South India | Travel Log and Photographs

S out h Indi a JARS

Singap ore B enga lur u Hosp et Hampi B ad ami Hubli G okar na Mur udeshwa Manga lore Ko chi Kumara kom A l lep e y Thek kady Ko dei kanai Munnar Madurai Pondicher r y C hennai Singap ore

It has a lways b e en a dre am of mine to v isit Indi a.

When t he p ossibi lit y of it b e coming a re a lit y aros e, it did not matter to w here we wou ld go.

Sp oradic and unpre cendente d dis c ussions in a sma l l liv ing ro om / b e d ro om in t he Utow n R esidence s aw t he b eg inning of a one man t r ip g row ing to host g re ater comp any.

In an attempt to ke ep a t r ip a live e ven af ter its end, t his t ravel log s er ves to host snipp ets of my life-a lter ing adventures. It is de dic ate d to Aj ay, R obb er t, S erkan, Anir ud h and Abhishek, in celebrat ion of t he spir ite d d ays I have share d w it h a l l of you in one way or anot her dur ing t he summer of 2016.

You c an b e sure I haven’t and won’t forget it.

Singap ore - B enga lur u “Where i s S? �

Me et ing R and S at t he air p or t in B ang kok was t he init i at ion to B anga lore, w here we met A, w hich b eg in S out h Indi a t hroug h a s er ies of lo comot ive t rains and swelter ing bus r ides.

A lt houg h shor t, one of t he b est and most memorable moments was sp ent in t he b o okstores of B anga lore. St acke d to t he br im, t he y were a s e a of p ossibi lit ies, adventures fe e ding e ver y st rain of c ur iosit y.

Had it not b e en imp ossible, I wou ld have considere d hole-ing up here for we eks w it h a ne w re ad or ten.

L ater t hat d ay was sp ent t hroug h rain at a lovely f r iend of f r iend’s, w it h f ine w hisky, b e aut if u l c ats, and l aug hter over a de ck of E xplo ding Kittens b efore t he l ate supp er r un.

What a g re at d ay t hat was.

B anga lore - Hosp et - Hampi, Kar nat a ka .

D ays f ly by.

We had a s che du le to fol low, roug h but rat her pre cis e. A dis app ointing sin k o cc ure d as we ran t hroug h t he crowd at t he t rain st at ion t hin k ing we had miss e d our t icket out. Than k f u l ly, it was del aye d.

What a st roke of luck! And s o, a sle ep er t rain we b o ard to go.

Ar r iv ing at Hosp et, we s que e ze into an “auto”, an hour’s r ide into t he old he ar t of Hampi. Humpy and bumpy, w it h t he t ag line “B e Happy at Hampi.” Gig g les inside me as my stomach chur ne d t he w hole way.

The dep ar ture f rom a cosmop olit an cit y to t he r ura l p er ipher y was t he b eg inning of embracing swelter ing he at and a nos e dive into t he br ute but b e aut if u l elements of nature t hroug h remnants of w hat was t he l ast g re at Hindu Kingdom.

A ls o, R and S dre w attent ion f rom t he lo c a ls li ke f lies to f r uit.

Vir up a ksha Temple Group of Monuments at Hampi, Kar nat a ka

Tungabhadra R iver (L) Sub Ground Temples f i l le d w it h water (R)

Q ue en’s B at h (L) Step Wel ls (R)

B ack Ent rance of Vir up a ksha Temple (L) G opuram (R)

Hampi - Hubli - G okar na.

A dog g reeted u s at midnight. We named him Poop D og.

Ar r iv ing l ate w it hout a pl ace to st ay, we t ransvers e t he st airs le ading to t he b e ach and t resp ass into a c afe. The gu ard c a l ls anot her and we manage a ro om at a ste ep pr ice on t he hi l l. E le c t r icit y problems. The next d ay, we get regu l ar ro oms, no AC. B at hing in a hot bl an ket of p aradis e.

Nig ht fa l l des er ves its ow n. I hadn’t exp e c te d s o much cont rast on a st r ip of b e ach in t he indi an summer. The co ol repl ace d a hot bl an ket.

The clouds ab ove for me d a s of t hand cl asping dow n onto t he b an k, in its p a lm a w hite bu lb, t he br ig htest.

