Howie's Travel Adventures: India

My collection of Lonely Planet guides.
You can see that my India guide is a little worse for wear.

I certainly made use of this while in India, that's for sure.
It will now be generously handed on to a book exchange in Nepal, for the next person venturing to India.

my collection of boarding passes that I've accumulated since departing Australia on April 28th 2010.

Friday 23rd July 2010, 7.45am local time, Chennai International Airport, India

The flight into India was quite a seamless, enjoyable and easy event. Despite boarding late, there were no major hiccups and I landed in Chennai International Airport on time.

On the flight I met two Indian people who were coming home to family in Tamil Nadu. One was a lady returning from visiting relatives in Malaysia. The other, a graduate returning from study in Melbourne.

When I walked into the arrivals area, I had no idea of what would happen beyond immigration, except that I wanted to go to Mammallapuram... and that involved taking a local bus.

I had no onward ticket out of India, which might have been a problem, as sometimes immigration officials demand proof of onward travel to allow entry. I had no hotel booked. I had no idea how to speak Tamil. And I’d never been to India before!

Despite all of this, moments later I was carrying my luggage out of the front of the airport trying to locate the bus stand amidst India!

My wits were all on high alert as questions ran through my mind and the thrill of newness was coursing through my body. What am I doing here? What is that smell? What is that person doing? Is that spit all over the ground? Why are there so many people here?

A few hours later after a taxi ride, a bus ride and another taxi ride, the driver took me to his mates place: Laxmi Hotel. 500 Rupees per night, 100 metres from Mammallapuram beach, hot shower, 25 metre swimming pool. It was an excellent deal!

Already, I had experienced India. Traffic, smells, clamour, chaos, colour, speed, drama, poverty, environmental degradation, music and spirituality!

I had no major expectations of India – I came to get hit in the face with it and grabbed by the balls by it, only knowing that there was something here for me to learn and experience that perhaps would change my life...

So starting in Mammallapuram, Tamil Nadu, I began my crash course in Hinduism. I already had a few ideas about Ganesh, Laxmi, Buddha, Om, etc, but this was only a drop in the ocean of all there is to know about Hinduism. Further to this, I don’t think there is anyone in India who does as it is so complex, changing and unstructured – and different people of different castes, backgrounds and geographical locations all have their own Hindu gods/goddesses that they worship.

Mammallapuram was a good choice to start actually. As right there on the grubby beach of this dusty town are very old Hindu temples dating back to 600AD. From Mamallapuram I toured south to the temples of Trichy and Madurai – and then to the southernmost tip of the continent at Kanyakumari.

Temple on Mammmallapuram Beach

Temple on Mammallapuram Beach

Ancient sculpture in Hindu temple

Inside the ancient rock temple

Me in front of one of the towers at the Giant Shi Menakshi temple in Madurai

Close up of sculpture on Gopuram of Shri Menakshi Temple

one of the artistic parts of an old Hindu temple in Trichy

By the end of the second week in India I had taken a few train rides, seen many temples, eaten a lot of Indian food and was beginning to become a little desensitised to the culture. India is easy to get around (although it can be uncomfortable at times), the food is great, and everything is a lot more affordable than Thailand using the Australian Dollar.

Elephant blessing pilgrims at Shri Menakshi temple, Madurai

Shri Menakshi temple, Madurai

Our lady of ransom church, Kanyakumari

locals on the Mammallapuram Beach

inside the Rock Fort Temple in Trichy

Me at the temple in Trichy

Me! looking up the inside of the viewing tower on Kanyakumari beach.

Thiruvallar statue on the right, with Vivekenanda memorial behind it.
To the left is the Ghandi memorial (peachey colour)

Close up of Thiruvallar statue at Kanyakumari - he is huge!
They say he is like India's take on the statue of liberty.

From Kanyakumari I took the train north to the resort town of Varkala. It was the monsoon, but it was a sunny day. The train ride was beautiful, the tracks cut through jungle, rice paddies, villages before riding along the glorious backwaters of Kerala. Alongside the train there are lotus growing in the polluted trackside water. Wallahs on the train sell chai (5 rupees) and samousas (6 rupees each) as I enjoy the view and a conversation with a local guy on the way to work in Trivandrum.

I am at Varkala station at 7.30am and I hire a taxi to take me to Varkala beach. The usual deal ensues with the taxi driver...

“Which hotel you stay sir?”

“No hotel thank-you. Can you take me to Black Beach?”

“Ok sir. Ok” – pause- “I know a good hotel on beach; Bamboo Huts”

The driver hands me a flyer.

I read the flyer. Seems nice. So I ask the driver:

“How much per night”

“You speak to my friend at the hotel”

“No. It’s ok. Just take me to Black Beach”

The taxi pulls up to Bamboo Huts against my wishes... I say to the driver, “No, Black Beach please!”

He tries again with a smile, “Just look here now! My friend has very good room for you!”

I get out of the cab and greet the owner.

“Hello! How much are your rooms?”

“We have rooms for 1200 rupees sir”

“This is too much for me, thank-you.”

I tersely and efficiently pay the taxi driver, retrieve my bags, and walk through the resort out onto the Varkala Beach... and it all opens up to me, as light mist and sea spray blushes the scene.

To my left, sheer, sandy cliffs drop down 50m to the wild Arabian sea. Beneath me, a winding pavement that hugs the edge of the clifff for miles. To my right; endless coconut palms, resorts, massage parlours, restaurants, internet cafes and gift shops. I hear the crashing waves below, the shrill of the eagles above and the wind rustling the coconut palms.

I take a stroll along the path touring in and out of hotels looking at rooms before I find a place opposite the beach, with big clean almost new rooms painted in fresh cream paint. Coconut palms and flowers are in the garden. Each room has cane chairs out the front and a window facing the ocean! As it’s offseason I get the room for 400 rupees a night.

Dusk on the Varkala cliffs

One of the many good value breakfasts I've had while travelling India.
This one in Varkala was cheap and very filling. And the scenery... breathtaking!