Flight to Dubai

We are leaving India today. Our new destination is the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a place I have not been before. We get the wake up call at 3 AM and take a 2-hour bus ride to Kochi airport on the very dark, very narrow, bumpy lanes of the village of Kumarakom where we stayed last night. It is a drive I am glad I am only watching. I would not want to be the driver. He sees things that I am not able to see. I told you this bus driver is very, very good.

We arrive at the Kochi airport without incident and today's flight is an international flight. All runs smoothly, only the clerk signing us out of India is the typical bureaucratic nightmare. He is fastidiously dotting every ‘i’, crossing every t. In German we call those bureaucrats Nullennachzieher. A guy who traces the zero on paper to make sure it really is a zero. Don't you love this name? It's a person who, when he adds 2 million and 1 million he writes it down. Not only that, he starts on the far right side, tracing and adding all the zeros before he finally adds the 2 numbers to get to the number three.  Yuck!  A bureaucrat (a Nullennachzieher) would do this ‘work’ even when the answer is obvious.

Minaret Beside Our Hotel

Arriving in Dubai, I cannot help but be amazed. The shuttle train from the gate to baggage runs like clock work. Each door on the shuttle train has guides and helpers, speaking all kinds of languages. Wow! Those folks here know how to move the masses. This airport is only an international airport; the UAE has no domestic flights. This place works efficiently. No delays. Going through immigration was no issue; going through Customs, again, no issue. Poof and you are outside. Wow, that was fast.

There is no graffiti anyplace, no advertisements plastered on walls. The streets are swept clean. After India it's a bit scary. You look back over your shoulder to see if anybody is watching you. I had a feeling that Big Brother was watching me?

The Streets Are Spotless, the Traffic is Orderly

We were met outside the airport by Marshall, the tour representative in Dubai. He called our bus and we were off to the Hyatt Al Riga, centrally located near downtown Dubai. Everything went smoothly, until they took all of our passports at the hotel reception. Call me paranoid, the last time this happened to me was in Russia. OK, after a bit of time we got them back but not without paying some fee. My inner radar chirped, there is certainly a rule of law here, certainly someone is ‘watching’ you. OK, OK, call me paranoid, I just got here but that is how felt. I felt I was being watched with a smile.

Our exit and transport out of the airport was so quick I had no time to draw Dirham from an ATM. Naturally we had to find a bank; the exchange rate with an ATM is always much better than what the hotel gives you. We also had to find food, since it was way past our lunch hour. There was no map available at the front desk that could help us, also they seemed to not know where the nearest ATM was, so off we went exploring. On the way out the door we ran into Roger, a member of our group who had found a Bank with an ATM close by. But, when we went to Riga Ave, the bank building was not obvious; we could not see a bank. So we had to ask. Do they speak English here? We asked a man clad in a thobe (white, long Arab outfit) and in perfect English he told us where the bank was. “Just across the wide avenue, no problem whatsoever”, he said. Good start. We got a stack of Dirhams from the machine. Nice to know we can find people that we can talk with.

A Great Little Restaurant Near Our Hotel

Now to the food! Most signs are written in Arabic of course. Do the restaurants have English menus? This again was no problem whatsoever. Not everybody speaks English but in general, with language and writing, there was never an issue in Dubai. Dubai is totally set up to deal with international travelers. In fact, the main economy in Dubai, after oil, is tourism.

In memory of India we ate a Shawarma in Dubai, which was both (5 PM) lunch and dinner. Next door to the late lunch place was a kind of bakery. This bakery had lots and lots of wonderful sweets. Baklava, one of our favorite desserts, were available in many varieties, they were yummy.

I'm In Heaven. Really Good Baklava

We had a long day, getting up early, flying, new people, language, etc. we just slowly wandered slowly back to the hotel and goofed off for a bit, tomorrow is another day.

Kumarakom

We slept well enough last night on our houseboat even when the A/C turned itself off and the cabin was sticky warm. It reminded me of when I was younger and slept at night without any A/C at all. My covers came flying off and I would have even opened the window but, at 5 AM traffic on the river resumed. Some boats had motors without mufflers. The closed window helped a little to subdue the sounds.