Atop a t a l l ro ck by t he shore we s at and crane d our ne cks, sway ing to t he dr if t ing s ounds of ce as eless l apping . I rememb er wonder ing if mer maids and a l l of t hat j azz were re a l.

on a fe w nig ht s of the calendar, the moon r i s es f rom the silk waves of your neck it s g leam spilling ac ross the broad back of milk s and, c ra shing onto pink c reas ed banks. a biting howl s ei z es the air s o s alted. in a blur r y haz e and e ver a tender g az e, unde r the spinning sky and c rater dome come r u shing in

B ask ing in t he d ay.

R and I ma ke a t r ip by fo ot t hat st retches t he moment for longer.

A Mot h f lies onto my a lfons o slice and e ats its ne c t ar.

We jump waves at a pr ivate b e ach.

Anima ls pl ay.

B o oks, c ards amidst adventures and t he merc ur i a l swa l low ing sun melt ing e ver yt hing in its way, a l l except p erhaps t he wet mou lding s and, co ol f rom spl ashing .

A myster ious man, no t wo, on s ep arate o cc asions, of fer ing w it hout exchange a blunt to p ass and convers at ion. B ot h sp e a k of yesterd ays and t he f uture. How is it t hat me et ing ne w p e ople w hi le t ravel ling s e ems to b e s o ef for t less?

G okarana - Manga lore “Would you like me to boil s ome water for your shower? �

The c a lm and slow unw inding ter minates in anot her stuf f ing of our b ackp acks w it h a s et of f resh l aundr y. We had acclimat is e d and t he hot af ter no on st at ic lef t us rest less. We lef t on a t rain to Manga lore.

Train r ides are f i l le d w it h sle ep, and if not, c ards, and if not, b o oks.

By t hen, it had b e come more t han comfor t able despite t he s que e ze.

Dinner was t he lo c a l t ha li, f i l ling and delicious. It was on t he mu lt iple adventures on t his t r ip t hat I prac t ice d e at ing w it h my hands, and got b etter at it.

Nig ht fa l l. Tucke d away in a universit y was t he home of a woman, aunt of A, an indep endent, her couch I slept on for t wo nig hts in Mangalore. Her t houg hts she st r ung s o elo quent ly into words I cou ld ke ep listening to l ate into t he nig ht.

Manga l ore - Ko chi - A l lep e y “How much for the Hou s e boat? ” “D on’t tell them how much we gave it to you.”

The t r ip was not a lways smo ot h, in fac t at t imes e ven a st r ug g le. I fel l sick at Ko chi. D espite t hat, I was lucky to have had t he opp or tunit y to lo ok at t he f isher man cont rapt ions b efore we st ar te d on our way to A l lep e y.

A was s ay ing how lovely it wou ld b e to live on a hous eb o at. I hadn’t b e en on one b efore.

We got lucky and st r i ke d a de a l w it h a b o at man, shar ing a hous eb o at w it h a fami ly and a p air of ne w ly we ds.

It was b e aut if u l. B eing out at s e a w it h t he long bre e ze was delig ht f u l to t he s ens es.

We to ok tur ns t a k ing naps, re ading , t a l k ing to t he lo c a ls and lo ok ing at s cener y.

Finding a st icker on t he AC of a c ar to on of t wo b oys and re a lising t heir s em l ance to A and R made for a hi l ar ious memor y. I’ l l ne ver forget t he p ara l lels.

Eg g yol k Sunr is e A l lep e y

A l lep e y - Munnar.

A change in weather, cloud altitude.

A long and arduous bus r ide was made comfor t able by t he t ransit ion f rom hot and humid we at her to co ol. As we ro de up towards t he hi l l st at ion, we entere d clouds . To s ay t he fog was ref reshing wou ld b e an underst atement as by t hen t he br ist le of he at had b e come nor ma lit y.

Te a bushes emerge d e ver y w here, e ven on t he ste ep est of slop es. We had, as w it h pl aces b efore, found a pl ace to st ay b eforehand. This one t he most idy l lic, w hite bunga lows w it h blue ro ofs, and a si lencing v ie w into t he va l le y.

Sle ep c ame e asy here. S omet hing ab out t he mount ain air?

