Tag: India
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Kochi: a history of foreign influence
Kochi, as spelled in the Malayalam alphabet, has been the name of this city for centuries. When Western powers came to India (the Portuguese, the Dutch and then the British), the transcription of the name in the Western alphabet was spelled Cochi. In 1996, along with many other areas of India,…
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Journey to Alleppey.
After seeing the mountain goats, monkeys and wild elephants of the Western Ghats, it was time to return to the backwaters of coastal Kerala, this time to the northern section of Kerala. Our journey down the two lane roads from the mountain took us by fields of tea plantantions and rubber…
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Day 14: Thekkady & Periyar National Park
We went down to a very colorful breakfast buffet. It was August 15, Indian Independence Day, and the cooks had prepared various dishes (the Southern Indian speciality of round steamed idli lentil and rice cakes in particlular) in the three colors of the Indian flag: green, orange and white. At 9am, all…
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Day 13: The Drive to Periyar
Our time in Munnar’s tea plantations had come to an end. But before we leave Munnar, I should highlight the efforts of the town to address plastic bottle waste. This was the first town in India where we experienced municipal signs encouraging the recycling of water bottles. Kerala is a melting…
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Day 12, Part II: Eravikulam National Park
Anamudi is the highest peak in the Western Ghats (and south of the Himalayas in India), rising to over 8,800 feet. It is within the borders of Eravikulam National Park, the oldest National Park in Kerala. India did not gain its freedom from the British Raj until 1947 (more on…
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Munnar Day 2, Part 1: The Jeep Tour
The Western Ghats are the oldest mountains in India and have many peaks that rise above 6,600 feet (which is the highest point in the Eastern US at Mt. Mitchell in ancient mountains of Western NC, where I have spent many happy days), so these Indian mountains feel familiar to…
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Day 11: Munnar and tea plantations
The Southern coastal areas of present day Kerala (which we had left behind us once we boarded the train at Trivandrum) were never under the direct administrative control of the British Empire (or its predecessor, the British East India Company). The Kingdoms of Cochin (Kochi) and Travancore (whose capital was…
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Day 10: Travel to the Western Ghats
Our time in Trivandrum had come to an end. We were now going to begin our tour of other parts of Kerala with Kingston’s folks. That tour began with catching a 6:30am train ride, but this one was only for a 4 hour journey retracing our path north back to…
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Day 9: the Backwaters
Kingston and his folks came over to check out our resort on Day 9. As Mom was walking the grounds, she recalled walking through this former coconut plantation as a child. The plantation coconut field was her short cut to the local movie theater from her house (and this land…
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Day 8 continues: Kerala beaches and relatives
Our driver on Day 8 was Kingston’s Uncle (Mom’s brother) who has a business that provides transportation, which is why he had a van big enough for all our luggage when we arrived in Kerala. As discussed in my previous post, our first stop on Day 8 was at the…
Ginger Without Borders 