Southern India - 10 February 2012 (2)

In Thekkady/Komily

We continued down a busy road, lined with shops and a few churches and soon reached our hotel, despite a sign saying it was still 4km to Thekkady.  We were staying at the Grand Hotel Thekkady.  It seemed very nice, although the bathroom was a bit small and there was no free internet.  We were welcomed with an alcoholic drink a bit like Tia Maria.  It was very nice and a clear indication that we had left Tamil Nadu, which had only just been freed from being a dry state.  We were told to keep our windows closed because the local monkeys might try to come inside.

Elephant for Rides in Spice Plantation

Most of the others had booked a massage in a nearby spa, but Jen and I had decided not to join in.  As soon as we got to our room, we dumped our stuff and headed out to explore the town.  This was an ideal shopping opportunity.  Not only were the shops nearby, but it was relatively cool from the altitude.

Pepper

Jen was mostly looking for pashminas and we soon found a shop selling them.  She opened one and it looked so lovely that I bought it instead, even though I have more pashminas at home than I know what to do with.  Jen bought another pashmina and the shopkeeper reduced the combined price by Rs100, despite a sign saying that the prices were fixed.

I really wanted to get some more robust bangles and we found a huge range in a small shop.  They didn’t come in such a wide range of sizes as in the temple and I had to get them bigger than I liked because some of them were double thickness and so more difficult to squeeze on.  Nevertheless, I bought three sets and Jen bought a set too.  Our haggling wasn’t that productive and we only got Rs40 off the whole lot.

Rubber Tree

We went into a shop where Jen spotted some things she liked – but the owners weren’t there.  Even though this was quite a touristy area, people were still trusting.  Imagine leaving a shop full of stock unattended for any period here in the UK!

We walked on and found a chemist for some bits.  Jen commented on how they didn’t ask any questions when selling drugs.  At least she knew what she was buying, being someone who worked in a hospital and was responsible for handing out drugs.

Amaryllis

We were nearly at the border now, so we headed back and we went into the shop where the owners were now back and several customers had gathered.  Jen bought another pashmina and a bag.

Some of the shops were travel agencies which sold safari tours into the nearby Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary.  It was frustrating to be so near but so far from seeing some serious wildlife and, perhaps, I should have gone into one of them to enquire about prices and availability.  I now wish I had, since I was not going out that evening.

At 1500, we were all assembled and back on the bus for a tour of a spice plantation.  The others seemed to have enjoyed their massages.

The plantation seemed to grow every spice whether or not it was native to India and there were flowering plants and fruit trees as well as spices.  This time we had a specialist guide, who could name and explain all the plants we saw.  Amongst others, I remember seeing pepper, piri piri chillies, cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, lemongrass, rubber, limes, papaya, coconuts, coffee Arabica and robusta, cocoa, heliconia, golden shrimp, amaryllis, bougainvillea, bleeding hearts and the rather wonderfully named yesterday-today-tomorrow.  There were also some rabbits, a rather unhappy dog and an elephant, which was waiting patiently to give rides around the plantation.

Dog in Plantation

After the tour, we had the inevitable trip to the shop.  They did a roaring trade, but I felt that the prices were quite high.  Then I found some nutmegs and cinnamon sticks, which seemed to be a bargain, so I bought a couple of packets.

The others went out for an Indian cookery lesson and meal.  As I am not the best of cooks, especially in someone else’s kitchen, I decided not to go.  Instead, I walked into town and tracked down an internet café.  It was up some stairs, so fairly difficult to find.  I was there for 40 minutes and was charged just Rs15.  I had to give my passport number and they took a photo (it was a horrible shock when I saw it on the screen – not my best), which was a bit worrying from a security point of view.  But there were a few backpackers there and they all seemed relaxed.  I overheard a group of Italians and an Austrian, who was explaining the joys of Vienne Schnitzel with potato salad.

I looked in at the hotel restaurant when I got back and found Reg and Pam getting some soup.  So I joined them for dinner and was very pleased to have some company.  There weren’t many people in the restaurant, but it was a very nice dinner and quite reasonable at Rs300 before drinks and tips.  We even had ice-cream to finish.  We had three power cuts while we were eating.

Jen came back much earlier than I had expected.  She said that the meal had been very nice, but she had mostly been allocated to vegetable peeling duties.  I was glad I hadn’t gone – unless they had a left-handed veggie peeler, I would have been useless.