We had a leisurely breakfast of omelet, fruits, toast and coffee on board the houseboat before we disembarked. Getting off was a bit perilous. The gang plank is narrow, the luggage bulky but we managed OK. Not so from the sound coming from the neighbors boat. A large suitcase fell into the water; I just hope it was water proof. The Crew managed to rescue it and put it on the shore where it stood dripping wet for the owner to retrieve. I am so glad this was not my suitcase.

Lobby Of the Aveda Hotel Has a Large Pond With Coi

We had time this morning; it was too hot to move fast anyway. Our bus stopped one more time for a shopping spree and Carol found a white cotton top, Indian style. But this was also the point when another woman in the group realized she left her money-belt on the boat. It took some coordination but the money-belt was found and returned to her later in the day, in the hotel. The money belt was found among the bathroom towels, on the boat.

Restaurant Area Overlooks a Beautiful Pool

Our hotel was near the bird sanctuary of Kumarakom. Our hotel was a very difficult place for our bus to get into. Indian bus drivers are good, no better than good, VERY good. Our driver was one of the best, yet he had a very difficult time driving on those narrow lanes. His helper had to get out many times to move mopeds, motorcycles or even guide him around corners in the road. Even the hotel parking lot offered problems. It was a very tight fit. The driver only had a  few inches on either side, sometimes fractions of that. Bravo driver!

The hotel in Kumarakom was an Indian hotel and while very nice, it lacks the wants of an international traveler. The dining area was in the open air, wonderful and romantic but also hot, humid and came with mosquitoes. We had room service for lunch.

We called the front desk 4 times and they tried 4 times to fix the A/C until finally they fixed it.

Phew, in the tropics without A/C?  It shows you now spoiled I have become.

Egret

At 3.30 in the afternoon, after the big heat of the day, we all took a boat ride on Lake Vembanad. The whole area in and around this large lake is a designated bird sanctuary. We had a guide who knew his thing, and Carol and, it seemed everybody else, had a good time. It is just me and birds. Carol tells me she saw kingfishers, egrets, purple herons, cormorants, etc. but with me it all falls on deaf ears. At one point everybody went for a walk in this heat to listen to the  different ‘chirps’ or “ tweets” while I sat under the canopy of the boat, just minding my own business in the shade. I like birds OK, but I leave them be. I know they are great creatures, they eat bugs, worms, mosquitoes, etc. and that is good enough for me.

Colourful Kingfishers

Water Buffalo With Hitchhikers On His Back

I have an explanation for it all. When I was younger my father collected wild birds in a very large cage. He trapped birds in his home-made traps or nets. It was my job, since my Dad was working; to get those caught birds out of those traps right after I came home from school. After I freed them from the traps, I had to put them inside the large cage my dad built. I hated it. I felt sorry for the little creatures, felt sorry for their confined living. Some of the birds while in the trap or net were bloody from trying to get free. It broke my heart. There was no use talking to my Dad. I set most of the birds free, but of course my Dad would yell at me and would have a fit when he found out, and he did find out.

Cormorant Drying His Wings

Then one day, by mistake? I left the door ajar of the large birdhouse. All his precious birds flew off. After that I was called not reliable and he could not count on me to do him a simple favor. After some time, the big birdhouse came down because he only found dead or wounded birds in his nets (because I no longer even went near the traps).  Ah, childhood memories, I leave birds as birds, I don't care what their names are and how they tweet.

Everybody is different, so if you like birds? OK

A Tree Full Of Cormorants

with me, but please respect that I feel badly for any caged animal, reptile or bird. I hate zoo visits. I just about can handle sanctuaries, where people gawk constantly at wild animals.

And I am not a fan of temps of 35C with 90% humidity like we had that day.

Blossoms On the Suicide Tree

Fruit Of the Suicide Tree

I loved the story of the suicide tree, where the fruit is edible but the pit is deadly. Mmmm, I wonder what that tree looks like, that fruit. Carol told me she saw one on her walk while I was goofing off in the shade.

