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.