THE GREAT ESCAPE

Thursday, December 11th at 18:09

Kevin

It was still dark out, the wind was dead calm and it was incredibly hot for being so early. We were each drenched in sweat after our twilight hike out of Kudlee Beach in Gokarna. Finding out that there was a 6:00 am bus headed to the city of Mangalore, we jumped on it. Even if it was not the city we wanted, which was Cochin, and the ride would be on a state run bus, some of the biggest, loudest, dirtiest and hottest hunks of steel on the planet, it was headed in the right direction and we became elated at the thought of a much anticipated exodus from Gokarna.

Arriving in Mangalore in the early afternoon, Peter and I left the girls in the bus depot with our things as we scouted for a private bus that would take us to Cochin. We struck gold on our first attempt. Immediately opposite the bus depot was a small travel agency that sold us four tickets on a sleeper bus, quite a cool anomolie, that was leaving that evening at 20:00. This would give us about seven hours to kill in the city. While pulling into the bus station upon arrival, I had spotted a very modern looking mall within a short distance from the bus depot. I propositioned everyone to join me for some “air conditioned” shopping. What a relief. Travel days in India are always an adventure in and of themselves. You absolutely never know what to expect, what crazy things you will see (elephants walking in the road, the driver pulling over to let everyone pee on the side, etc.), or if you will actually make it to your destination alive. One thing is always sure, however. When you make it to your destination, you will be a hot, stinking, sweaty mess! This is why a little thing like an air conditioned shopping mall can bring one to tears. All four of us enjoyed some time walking around, soaking in the a/c and checking out some of the merchandise. After a while, Peter and Julia decided they would set off into town to try and see if they could find a place to get their camera repaired. In the meantime, Idalis and I would do a bit of shopping, have a super cheap Indian thali (set meal) in the food court of the mall, catch up on our internet activities (read blog) and find a new pair of flip flops for Idalis who had not only trashed her pair on our hike in Gokarna, but also two other pairs that I had found stuck in between rocks, probably washed in by the tide from other unsuspecting tourists! Sooner than expected, seven hours had whizzed by. Unfortunately Peter and Julia were unable to have the camera repaired, in spite of finding a camera repair shop (in the back of someones house), and made it back in time to have another quick bite at the food court, suck up one last bit of a/c and head out for what was bound to be one of our most interesting transportation experiences ever.

We arrived at the travel agency, where we were to catch the bus, a bit early. We were shuffled around the corner with our baggage and loaded onto what I would call a modern bus, by Indian standards. Our sleeper bunks were numbers 15 and 16 and Peter and Julia had 9 and 10, which happened to be next to each other. We climbed up over the people sitting in the chairs below and settled into our bunks for the overnight ride to Cochin. At first, I spent my time listening to the ipod as I stared out the window and Idalis read her book. We soon found our way out of the city and lied down to get some rest. As has been the case in most places we have stayed so far, the beds are always just a couple inches to short to allow me to completely stretch out. So, I laid a bit diagonal and fell asleep. That is, until the bus started to cavitate, shake and swerve violently. We were not having an accident, I quickly realized, just driving on a normal Indian highway. This would continue to go on all night. A combination of smooth roads, where the driver would speed, swerve and pass people while honking the horn incessantly and then long stretches of what felt like off roading through the jungle at high speeds. It pretty much made sleeping close to impossible. Nonetheless, we managed to arrive in Ernakulum, a section of Cochin city, slightly rested and first thing in the morning. We hired two auto rickshaws to take us to our hotel, Maple Guest House. After a rather lengthy check in process, we rushed to our rooms to find them very clean and very comfortable. Having traveled for over twenty-six hours straight, we finally got the showers that we so desperately needed.

After returning to a more acceptable state of cleanliness, we once again decided to split up for the day. Idalis and I wanted to walk through the markets and visit Mahatma Gandhi Road and Peter and Julia still needed to get their camera fixed. That night, we reunited for a much anticipated Kathakali show. Kathakali is a unique form of ancient theater. Essentially, they are dance dramas where elaborately dressed and made up actors join musicians on drums and bells to depict the struggles of gods and demons by using facial expressions, sign language and music to tell their stories. It is specific to the Kerala region and is said to have been in existence, and barely modified, for thousands of years. There were several options for seeing a Kathakali show. However, we were very pleased with our decision to visit Dr. Devan's Kathakali show. It is held in a theater at his “See India Foundation” headquarters and is a very intimate show where you arrive early to see the actors apply their make up and get a very comprehensive explanation of the history and meaning of Kathakali from Dr. Devan himself, a forty year practitioner and multi-generational inheritor of the Kathakali tradition. A truly incredible experience. The following day we would reunite for a trip into the peninsular districts of Fort Cochin and Mattancherry.

Cochin (or Kochi) sprang into existence in 1341 when a flood created a safe natural port and the chief harbor on the Malabar coast. The royal family moved here from Muziris in 1405, prompting rapid growth and attracting Christian, Arab and Jewish settlers from the Middle East. The aggressive domination of the Portuguese, Dutch and British all followed in the 1500's as each competed to control the port and its lucrative spice trade. Today, you can still visit areas that are rather unchanged and see spice markets, Chinese fishing nets, a synagogue, a Portuguese palace, India's first European church and seventeenth century Dutch homes. In the Mattancherry district, a short walk across the peninsula through the Muslim district, you can see the red tiled riverfront wharves and houses which once occupied the colonial capital's main market and homes of the wealthy Jewish and Jain merchants, which are unfortunately in advanced stages of dilapidation and deterioration. There are even markets that tout the possession of antiques left behind by the Jews when they left in mass to go to Israel in the 1940's.

That evening we would share dinner, as has become our tradition, at Fry's Family Restaurant and enjoy fish molee, cooked in a banana leaf, and a dessert of chocolate fantasy. The following morning an auto rickshaw would take us to yet another bus station where we would board a bus for the six hour ride into the Cardamom Hills region of the Western Ghats and a delightful little town called Kumily.