For that night we saw an advertisement that there would be classical music played in the lobby. Stupid me, it was Indian classical music, of course. Not Western classical! I tried to listen to the Indian classical music, but I have to admit, these sounds were not for me.

Goodbye Amazing India. Tomorrow We Leave For a Few Days in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates

More Sights Along the Pamba River

Fishing?

Hans Is Working Hard to Get Us Through All the Water Plants

Lilac Lily

The River Is the Main Road

And Canoes Are the Main Mode of Transportation

Houses Can Be Right At the Water's Edge

PINK????

Kids Swim In This River

Workers Off-Loading Bags of Something

More Bags of Something Being Moved to Another Place

Getting Laundry Done

Women Have to Stand In the River to Do Laundry

People Live On Many of These Houseboats

We Had a Brief But Heavy Rain Storm

But We Were Snug and Dry In Our Houseboat

Others Were Not So Lucky

Disembarking - A Woman From Another Group Accidentally
Kicked Over a Suitcase That Was Sitting On the Edge Of the Path
and It Landed In the River. Luckily a Porter Jumped In and
Rescued It

Houseboat

This Large Net Is Lowered Into the Water To Hopefully
Catch Some Fish

We had some time before we had to be on our houseboats near here, so we took a stroll along the water’s edge of old Kochi. Fishing boats were tied up, their nets sticking way in the air. The fishermen here, in the shallows, use a way of fishing learned from the Chinese. (Or was this the other way around?). A very large square of netting is lowered into the water, held spread out by very long, skinny but strong beams. After some time, this net is then carefully pulled up and any fish swimming over the net in the water are pulled in. it is very ingenious and very effective. We tried on one boat to catch fish but it does take some skill, we caught only one miserly small fellow.

Lots of These Blue Crabs Were For Sale

We saw, on our further walk along the water’s edge how effective the locals are, because there were fish mongers selling the morning catch. Enough fish for everyone. I wished I could have bought one and then steamed it for lunch. Yummy!

Sampling the Wares

Shark For Sale

 



We learned on this walk that the Portuguese planted some African trees here. And the British brought trees native to Australia.

Craw Fish? Shrimp?

We proceeded after our walk to the houseboat ‘harbor’ via bus. Our houseboat tour company was named Evergreen and they had a fleet of 10 boats. But all in all there are 1000 house boats on the river giving similar, albeit less luxurious rides to people.

What a Tale They Had To Tell About Getting the
Beer and Wine

We had brought on board a stash of beer and wine. Alcohol is not included into the boat rental fee and I just have to tell you how we obtained our beer. On the bus it was decided we were buying in bulk for the group and then divide the cost up. The Indian fellows on board the bus knew where the locals buy their beer, so we stopped along the way and 3 of our group went to buy beer. Well it took a while and they came back with beer but only had 5 bottles each. Not enough for a group of 16 for a 2 day ride with lots of free time to drink beer. What gives? With smiling faces they told us 

The Narrow Alley Where They Lined Up For the
Beer and Wine

they did well, actually. The limit is 3 bottles of beer per person, per day. You cannot buy more beer even if you have lots of money. Mmmm, what to do? Well, the bus driver knew of another place so we drove to this place. This time we had about 5 to 6 men from our group get off the bus, including me, to buy beer. Through a very narrow alley we went behind some building where ultimately barriers guided us single-file, like cattle to a hole in the wall window. There you could buy beer, and only there. No other place unless you go to a fancy hotel, which had a bar. The beer price in the hotel was 10 times as much as here.

Here Is the Window Where the Beer and Wine
Could Be Purchased - What An Adventure!

The selling of beer to locals is strictly regulated and is sold in limited amounts. This is done to limit alcoholism. There is no sale of beer or alcohol on the first of each month when people get paid. The government wants the men to bring their hard earned money home to the family and not drink it away. Those are strict rules alright but I think good rules. I remember as a child when pay day came (Fridays) and my grandma waited for the weekly money to come in, only to find later that it had been spent on beer, or at least a large part of it. I lived through this from a child's point of view. I do not mind the limited sale of alcohol in India, the limits put on consumption. Good for you, India. It saves a lot of domestic violence.

