Travel UN!imited

To read another article select an option from the list --------------------------------------- Travel Unlimited Home Page --------------------------------------- Historical Sites --------------------------------------- Ajanta Badami Bhimbetka Bikaner Daulatabad Ellora Gyaraspur Hampi Jaisalmer Mandu Sanchi Vidisha --------------------------------------- Wild Ramblings --------------------------------------- Arashinagundi and Kodachadri Chembra Jog Falls Kabini Kerala Railway Track Trek Ranthambhore Roopkund Tapovan Dandeli White-Water Rafting --------------------------------------- Photo Gallery --------------------------------------- Miscellany

Lazing Around

The next day passes in a haze. We seem to do nothing but eat all day. The only thing of any note that happens is that air tickets are delivered to us, taking us from Cochin to Bangalore. This means we can take a backwater cruise tomorrow and reach Cochin tomorrow night. It will mean finding our way from Kovalam to Quilon, and later from Alleppey to Cochin, probably by public transport since funds are now running low. But backwatering was the point of the whole trip, so we decide to celebrate with yet another plate of fish and chips.

In the morning we have explored the tiny "private" beach right next to the hotel. A lifeguard warned us against venturing too far into the water, so we just got our toes wet leaning against some rocks, and, in the short time span of a couple of hours, acquired quite a prominent tan. We breakfasted at nine, lunched (fish and chips, of course) at twelve, snacked at three, celebrated at six. In between we only just managed to find time to take a quick trip to the larger beach we had visited yesterday, and hunt for souvenirs. The take amounted to a total of three boats - one metal, two wooden - a tea cosy (of all things!) a tiny metal ganesha, and a wooden rhino. Our acquisitive nature thus satisfied, we returned to the hotel, watched another wonderful sunset from our favourite perch in the extended restaurant, and took lots more photographs.

A particular outcrop of rock close to our small beach now attracts a lot of our attention. The highest point is quite high, so that most of the waves coming in can't wet it. The leeward side of the rock is very low, mostly in the water, and connects to the rocky mainland. Amit wants to quickly cut across the low part, climb the higher part and stand on the top, watching the waves. I tell him I don't want to be widowed at a young age, particularly as he has not yet filled in sundry insurance forms. He assures me it is quite safe. You can just cross quickly when there is no wave nearby, and you are home and dry, he argues. I am not convinced. If a big wave breaks, it washes over some parts of the slope and fills the low-lying area, and the water must be pretty strong, is what I think. Besides, those low rocks would be sharp and slippery, and it will take a good deal longer to cross than you think, I tell him. He is not convinced. But I know how slow he is to climb rocks, and how unstable, given his stature. In any case, I am not going to allow him to try stunts, so he gives up.

Having eaten at the restaurant all day, we decide to try the crowded waterfront for dinner options. This is a mistake, because we get sugarless fresh lime soda (which the waiter has to be reminded of the order of), tasteless soup with unidentifiable, amorphous chunks floating in it, and seedy dinner companions, of which one lot in particular settle down with a bottle of inferior whisky in a businesslike fashion. The food, when it arrives is not too bad, but we are glad to finish quickly and return to the familiarity of our hotel. The crows have been deprived of food by keeping doors and windows shut and locking the leftover food into the cupboard, so we get to bed without further ado.

Next page >> | << Previous page

Comments and information welcome. Write to poupee97 at yahoo dot com
Copyright © 2006 Amit and Anamika Mukherjee. All rights reserved.