We got in to Ooty in the afternoon, found a room, got some food and called the rest of the day a wash. We did schedule a tour for the next day though our hotel though. It was really unclear what we were signing up for, we got the impression that we were seeing some local sights and taking a jeep out of town for a hike; the tour was supposed to last about 8 hours.
The next morning our guide (Rajiv) met us at our hotel with two Swiss girls in tow. They were very odd; I tried a few times to make small talk but they were very closed off, almost hostel. When I introduced us and asked where they were from they said, "you're from the US right." and made a face. Then later when I saw one of them had a tattoo on her neck and asked her about it, she said she didn't want to talk about it (bad idea to get a neck tattoo if you don't want anyone to notice it). And finally when I overheard that one of the girls was in law school and asked her about it she responded in monosyllables. Roxy thought that maybe they thought I was hitting on them because one of them chatted pleasantly with Jill on the buss back to the hotel. I guess I just give off an aura of such raw sexuality that people can't tell if I'm trying to talk them into a quick shag, just trying to make small talk.
Anyway, our guide took us to the bus station and we went about a half hour out of town, we got off the bus and started hiking up a small trail into the hills. As we went up he would stop periodically and point out medicinal and editable plants, and unique local species. He showed us a kind of edible berry and we grazed all the way up to the peek of the mountain, they looked like green blue-berries and tasted a bit like apple.
Delicious.When we reached the top of the hill it was absolutely breathtaking. We stopped for a stack, took some amazing photos, and chatted with Rajiv about the history of the region. He offered me a beady (a cheap Indian cigarette [Frightfully bohemian {About the shittiest, lowest class tobacco you can get; a hipsters wet dream}]) and when I had some trouble getting my match to catch in the wind, Rajiv showed me the proper way to light them, then suddenly started laughing, "we Indians go to America to learn engineering and get good jobs, you come to India to learn to light a match!"
We started back down the hill after about a half hour and on the way down we saw some lepord droppings and a Giant Squirrel (Seriously, click that link, It's pretty cool, It looks like a huge tree mongoose). We thought that we just heading back down to the bus but we found ourselves entering a clearing with a bunch of laughing kids playing soccer in it.
Rajiv ran out front and picked up a few kids, tossing them around like oversized tee-shirts at a baseball game. He told us that this was his grandmother’s village and that we were surrounded by hill people. Now, in the US, "surrounded by hill people" is a situation always followed by meth fueled, Appellation rape, But here it means tea, homemade food, adorable children, and anthropology lessons. Roxy and I watched some women kniting a shawl which we bought when she finnished and Jill played soccer with Rajiv and the kids.
After the village we went down past a some Gar (wild Indian Bison), over a dam and out to another tribal village. We were invited to a villagers back porch to sit, drink our fourth cup of chai for the day, and meet the entire village. We sat for a while and talked to the adults while the children slowly got over there shyness.
Then, as the sun was beginning to sink, we started back for town. On our way down, Rajiv would flag down passers by and introduced us to them. On man we talked to insisted that we go visit his village, when we told him that we just came from having chai there, he said, "No no, that is not enough. You must come back and my wife will make you all dinner!" Everyone we met was friendly, familial, and full of joy. I think that the tribal people we met that day were some of the nicest folk I have ever met.
I think the next day Roxy and Jill took a horseback ride that they seemed to enjoy, and then we were off on a bus to Cochin!
The main event of Cochin is a island a short 5 cent ferry ride from the mainland called Fort Kochi. Roxy was feeling a bit under the weather when we got in, so Jill and I traipsed off to Kochi, leaving Roxy to wallow in anguish and unintentionally hilarious Indian TV. We walked out the islands point to see one of the most iconic views in South India, Karalla’s Chinese fishing nets.
Then we got some fish curry that was good enough to make up for my horrifying "fish curry" experience in Wyanad. After fooding we when to Kochi's old theater and watched a Katakali dance performance.
We got in a bit early and we were able to watch the actors painstakingly put on their makeup, made from ground rocks and coconut oil then they gave us a bit of a drum performance. Katakali is a play in which the actors don't talk at all, instead, they use a language made up of facial expressions, dance moves, and hand gestures to act out the script. It is its own full language and the performance is a bit like watching a really classy dance-off. A full Katikali performance can take up to 10 hours so we just got a 1 hour chunk of a performance. It was six lines of "dialogue" in which a demon was scoping out heaven for hot chicks to kidnap for her brother, but instead she sees the prince of heaven and falls in love. She shape-shifts into a hottie and tries to seduce him, but he gets annoyed and cuts off her nose, ears, and breasts. THE END!
The next day Roxy was feeling better so we all went back out to Fort Kochi. It was raining pretty hard all day, so we spent most of our day in shops, poking around, and shopping a bit. We tried to go to a martial arts performance later, but were foiled because it was apparently one of those India holidays that we, as westerners, weren't aware of. Instead we wandered back toward the fishing nets where we were drawn into a roadside seafood place by less-than-half price fish meals and a custom made veg dish for roxy. While we were there we met our first Americans of the trip (a couple from Minnesota) and compared adventures with them. They seemed a little overwhelmed by the whole experience. They, like a surprising number of people we have met, were exploring India alone, with no guide, and no help but their Lonely Planet. This always impresses me; Roxy and I had the advantage of a community of other travelers and Viji, our program director, looking out for us on our first time here and I can't imagine trying to figure this place out alone.
The next day we hopped a bus to Periyar National Park. I think that Roxy is going to catch you up from here.
Great post, Jordan!
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