Glad I Didn't Have to Walk This Tippy Plank With a Suitcase

All our suitcases were lugged on board via a narrow plank next to a tree, no dock. We balanced ourselves on the plank to get on board and off we went. Our exploring journey on the Pravo River was relaxing. Just a slight hum from the quiet diesel motor was all we heard and of course nature was all around us.  

For the last 3 weeks we had a go, go schedule, not that I am complaining. Yet it was nice to just drift along for a day and do no more running around. Houseboats can be rented including crew and all services; that allow a leisurely time away from it all. Our group rented 3 of these boats near Kochi, each boat containing 3 en-suite bedrooms, a communal dining  room, sitting room, etc. it was like a floating mini hotel. All B/R were air conditioned most of the time, well some of the time (night time).

Tippy Canoe and Dense Water Plants We
Had To Get Through

The Pamba River (there are very many rivers in Kerala) glides through a natural preserve. It is very rural along the shores and there are only a few houses here and there. At our first stop along the river the group all managed to change vessels and to fit into 2 long canoes without falling into the water. It was a wobbly affair since there were no docks and the getting off our houseboat into the canoe was a giggly, yet scary proposition. All went well. The owner of the canoe put me into the bow and he took the aft section. The rest of the group sat in between. I helped paddle when I felt there was a need for help. The aft man poling through dense growths of water plants, mostly lilac lilies. We poled and  paddled through a side

Had to Step Off the Bank Into the Canoe

arm of the main river and immediately it became even quieter. Trees grew up very close to the water; some overhanging branches even shaded the waters. At other sections planted fields, green and vibrant, were cultivated.

Very few, far away, spaced houses were visible. Or were those working sheds? Hard to tell, some had oil presses next to them to press for? Could it be Coconut oil? Some kind of oil! The area felt abandoned but then I saw people coming out of buildings where I would have thought nobody lived.

Lush Greenery Along the River

We just slid across the quiet water, getting a feel for this tropical paradise. Plants sure grow here. It was humid. Left and right were the kinds of plants I have only seen in botanical gardens before. The water-way we were on, in certain places, seemed choked with plants. Paddling was tough and arduous. It was a world I know zero about, I truly felt like a city slicker out of his realm. The canoe trip lasted about an hour but I loved it. I wished I could have talked to the people we saw to see how they look at life. We could have compared notes, my notes from NYC and their notes about daily going on and their experiences. It would have been interesting for me.

Breakfast Had Lots of Fresh Fruit, Toast, Omelettes
and Other Things But I Forget What They Were

But…let’s get back on to our house boat and the chugging motor that takes us up river. All meals were served on board by the crew. All meals were cooked by the crew. It was good food and there was plenty of it.

Living on the river was a slow life and it even included a nap for me. And even though it is only March, the sun is up and heating up the land. The mind turns a little mushy. Yet, the living is easy, like the song says.

 

Champakulam

Our next stop awhile later is a small town called Champakulam, just a pier along the water’s edge. The local folks erected stores so we foreigners could buy from them. The problem is we have NYC taste and they have local Indian merchandise. Not a good match. We tried hard to buy anything and it was not easy. But behold, Carol found long, plain white, lose cotton pants that fit and an orange Indian, cotton top. Everybody was happy. The stop in this village did not last that long or we were the wrong tourists. I don’t know which. If I had been younger I might have found something, but I am getting jaded about buying souvenirs.

I went back to sit on the deck of our houseboat, just watching everybody selling or buying. I felt a bit removed but had a smile on my face. This was a day of just drifting, slowly, along the river. My job was watching life pass by.

Climbing Back On Board

Not much later, around 6 pm, we tied up someplace for the night. No river traffic at night, it is too dark to see, the river has no navigational help. It's safer to just wait out the night.

We had our beer and wine that night, chatted with the other people in our small group and went to bed early.

It was a wonderful, relaxing day.  Good choice on the itinerary, Fiona.