elephant ride

After leaving the Wild Corridor hotel, we made our way down through the town of Kumily to the elephant ranch. This is a delightful place with very happy elephants that do not have to work hard at all, but give silly tourists rides all day long, with breaks for tourists showering them and watching them drag timbers. It is a nice shady ranch, with the elephants lined up in their open shed, happily eating palm leaves. There is one male with beautiful long ivory tusks. I was somewhat hesitant to commit to this activity, as I do not like heights at all and no seat belts , but agreed to it after being bribed to visit an Ayurvedic herb and spice plantation. We were shown to the deck overlooking the elephants, and I realized that to get on an elephant you have to get high enough to reach them in the first place. I thought they politely knelt down so you could step up to them, but no, there is a loading dock. So the elephant , a 7 year old female, named Oshi, sways up to the loading dock and stops. I have to climb on top of the elephant saddle ( not sure if that is what it is called!) and hold on for dear life. It was an interesting feeling to be up that high in the air. I am pretty sure I was hyperventilating! Then we began to walk the elephant trail. Once I realized I probably would not fall off, I began to enjoy the ride. I carefully reached out to pet her, and there are stubby hairs all over her skin, like a really stiff feeling crew cut. Once you get past that, her actual skin is rather soft. She is trained to curl her trunk up when she gets her picture taken, and stayed directly on the path and sauntered along. Her ears were amazing! They were ruffled and grey, with spots showing through the backs which were pink! She seemed fairly happy, and was very well behaved. Along the path are peoples houses. They went about their business, washing their clothes and tending to their livestock. There were gorgeous roosters and plump chickens with their chicks and the most adorable baby goats that looked like stuffed animals. She was led by a man who took many pictures for us, and explained all the plants along the way-mangos, bananas, coffee plants. He gave me a flower to tuck behind my ear so I looked like a Kerala girl riding the elephant, Once the ride was over, she went back to her loft and continued eating her breakfast-palm tree leaves.. I was sorry to disembark.

Next stop was an Ayurvedic herb plantation. We pulled over to the side of the road, and went in. Our guide was a wonderful gentleman who told us he had an economic degree but in Kerala there is no work for degree holders so he is working as a guide in the plantation and he hopes we tell everyone that Kerala is a good place to travel and support the local economy and give everyone great tips! ( This was said in 1 long breath) We began to walk through a garden of plants, many familiar to me with medicinal qualities. It was like a living pharmacy. Here are a few of the more interesting ones. Hibiscus, made into a paste is good for hair loss and dandruff. Coffee, drunk pure, with no chicory added is best for your health. Nasturtium is good for constipation, and nutmeg is good for sleep and diarrhea. It seems that anything that is wrong with you can be fixed with one of these plants on the hillside. Ayurveda is a way of life here, and there are many ayurvedic clinics and homeopathic stores in the villages. I did not see one English pharmacy, and od not even know if they know what an Advil is here. After the tour there was an opportunity to buy some of the spices and herbs. The shops shelves were lined with packets of spices and bottles and jars of tonics. Of course I could not resist, and purchased many wonderful spices. My guide was very happy! I have several bottles of dark, icky smelling tonics, and Larry even took a gooey spoonful of daisy, good for sinus and congestion! We came at the right time, because as we were leaving, a tour bus pulled up and their tour began ( I cannot imagine where they parked on this skinny road). Everywhere we have gone we have been lucky enough to avoid the crowds-our tour was very private, and we asked many questions.

As we were shopping, we met a newly married couple on their honeymoon. She was exquisite, in a sparkling blue sari, and they both had henna designs on their hands, his name on her hands, and hers on his hands as part of the wedding ceremony. They asked to take their picture with us. Then we took theirs- he said the wife always sits on the left side of her husband to be closest to his heart! She was very quiet and he did all the talking. He insisted on giving us his email in case we needed anything in India. The people are very friendly and helpful here. They seemed very happy. The wedding seems to be a huge deal here. When we were at the hotel in Hyderabad, there was an arranged wedding meeting going on. Both families meet and discuss the marriage. The couple sits at separate tables. If an agreement is reached, they go away, to come back a different day. This time the couple meets with the families, and then they have a private dinner together and the rest of the family leaves. On that particular night, the rooftop deck was decorated with candles, heart shaped balloons, a romantic table set for 2, and red roses on the table. What an auspicious beginning! There are many beautiful rituals and ceremonies in India.

So, to continue on with our journey. We stopped and bought tea, harvested right from the hills. No tour-we were anxious to get to Kumarakom to the resort there, and what the distance is on the map is not always true to how long it takes you to get there!

Again we drove through small villages, rural areas, a big bustling town, and finally you could see the landscape change and the actual land start to show itself.- green again. We arrived in Kumarakom, after winding our way back down the mountain with our drivers usually breakneck speed! The resort is located on Lake Vembannatto, the largest lake in Kerala. The resort, Kumarakom Lake Resort has been the top hotel in Kerala for the last 4 years, and rightly so. As we drove through the large iron gate, the staff appears to greet you, and you enter an amazing open air lobby, with traditional Kerala architecture- and carved beams. The clay tile roof shingles have a design on the back so it shows through the rafters. The lake is in view, and a magnificent breeze cooled you. Our room was called meandering pool villas, which meant we had our own bungalow with our own delicious pool that was surrounded by native plants -completely private, an oasis! As you pulled open the heavy wood doors to the bungalow, complete with the most amazing decorative door handle I have ever seen, you then stepped over the raised threshold (it is higher to keep out evil spirits) and entered a beautiful room, serene and comfortable. The best part though, was the bathroom. It was a full bathroom completely open air. The shower was in its own whole section, with granite stones for a floor over smaller river stones the water drained through! It had high walls around it ensuring privacy, with the roof architecture peaking through, and this looked like a work of art. It was like brushing your teeth in a garden. Each piece of the timbers in the buildings here were painstakingly carved and aged to perfection.

We ate a late lunch in the restaurant by the lake. The food here is not as spicy as in Hyderabad and suits my taste more. I ate some deep fried bitter gourd with cashes that was amazing. There is a lot of okra and fresh vegetables, a lot of beautiful fruit (you do have to be careful about what you eat, so I mainly look at those) . The rule is, cooked food , fruit you peel yourself, (knives used to cut and may be contaminated with bacteria in the water), and only bottled water to drink (no ice) and brush your teeth with. I have felt fine. We are also taking malaron, as a preventative measure to ward off malaria from mosquito bites. The bugs are not too bad, and the hotels all have mosquito repellant plug ins in the rooms. Seems a shame to have to take so many precautions.

After lunch, a dip in our pool. This is high season, so it was very busy. There is an infinity pool at the edge of the lake, but our own pool was so nice. Afterwards it was late afternoon, so we took a sunset cruise with music provided by local musicians drumming and playing the flute, along with something that sounded like a harmonium. The sky changed from bright sun to a ball of orange, but it disappeared before hitting the horizon. The cruise on the lake was nice, even without a spectacular sunset. Then to dinner, with a cultural program. A man in a Kerala costume with green face paint. He performed a 400 year old traditional dance called Kathakali  to a story about Shiva, a woman and Hanuman. He used  music, facial expressions and different parts of his costume to illustrate the characters. Kathakali combines facets of ballet, opera, masque and pantomime. What that man could do with his eyebrows! His expression changed convincingly from male to a very flirtatious female to hanuman, the monkey god with the puffy cheeks! It was very cool.

Tomorrow we board a houseboat to cruise the backwaters. Looking forward to it.