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New Year’s Eve in Varkala
I had a chilled out morning exploring the Varkala cliffs and beaches. A came across a litter of puppies who were exploring the beach. In the afternoon I returned to the hostel to chill out in the hammock to escape the mid day heat. At the hostel I met a couple of Indian guys visiting from Kochi who invited me to join them swimming and to watch the last sunset of the year from black beach. After the sun set we walked back to the hostel. All the restaurants and bars along the cliffs were bright illuminated ready for the New Year celebration. The owner of the hostel had organised…
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Vallikkapatta to Varkala
I departed from Vallikkapatta the day after the Chirakkal family gathering. I had a wonderful time with Hari’s family and it was sad to say goodbye to them all. I caught the bus from the Vallikkapatta to Tirur where I had a reservation for the train to take me to the beach resort of Varkala. Hari dropped me off at the bus stop where I caught the local bus. At Tirur I had a short wait before the train arrived. The train was very busy and I was glad that I had a reserved seat for the 8 hour journey. I relaxed on the train reading a book whilst the…
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Chirakkal Family Gathering
On December 28th all of the Chirakkal extended family came together at Hari’s home. Hari is now based in Singapore so the family all get together once or twice a year when he is in Kerala. It was great to be part of the family gathering and to see members of Hari’s family who I met at his wedding 23 years ago. The day started with a walk stroll through the paddy fields with the youngsters. We walked along the narrow ridges that separate the fields and had to balance carefully to prevent falling into the mud. After the walk we cleaned our feet in the river and received a…
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Koyilandy to Vallikkapatta
I left Koyilandy in the morning after celebrating Bavrah’s parents wedding anniversary. Hari, Bavrah, Aminta and Ashlin were travelling straight back to Hari’s house in Vallikkapatta. I wanted to explore Calicut some more and so caught the bus into the city and would join Hari and Bavrah later in the evening. It was a very hot day for walking around the streets of Calicut but it was a great place for shopping and people watching. For lunch I found a restaurant close to the centre which was rapidly filling up with dinners at 1 pm. I walked in a took a seat as the place seemed popular. There was no…
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Christmas in Koyilandy
I woke to another great Keralan breakfast of parathas, curry and puttu (coconut rice cake) and steamed bananas. After breakfast Bavrah’s mother took us on a tour of her garden. It is a beautiful garden with wide variety of orchids, other flowering plants and fruit trees. Mid morning we headed out to Kappad beach where the first European Vasco Da Gama landed on Indian soil in 1498. The spot is marked by a simple monument. Hari explained that there is a debate as to whether this site should be developed into a tourist attraction given that the arrival of Vasco marked the start of the western colonial rule over India.…
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Vallikkapatta to Koyilandy
I woke to a beautiful view from my bedroom in the Chirakkal house looking out across the paddy fields. Hari and I went for a short walk in the morning. We were invited for breakfast at Hari’s sister’s home who lives nearby. They had prepared a tasty traditional Keralan breakfast and I was able to taste some local delights which had been freshly prepared. After breakfast we returned to Hari’s home and his nephew Vishnu came over to say hello. The last time I saw him he was a young boy and now he is studying medicine in Trivandrum. After chatting for a while we packed up our bags to…
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Koyilandy to Vallikkapatta
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Coimbatore to Vallikkapatta
I woke early to catch the 8.30 train from Coimbatore to Tirur which is the closest train station to Vallikkapatta in Kerala where my friend Hari is from. I brought an unreserved SL ticket which allowed me to sit anywhere on the train in the sleeper carriages which during the day are converted back into seating. I checked with a local guy if there was any particular carriage I needed to board. He was going in the same direction as me and so he accompanied me onto the train and we found a seat together. He spoke good English and so we had a long conversation to pass the time.…
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Kodaikanal to Coimbatore
Today I start heading out towards Vallikkapatta outside of Manjeri in Kerala where I will stay with an old friend Hari and his family. To break up the journey I decided to stop over in Coimbatore from where I will be able to catch a train to Tirur and a bus to Malappuram where I will meet Hari. The bus service from Kodaikanal was limited as it is a remote hill station. I planned to catch the 10.30 bus to Palani from where I could change buses to Pollachi and then onto Coimbinatore. I woke at 7.30 to pack my bags and have my last breakfast in the cafe next…
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Exploring Kodaikanal
I woke after a very broken night’s sleep as I was so cold. I had a thick blanket but even that was not enough to keep out the damp chill. I had a much needed hot shower and asked the manager of the hostel where I could get breakfast. He pointed to a neighbouring house which he said was a cafe. I walked into the house and was taken to their dining room where they served me an Indian breakfast of dosa’s and idlis washed down with ginger chai. The home cooked food was amazing and the best food I had had since arriving in India. After the filling breakfast…
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Kumily to Kodaikanal
I woke early to take a jeep safari around the perimeter of the Periya National Park with is home to tigers, elephants, leopards and other wild animals. The jeep arrived at 6 pm and we drove off towards the park passing by the largest river in Kerala. Whilst crossing a bridge over the river we spotted a kingfisher. The jeep took us off road towards the national park perimeter fence. We stopped at a number of view points where you can spot wild elephants, deer and bison. Unfortunately the early morning sun had created a haze making it difficult to spot the animals. Our guide had amazing eyesight and was…
Mark's year of world adventures
