes and rivers that flow backwards up mountains. When I arrived at the bar Mo was talking to Amal, who I assumed was American due to her accent but when she found out I was from London a thick, Scouse accent came out of nowhere. She said that no one can understand a thing she says if she speaks naturally (I know the feeling).
The rain continued, infact it has not stopped for 5 days. It rained throughout my 'backwaters' boat trip. At one point I had to take cover in a porch and was soon watching a Bollywood classic with the men of the house until the rain stopped. There is something quite depressing about out of season seaside towns when it is raining. I even had flashbacks to Clacton and Southend (expect I don't remember a tiny frog hitching a ride on my foot in either of those places...)
I had to get away from the rain. I moved onto Cochin, an old spice trading port that has a strange European/Indian feel about the place. Huge sacks of spices, nuts and rice fill warehouses and shops. Weathered, old men with silver moustaches write numbers into clipboards as the younger ones throw sacks up way too high onto trucks. I got a feeling that this is what my part of London must have been like when the docks were in full swing. I actually loved walking around in the drizzle watching Cochin go about its daily routine. Mmmm. Spiced cashew nuts.
Last night I went to a music concert in a small hall. Tabla, flute and a small lizard-skinned tambourine passionately played and improvised over 'South Indian classics for just over an hour. Impressive.
Its raining again today so I have decided to head back into Tamil Nadu and to the (hopefully) cool and dry hill Nilgiris hills.
Comments
Rain rain go away
Loving the reports. Hope the weather improves for you Myke. Still, it's no better here - the umbrellas are up in Chappel Market.