Visit ing t he tow n center ne ar t he p e a k reminde d me of B andung’s craters. C ho col ate and spice stores were in abund ance.

One nig ht, we met w it h an “auto” accident t hat cou ld have cost us our lives. Whi le r iding b ack f rom t he cit y, a w he el c ame los e f rom t he vehicle and it sk id to t he e dge of t he clif f side.

We’re g l ad to b e a live.

10am, From t he b a lcony

Trai ling t he Hi l l St at ion

R o ad to Madurai

Munnar - Ma durai.

“You think the only people who are people - are the people who look and think like you - but if you’d walk the footsteps of a stranger - you’ ll lear n thing s you ne ver kne w you’d e ver kne w”

Sing ing disne y s ongs on t he way dow n t he hi l l st at ion, we r ide t hroug h chang ing temp eratures once more into t he bust ling and p acke d cit y of Madurai.

Me ena kshi Amman Temple (L) is 2600 ye ars old. A l arge complex. four ent rances, s qu are g r ids ab ound and ha l ls. R and I st rol le d t hroug h t he pra karams, and t he ha l l of t hous and pi l l ars. We found t he nest ing pl ace of k ittens and c aug ht t he attent ion of a de vote e, w hom we fol lowe d to prayer shr ines f i l le d w it h j asmine f lowers.

A v isit to t he TIr uma l ai Naya k Pa l ace (R) tur ne d out to b e a s anc tuar y for birds, a buf fer in t he cent re of t he cit y. Stor ies of yore f i l le d t he ha l ls w it h an e yebrow raising lig ht show.

The cit y was not hing shor t of excit ing to explore by fo ot. Cu ltura l haven.

Mu l l a Po o Flower Garl and

Madu rai - Pondicher r y - C hennai “ The Mother.”

Up on ar r iva l, we rente d a s co oter of t he hot pin k var iet y and s at p acke d as s ardines, R b et we en A and I, us t he courage ous and he t he f r ig ht f u l. Pondicher r y was a st range mix of foreig n-lo c a l, w it h internat iona l c uisines and g lob a l st and ards of tour ism. I exp er ience d my f irst Ayur ve d a mass age and it was abs olutely AMAZING. J had told me ab out Aurov i l le s ome t ime t hroug h t he t r ip to o and i was delig hte d to b e able to v isit. The univers a l cit y is de dic ate d to human ide a ls of unit y and har mony, t he Mat ir mandir a sig ht to b ehold (L).

Me et ing w it h a t raveling fami ly on t he ro of top of our hostel one nig ht made for an exp er ience as wel l. We found out we were s ep arate d by one deg re e. Fre a ky.

Fat igue had t a ken over. By t hen, my he a lt h a ls o wors ene d as I regurg it ate d of ten in t he nig ht, e ventu a l ly ne e ding to v isit a hospit a l b efore we lef t to C hennai.

Abiding to my re quest, we t ravele d by c ar into t he c apit a l of Tami l Nadu, ar r iv ing in t he e vening , it was g re at to s e e A again. Hi l ar it y ensue d.

I dep ar te d to Pho enix Ma l l t he next d ay to do s ome much ant icip ate d shopping and s e cret ly met w it h A and his sister for lunch. B oug ht s o many Sha lwar Kame e zes, and s ome C hur id ar. Mom loves t hes e and I’m g l ad I got t hem.

We had a ls o met a big bund le of j oy in A’s hous ehold - Tango, he reminde d me s o much of Si lver. Oh Si lver, how I miss you s o. An end less hunger, mis chief, e ven temp erament. Touche d my he ar t.

I rememb er t he l ast nig ht most v iv id ly, as t ime craw le d s o slow ly it felt li ke t wo d ays of d ark ness.

C hennai - Singap ore The mor ning af ter was goodbye.

I f le w b ack to Singap ore f rom C hennai st i l l re cover ing f rom t he v ir us, s ome sle ep debt, a g lor ious t an and a de ep ache.

That marke d t he end of Indi a and JARS. If not for t he adventurous spir it of my p e ers, supp or t f rom my fami ly and my ow n impu lsiveness, t he t r ip wou ld not have happ ene d for me.

Than ks for t he memor ies, guys. I’ l l c ar r y t hem for life.

Unt i l We Me et Again L ove, Ji a