I finally made it to the other side of the country! It feels more like home to me because the sun rises over the land and sets over the ocean. Now I know what the Arabian Sea looks like (not much different than all the others).
I took an overnight train from Madurai to Ernakulam (11 hours). The car that I take, called 2AC class, is 2-tiered bunks (as opposed to three) and air-conditioned. It's the second highest class possible on Indian trains, through 1AC is really rare to come by. I feel very safe traveling this way because the car is uncrowded, quiet, and controlled by a T.T. (a chief ticket checker). The T.T. lets me know when it is my stop. Good thing because the train arrived at Ernakulam at 3:40 am today!
The compartment to which I was assigned was shared by five other men. All were really nice and, by Indian custom, they kept their distance from me. One was a middle-aged man that looked like an Indian version of Marit's dad. His name wasn't Mark, though, and he wasn't as well versed about the world. He spent the entire evening asking me questions about life in America with the Mexicans. There was a early thirty-something man who has not traveled out of the country but understands my western point of view -- he served as a moderator in the discussion about cultural differences. Then there was an old physics professor who spoke really good English. He has a son in San Diego whom he has visited on multiple occasions. It was really funny talking to an Indian about La Jolla, the border, and Californian restaurants. This professor allowed his son to have a love marriage (as opposed to an arranged marriage), which upset the conservative Mark look-alike. It was an odd collection of eastern and western ideologies trying to make the others understand each other.
Upon arrival at the station, I took an auto rickshaw to the ferry station. The autos are colored black here, whereas they are yellow everywhere else I have been. I was dropped off at a dark field. At 4am. The driver pointed across the field to some place I couldn't see and said that's my destination. So I hiked up my pants and started to wade through the field of mud created by the night's monsoon rain. I ended up at a dark building on the harbor with men waiting inside but all the lights were off. Five minutes before the ferry departure, someone flicked on the lights so we could purchase the Rs. 2.50 ticket to Fort Cochin. I hopped on a boat and 20 minutes later I arrived at Cochin!
When I arrived, it was still dark and scary. Rickshaws do not run so early in the morning, so I went to a hole in the wall tea stall and sat there for an hour. I was the youngest customer by about 20 years and the only female. Typical. The owner was really nice, though, and gave me a second cup of tea on the house because he felt bad for me. When six o'clock rolled around, two Americans disembarked on the next ferry and I jumped to meet them. It was finally light enough to walk (instead of waiting for an auto) and I had company to keep safe. Jessie and Dominic are from Berkeley, in their late twenties, and are spending six weeks touring south India. They didn't have a place booked because they are moving around on whim, so the two decided to stay at the same hotel as me. It's really nice having some people around to see the sights with.
We scheduled a seven hour houseboat cruise tomorrow. I'm excited to see the backwaters! These are the extensive waterways that run through India's western coast. The tour would not have happened if only one person (me) signed up, so I'm glad that Jessie and Dominic are coming along.
I also got a ticket to a traditional Indian theater tomorrow night and scheduled a hot oil massage for Tuesday. Everything here is so cheap!
"You're making me rich!" the hotel owner told me when I paid for the room (Rs. 350 per night, or 7 dollars) and tickets (cruise and theater, 15 bucks). While this is cheap entertainment and lodging by my standards, I still feel like a spoiled kid when my relative wealth is mentioned. How was I so lucky to have these opportunities? I was just born in the right place.
So I explored Kochi this morning. Kochi = Cochin. This fort was originally the Portugese's stronghold, then it was taken over by the Dutch. It is geographically like San Francisco -- it is on the northernmost tip of a peninsula. Climatically, it is like a rainforest. When not raining, it is steaming hot. The place looks like a little slice of Europe displaced into India. It is calm, quiet, picturesque, and not at all crowded like other Indian cities. Going to Mumbai will be a second culture shock.
At dawn I went to the seashore and watched men working Chinese fishing nets. One guy hailed me over, so I waded through the saltwater for a bit until I reached a net. One of the crew hoisted me aboard and I got to help haul in the net. Twice. It is a tiring job that brings in little fish during the monsoon season because the freshwater rain drives most of the fish further out to sea. It was interesting, though, to see what these people do for a living and how the nets work. This is a dying art because other methods of fishing are making these less profitable. The leader of the net I was on (there are about a dozen lined up on the coast) asked for a Rs. 1000 donation for my five minutes aboard the Chinese fishing net. Twenty bucks!!! Of course not. That could buy me thirty meals. I handed him a Rs. 20 note.
Then I trekked 2 km to Jew Town to see the synagogue, which was closed. It was an eerie stroll because ninety percent of the shops were closed and few people were on the streets. I still cannot figure out this city. Is it quiet because it is Sunday or because it is the off-season for tourism?
I came back from my walk and the basilica next door to the hotel had thousands of people in it and milling around. I asked someone what was going on and he was shocked at my ignorance: it was the ordination of a new bishop! I stayed and watched from the back of the crowds. I saw the bishop presented with his hat and about a million speeches that I couldn't understand, but it was a really cool moment. Something about a scandal with a girl and the eucharist and real blood caused the former bishop to abdicate his position. I was so lucky to see such an event!
