Kerala

After nearly 3 months in Mumbai, I figured it was time to get out of my bubble and see another part of this fascinating country. Last week I took a trip to Kerala, a state located at the southern tip of India. Kerala is a skinny, small-ish state bordering the Arabian Sea and is one of the four states (along with Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh) that make up ‘South India’. Kerala is widely considered one of India’s ‘model’ states, as it rates very highly in both social (literacy rate, child malnourishment, average education level, women employment..etc) and income (poverty level, average income) indicators. A couple of my favorite people I’ve met here in India so far are originally from Kerala and after hearing some of their stories, I decided I had to go check it out.

Pictures are worth a thousand words, so I’ll keep the verbatim to a minimum.

 

We flew into Kochi and spent the first couple of days in one of the main areas of town, Fort Kochi. A noticeable feature of the area are these nets attached to big wooden contraptions that local fisherman use to catch fish. The nets are raised and lowered manually using weights and ropes and some of the fishermen were nice enough to let us do the touristy thing and help them out a bit. For a small rupee donation, of course.

At night we caught a few cultural events. The first night, we saw a Kathakali show, a form of Indian classical dance/drama that originated in Kerala in the 17th century. The make-up of the actors was exquisite, really cool.

The next night, we went to an Indian classical music show, featuring two musicians, one playing the Tabla and another playing the Sitar. They had my head bobbin’, shit was dope.

Check this out.

Next stop was Alleppey, a town known for the ‘backwaters’, a series of interconnected lagoons, rivers, canals and lakes that Kerala is famous for. We took a leisurely canoe ride along some of the backwaters during one of the days we were there but honestly, I left a little disappointed. The water was really dirty and I couldn’t help but feel grossed out when I’d see someone on one bank of the river washing themselves/their clothes in the water, and then another person dumping trash/defecating on the other bank. Definitely a reminder of how much I have to be thankful for.

One of the highlights of the trip was definitely finding this gorgeous, clean, damn near empty beach thanks to a tip from a local rickshaw driver. I didn’t know beaches like these existed in India as every one I’d seen so far was filled with people and trash. Another reminder to get out of Mumbai more.

If you ever find yourself in Alleppey, make sure to go to Marari Beach.

Last stop on the trip was Munnar, a hill station located in the Western Ghats mountain range in inner Kerala. Place was BEAUTIFUL!

Munnar’s hills are filled with tea plantations as it is a major source of tea leaves. We took an epic hike through the hills, passing above the clouds and walking through the plantations themselves. The views were breathtaking.

Overall, going to Kerala was a great trip. It was really nice to finally get out of the concrete jungle and be surrounded by green things, fresh air and silence.  More than just a pretty place with some fun activities, I’ll remember the trip, especially the time at Munnar, as a time for self-reflection.