Southern India - 13 February 2012 (2)

 Mettupallam

Red-Whiskered Bulbul

We reached Mettupallam and kept on going.  Our rooms for the night were in the Black Thunder Resort on the Ooty Main Road.  It was a long way out of town.  We were welcomed with a blessing, a garland and a soft drink.

Red-Whiskered Bulbul

Our rooms were all in the same building and looked out on the national park which was right behind the back wall of the resort.  I went out on the balcony for some bird spotting.  There were more red-whiskered bulbuls and a chestnut-headed bee-eater.  Some of the bulbuls flew into the resort to drink from a puddle left by a leaking tap, so I got a very good view of them.  The bee-eater had a perch just outside our window and kept flying off to catch an insect and returning to the same perch.  I watched him for ages.

Chestnut-Headed Bee-Eater

Chestnut-Headed Bee-Eater

I decided to go outside for more birdwatching and headed round the back to see if I could get a better view of the bee-eater.  Several members of our group with downstairs rooms were sitting outside, enjoying the sun and drinking beer.  Not liking beer, I hadn’t appreciated how much it figured in other people’s enjoyment of the holiday.  It turned out that Harish’s cool box was carrying bottles of beer as well as water.  I’m not sure how long that had been going on.  Unfortunately, disaster had struck and they had just drunk the last of the beer.  The bee-eater was still flying around, but when I tried to get the others to look at him, they just said they would only be interested if he could bring more beer.

Paddyfield Pipit??

So off I set to the nearby football pitch, where there were a lot of mynah birds.  There was also a brown bird which might have been a paddyfield pipit.

Ground Squirrel

We were due to meet up in reception for a trip to the lookout tower, with views of the national park.  I got there a bit early, but I wasn’t the first.  Another British couple were already waiting.  They came from Croydon and were travelling on their own but were due to meet up with an Exodus tour in Ooty.  While we waited, a man who did massages was touting for business.  Apparently some members of our tour had gone to him for a massage, but were far from impressed.  We refused his offer, because looking at wild animals was so much better.

Indian Pond Heron

White-Browed Wagtail

The others arrived and we set off for the lookout tower.  We were led past a lake where an Indian pond heron and a white-browed wagtail were sitting on some boats.  A snake was swimming in the water.  A ground squirrel ran across the paved surface next to the lake.

Gaur at Waterhole

Not much was happening when we got to the top of the lookout tower, but we waited patiently.  Then Jen spotted some gaur, making their way down to the waterhole from the left.  They disappeared into the bushes for a while.  A chital stuck its head out and then walked across the main clearing.  Then the gaur came into view and started to drink at the waterhole.  There were two females and two small calves.  They were there for quite a while.  Then we saw two samba and, finally, a wild boar.  By then the light had faded, far too much for photos.  It was nearly dinnertime, so we headed back.

Gaur at Waterhole

Lukose invited everyone back to his room for beer and rum and coke.  Jen and I just went back to our room and then went to eat, which meant we were first.  In fact, we were already on our main course when the others arrived.  Dinner was on the lawn to the back of reception.  The only animals about were cats.  We could hear two fighting and then we saw one dash off, presumably from the scuffle.  A cat came and sat under our table – I’m not sure whether it was for protection from another cat or in the hope of food hand outs.

Sunset over the Nilgiri Hills

We left the others to their desert and went back to the room for an early night.  There was a very early start the next morning.  I tried to plug in my battery charger so pulled out the TV plug as this had the only socket.  Strangely, I was unable to push the plug in the socket – and then I couldn’t put the TV plug back either.

Southern India - 13 February 2012 (1)

Journey to Mettupallam

Coimbatore Flower Market

Coimbatore Flower Market

Once again, breakfast at the hotel was slow, but slightly faster because we picked up our own food at the counter.  The toast left lots to be desired.  Two slices were put in the toaster side by side, which meant that one side of each slice didn’t face the heating elements and had no chance of getting brown.  By the time my omelette came, my toast was cold.  I like my toast warm and a very dark brown, so I wasn’t impressed.  However, the omelette and the orange juice were both very nice.

Coimbatore Flower Market

We left at 0800 after waving at a crocodile of friendly schoolchildren heading off to school.  We crossed over to a manmade island where most of the shipping activity of Kochi is carried out.  Then back again onto the mainland where there were some unusually shaped high rises.

Coimbatore Flower Market

It took quite a while to get out of Kochi.  We amused ourselves by looking at the billboards.  One, advertising coconut hair oil, demonstrated the advantages by showing before and after pictures.  These read from right to left, making it look like the oil would make your hair fall out.

Man and Moustache

I read and slept until we had a brief coffee stop.  Most of us just had ice-cream filled lollies.  The choice was chocolate or mango and I had mango.  They were very nice and cost just Rs15.  As I ate my lolly, I looked up into the trees and saw some different birds.  There was a pair of tiny sunbirds with hooked beaked and high chirps.  He was black and she was brown and white.  I also heard my first red-whiskered bulbul.  Like all bulbuls, he had a really beautiful song.

Lady, Coimbatore Flower Market

We continued on for another two hours until we reached our lunch stop in Walayar.  The lunch was very nice with a veggie buffet.  I particularly liked the pulverised pumpkin.  The others also got a small fish on a side plate.