Tomorrow: Backwater Tour, Kerala Theater
Tuesday: Massage, fly to Mumbai
I took an overnight train from Madurai to Ernakulam (11 hours). The car that I take, called 2AC class, is 2-tiered bunks (as opposed to three) and air-conditioned. It's the second highest class possible on Indian trains, through 1AC is really rare to come by. I feel very safe traveling this way because the car is uncrowded, quiet, and controlled by a T.T. (a chief ticket checker). The T.T. lets me know when it is my stop. Good thing because the train arrived at Ernakulam at 3:40 am today!
The compartment to which I was assigned was shared by five other men. All were really nice and, by Indian custom, they kept their distance from me. One was a middle-aged man that looked like an Indian version of Marit's dad. His name wasn't Mark, though, and he wasn't as well versed about the world. He spent the entire evening asking me questions about life in America with the Mexicans. There was a early thirty-something man who has not traveled out of the country but understands my western point of view -- he served as a moderator in the discussion about cultural differences. Then there was an old physics professor who spoke really good English. He has a son in San Diego whom he has visited on multiple occasions. It was really funny talking to an Indian about La Jolla, the border, and Californian restaurants. This professor allowed his son to have a love marriage (as opposed to an arranged marriage), which upset the conservative Mark look-alike. It was an odd collection of eastern and western ideologies trying to make the others understand each other.
Upon arrival at the station, I took an auto rickshaw to the ferry station. The autos are colored black here, whereas they are yellow everywhere else I have been. I was dropped off at a dark field. At 4am. The driver pointed across the field to some place I couldn't see and said that's my destination. So I hiked up my pants and started to wade through the field of mud created by the night's monsoon rain. I ended up at a dark building on the harbor with men waiting inside but all the lights were off. Five minutes before the ferry departure, someone flicked on the lights so we could purchase the Rs. 2.50 ticket to Fort Cochin. I hopped on a boat and 20 minutes later I arrived at Cochin!
When I arrived, it was still dark and scary. Rickshaws do not run so early in the morning, so I went to a hole in the wall tea stall and sat there for an hour. I was the youngest customer by about 20 years and the only female. Typical. The owner was really nice, though, and gave me a second cup of tea on the house because he felt bad for me. When six o'clock rolled around, two Americans disembarked on the next ferry and I jumped to meet them. It was finally light enough to walk (instead of waiting for an auto) and I had company to keep safe. Jessie and Dominic are from Berkeley, in their late twenties, and are spending six weeks touring south India. They didn't have a place booked because they are moving around on whim, so the two decided to stay at the same hotel as me. It's really nice having some people around to see the sights with.
We scheduled a seven hour houseboat cruise tomorrow. I'm excited to see the backwaters! These are the extensive waterways that run through India's western coast. The tour would not have happened if only one person (me) signed up, so I'm glad that Jessie and Dominic are coming along.
I also got a ticket to a traditional Indian theater tomorrow night and scheduled a hot oil massage for Tuesday. Everything here is so cheap!
"You're making me rich!" the hotel owner told me when I paid for the room (Rs. 350 per night, or 7 dollars) and tickets (cruise and theater, 15 bucks). While this is cheap entertainment and lodging by my standards, I still feel like a spoiled kid when my relative wealth is mentioned. How was I so lucky to have these opportunities? I was just born in the right place.
So I explored Kochi this morning. Kochi = Cochin. This fort was originally the Portugese's stronghold, then it was taken over by the Dutch. It is geographically like San Francisco -- it is on the northernmost tip of a peninsula. Climatically, it is like a rainforest. When not raining, it is steaming hot. The place looks like a little slice of Europe displaced into India. It is calm, quiet, picturesque, and not at all crowded like other Indian cities. Going to Mumbai will be a second culture shock.
At dawn I went to the seashore and watched men working Chinese fishing nets. One guy hailed me over, so I waded through the saltwater for a bit until I reached a net. One of the crew hoisted me aboard and I got to help haul in the net. Twice. It is a tiring job that brings in little fish during the monsoon season because the freshwater rain drives most of the fish further out to sea. It was interesting, though, to see what these people do for a living and how the nets work. This is a dying art because other methods of fishing are making these less profitable. The leader of the net I was on (there are about a dozen lined up on the coast) asked for a Rs. 1000 donation for my five minutes aboard the Chinese fishing net. Twenty bucks!!! Of course not. That could buy me thirty meals. I handed him a Rs. 20 note.
Then I trekked 2 km to Jew Town to see the synagogue, which was closed. It was an eerie stroll because ninety percent of the shops were closed and few people were on the streets. I still cannot figure out this city. Is it quiet because it is Sunday or because it is the off-season for tourism?
I came back from my walk and the basilica next door to the hotel had thousands of people in it and milling around. I asked someone what was going on and he was shocked at my ignorance: it was the ordination of a new bishop! I stayed and watched from the back of the crowds. I saw the bishop presented with his hat and about a million speeches that I couldn't understand, but it was a really cool moment. Something about a scandal with a girl and the eucharist and real blood caused the former bishop to abdicate his position. I was so lucky to see such an event!
Tomorrow: Backwater Tour, Kerala Theater
Tuesday: Massage, fly to Mumbai
