Our overnight train took us to a place called Madurai which is right down the bottom in South India, slightly east of the centre. Our second-class sleeper wasn’t too bad although the toilet was another story.
We’d found out about Madurai after watching a documentary series hosted by Joanna Lumley. She was born in India so has a wonderful connection with this country that comes through in the documentary. One episode included a visit to Meenakshi Amman Temple – a Hindu temple that dates back 2,500 years! It stretches over 14 acres, has over 4,500 pillars (almost a thousand in one building alone) and 14 towers (the southern tower being the tallest at 52 metres high). Each tower is carved with the figures of thousands of brightly coloured gods that are repaired and repainted every 12 years. It takes 4 years to complete the repaint. Many Hindu people make the pilgrimage to this temple and in fact, as we drove to Kochi the next day we passed dozens of men walking along the road on their way to the temple. There were areas were only Hindu’s were allowed and evidently there’s an evening ceremony every night (at least that’s what the brochures and websites say) but not on the night we were there.
Madurai is not on the travel plans of many western tourists but we’re pleased we made the effort to get there.
Across the road from the temple is a market that’s well known for tailoring. There’s a line up of men sitting at old peddle sewing machines mending and making clothes. Along from them are stalls with stacks of the most colourful cottons and silks. We couldn’t resist and Toni, Bryce and I all got a couple of tops made. Indian women in particular have such a love of bright colours and they mix and match combinations that I’d never think of, but they seem to make it work. It was difficult to find fabrics that would blend into Christchurch city life so I’m not sure if my tops will get worn much when we get home.
The cuisine in Southern India is different to the North. We’re enjoying the Dosa and Uttapam and a few less curries. A restaurant called Murugan Idli Shop was mentioned on a few of the tourist websites I’d been searching so we tried that one night. They specialise in a dry chutney spice mix that you mix with oil. We had something similar at an Indian restaurant in London a few years ago and have never been able to find a recipe. We bought a jar of the spice mix so hopefully we can get it back into NZ.
There’s a light and sound show at the Madurai palace which we thought might be a substitute for the Mysore palace lights that we’d missed. The palace is a bit of a ‘fixer upper’ and although it looked better with the lights at night, the show itself shouldn’t rate even a 1 out of 5 on Trip Advisor. And when we woke up the next morning some of us were covered in bites from the little bugs (luckily not mosquitoes) that had been flying around – we hadn’t felt them while we were sitting there but they’d swelled to itchy, red spots on our feet and ankles. Needless to say, we’ve all used insect repellent each evening since.
The company we used for our drivers from Madurai to Kochi was the same one that had mucked us around in Bengaluru so it’s not that surprising that one of the drivers was half an hour late. Then after about half an hour of driving, when we felt like we’d just reached the outskirts of the city, they both decided they needed to stop for breakfast. We’ve since concluded that our drivers were probably city taxi drivers normally and their driving skills certainly weren’t up to the road out to the coast. Our driver was extremely aggressive, he passed every motorbike, tuk tuk, car, truck or bus in sight and couldn’t stand anyone passing us. Blind corners didn’t seem to bother him and he’d toot his horn and pull out to pass, often having to dive back in to get out of the way of oncoming traffic. Neither of the drivers knew how to drive on hills which was a bit of a problem given the road runs through a beautiful hilly range where tea and spices are grown.
Early on in the trip I had to tell the driver not to use his cell phone when driving after he almost ran off the road while checking his texts – BJ was beginning to reach for the steering wheel when the driver looked up and corrected the car. BJ asked him a couple of times to ‘slow down’ and ended up having to yell at him and tell him that if he didn’t slow down BJ was going to take over the driving. Our driver also had no idea where he was going. This was the first time he’d driven from Madurai to Kochi. In one town he looked at us and asked which of the two roads he should take, in another town he pulled over and asked some locals. The ‘no cell phone’ rule that I’d enforced probably didn’t help him as I suspect he planned to rely on Google maps.
About halfway through the journey we stopped at Abraham’s Spice Garden where we were greeted by Abraham himself. He took us on a tour of his garden where he grows pepper, coffee, bananas, cocoa, cardamom, cinnamon, chillies, turmeric, ginger, macadamia nuts, lemons, papaya and probably other things that I’ve forgotten. He had a remedy for most medical conditions, and he explained the growing and harvesting of each crop as he picked fruit or leaves for us to taste. Abraham was such a kind gentle man and the lush green paradise that surrounds his home seemed fitting.
Back in the cars we passed through tea and rubber tree plantations and it would have been nice to take a leisurely drive through the area but instead we kept our eyes on the road so we could yell at the driver if necessary (although he did drive slower and more carefully after BJ’s stern words) and on google maps to make sure we stayed on track.
It was dark by the time we got to Kochi. We were all exhausted. Our accommodation is a 3 bedroom apartment with a small sea view. Our hosts live in a smaller apartment next door and have been wonderful, cooking breakfast, organising washing and generally running around after us. We planned for our time in Kochi to be relaxing with very little planned and that’s exactly what we’ve done so far.
We’ve had two days of walking around Forte Kochi – the tourist part of the city. We’ve visited the Chinese fishing nets, meandered through Mattancherry and Jew Town where spice traders operated from in days gone by, been to a block printing workshop and managed to find a couple of good places to enjoy a cold beer.
There are strict laws in the state Kerala and moves were made over the last 5 years to make it a dry state – something we didn’t realise when we booked. While some of the rules have been relaxed more recently with a change in political party there are still plenty of places that don’t have a licence to serve alcohol and strict rules about the amount you can transport or store in your home. With the temperature at 33 degrees a cold beer is just what you need in the middle of the afternoon – if you can find it.
North Tower of Meenakshi Amman Temple – Madurai
Peddle sewing machines just like my grandmother used used to use
Chinese fishing nets – Fort Kochi
The old part of town – Fort Kochi