Soon after leaving the restaurant, we reached the border.  Once again Guruprasad had to pay duty on the bus.

Young Men in Flower Market

Young Man in Flower Market

At 1445, we stopped at yet another flower market, this time in Coimbatore.  Once again people played to our cameras.  When we got back on the bus, Lukose handed round some red bananas.  He had told us about the wide range of bananas available in India days before and had promised that he would show us some red bananas.  The skin was a dull red, but the inside looked just like any other banana.  They tasted much nicer than other bananas though and were slightly sweet.

Southern India - 12 February 2012 (3)

Kochi - Kathakali Dancing and Dinner

Applying Make-Up for Kathakali Dance

At 1800, we set off for a show of Kathakali dancing, where they were performing a scene from the epic Narakasuravadham.  When we got there, the two dancers, who were both men, were sitting on the stage and applying their makeup.  When they were done, someone came on and explained the story which they were dancing – although we had already been given a paper telling us the same.  Then he introduced another dancer.  Together they explained and demonstrated the different facial expressions, the nine emotions, the alphabet of the dance and how concepts like a beautiful girl and fish swimming were portrayed.

Applying Make-Up for Kathakali Dance

Then the actual performance started.  A stage hand and the interpreter held up a blanket and the two dancers came on in their costumes.  I was sitting at the far right, so I could see them before the blanket was dropped.  The costumes were quite fantastic.  The older dancer played the hero, but his costume resembled a dress.  The other dancer played the beautiful woman who was really an evil demon in disguise.  She didn’t seem that evil to me – she just seemed to be guilty of loving the hero.  But he broke through her disguise and cut off her breast, which wasn’t a nice thing to do.  As well as the two dancers, there was a drummer and a singer who were both very good.

Hero Flirts with Demon

After the dancing, we walked on to the Hotel Cochin Fort and went to the Thandoor restaurant, which was next door to the one we had been to the evening before.  The restaurant was full, but two tables were set out in one line so we could sit together.  I sat next to Andrew and we chatted quite a bit.  I don’t think I impressed as he went to sit with Diane and Guilland as soon as he was able.

Hero Recognises Demon

Service was slow as the restaurant was busy, but the billing wasn’t bad and the waiter made sure he got things right.  He had a sheet of paper with grids for each place setting and wrote our orders in the corresponding blocks.  Simple but effective.

Then we walked back to the hotel.  Bella came in for a few minutes with her scissors.  She cut my fringe so it didn’t keep going into my eyes, which was a big relief.

Southern India - 12 February 2012 (2)

Chinese Fishing Nets, St Francis' Church & Shopping

Chinese Fishing Net - Lowered

Chinese Fishing Net - Raised

Once off the ferry, we walked to the Chinese Fishing Nets, which were busy as it was high tide.  We watched while they hauled up one net.  There was a reasonable catch which included a large eel, which they left in the net and allowed to swim away when the net was lowered back into the water.

Chinese Fishing Net - Raised

Chinese Fishing Net with Weights

The nets work using stone weights as a counterbalance.  When they are lowered, a fisherman walks along a pole over the water and the others lift the weights and move them nearer to the water.  To raise them, the fishermen pull on ropes and the stone weights are moved back.  We walked along until we found a net being demonstrated.  They asked members of our group to pull to raise the net and we all chanted to encourage them and provide a rhythm.  The first catch was just two small fish.  I don’t think there were any the second time.  I guess they normally leave the nets submerged for a lot longer between hauls.

Lifting Weight to Lower Net

Fishing Boats & Hopeful Crow

All along the river bank, crows were waiting in the hope of snatching a piece of fish.  In addition to the Chinese nets, fishermen were also going out in small canoe like boats.  The catches are sold either at auction or to passers-by.  I saw a cat looking intently at the fish on one stall, waiting for his big chance.

  

Fish for Sale - Or Cat's Dinner?

Cat Hoping for Dinner

Then we walked to St Francis’ Church.  I waited outside where you could see an area enclosed by brightly coloured fabrics.  This was the scene of an auction, selling off donations of fruit and vegetables made to the church.  I found a spot where the breeze was blowing round the corner to get some relief from the heat.  As usual, it was very hot and sticky.  When the others came out, they reported a disturbance inside.  The church officials had said they didn’t want tourists inside during services, but some guides were insisting that they should be able to bring people in at any time.  Lukose had tried to mediate.

St Francis' Church

After a serious morning's sightseeing, we were driven to a shop for 30 minutes shopping.  It was a small shop and not that cheap, so I went outside and sat on the bus.  As the engine was off, so was the air-conditioning.  Harish came to my rescue by switching on two overhead fans.  I stood between them with my arms out wide and felt so much better.  Then we were taken back to the hotel.  The others went out to shop some more and get something to eat.  I decided to stay in the hotel and rest.

Cat After Good Lunch

Jen came back around 1630, having been back to Jew Town where she had bought several more items.  We went for a walk to the harbour, where she got some provisions and, after looking at the sellers in a nearby park, I bought a wooden souvenir.  The sellers were mostly ladies, who had laid their stock out on blankets on the ground.  They were all selling much the same things: necklaces, bangles, trinket boxes and mirrors, stamps for henna “tattoos” and small letter cubes.