chillin in kerala

I find myself in Kochin today, after being lucky enough to hop on a ride with an American family from NYC who were going that way. Yay, the universe watches out for me!

Driving in an a/c van for the first time in a while, and moreover, through the same kinda smallish streets, dirt roads, past lush green rice paddies and palm trees, was a little surreal. You always expect to feel the warm, humid air on your face, and the occasional breeze refreshing you immensely, in such environments. Since I've been in India, I've mainly been going around by auto-rickshaws and trains, occasionally doing the hectic bus-hopping thing, all modes of transportation that give me a ticket to a more authentic Indian experience. But anyway, it was nice to sail through to my next destination without having to wait for trains for once. Backpacker experiences, I feel can be anything you want them to be. And today, this came my way.

Kochi is a strange kind of place, with its colonial European presence, prevalance of Kathakali dance, and its spice-trade history. That on top of Kerala's interesting culture -- a communist state, a high literacy rate (a lot of brainy people here), the predominance of Christianity and Islam here. Then there are those wickedly delicious banana chips ; p But whatever its strangeness, I was sooooo happy to see the water. (Crossing over the bridge from Ernakulem to Fort Kochin, I was reminded of the Bay). I hadn't seen the ocean for a month and half! I splurged on a delicious fish mole dinner (a Keralan dish cooked with coconut sauce) just to celebrate.

I think tomorrow definitely warrants a good trip to the beach.