Category Archives: Asia

Wyles Walkabout

Wayanad to Pondicherry

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The truck, Daisy, is all mended and back with us now so hopefully we can continue without any further mishaps.

Taking plenty of rehydration medication, I am back on my feet but energy is still lacking and I don’t have my appetite back yet. Fortunately it was a short drive, only 4 hours, through some amazing scenery and tiger habitat which is well protected. There was an option to take a jeep safari leaving at 05:00 to go and spot tigers. However, the rains arrived and I have never seen rain like this. It was an easy choice for me to skip the safari as am still not 100%; an early start and heavy rains – so the chance of seeing a tiger in the wild are practically zero here.

We stayed in a community home stay in Wayanad. They seem quite common here in India and as nice and as hospitable as they are, I just wanted to retreat to the room and catch up on rest until I was feeling better. Although clean, there was little hot water and no heating so it had a slight damp musty smell to it – even the bedding and towels had a damp feel to them and the mattresses were wafer thin and offered no support, so not a comfortable couple of days, but nothing really in the grand scheme of things.

After the breakfast while there was a gap in the rain I wandered down to the town, had a coffee and then found a market selling all sorts of tat – perfect for decorating the truck. Using a silicon gun, I stuck a couple of plastic flower pots to the dashboard and a really hideous Ganesh statue too, not to mention some plastic garlands to attach to the bull bars. It felt like a Top Gear episode where they ‘sabotage’ each other’s cars just to annoy them. Will see how it goes…

The decorations seemed to go down well and they all stayed in place as we drove another full day’s drive to Cochin. This morning we had a 20 minute ferry ride for 4 rupees to an island which is famed for its Chinese style fishing nets.

We then hired tuk tuks for a 3 hour tour for 150 rupees.

It was quite scenic and it filled the morning, but by 12:00, I was flagging and needed something to eat. Having had enough of Indian food for the time being, I was pleased to see some western fast food chains which, thankfully, seem largely absent in India. I stocked up on a couple of mixers from a local shop to go with the rum but as I did so, the heavens opened again and there was torrential rains for a few hours – enough to turn some side roads into mini rivers.

As we drove off the next morning in the sunshine, the water which had pooled on the roof from the rains overnight streamed down the windows as if someone was tipping buckets over each window for what seemed like half an hour. Thankfully it was only a short drive to Kerala and we arrived at lunchtime. Here we purchased a few emergency snacks and split into smaller groups and each boarded a traditional Kettuvallom, a sort of house boat.

Once on board, lunch was served and it was excellent and there was loads of it – no need to have bought emergency snacks. In the afternoon we cruised down the Keralan river backwaters and saw first hand some of the flooding that still remains. The rivers were a mixture of wide open paces and narrow canals, some lined with houses and shops, mostly just vegetation though.

We moored up just before dusk and had a delicious evening meal and spent the night aboard doing a quiz, drinking and listening to music and then slept in comfortable cabins. It was very tranquil on the river and had a good nights sleep. In the morning, after breakfast, there was a short cruise before returning to port to disembark and rejoin Daisy for the drive to Vakarla.

Varkala is a beach resort, similar to Goa but perched on top of some cliffs. The beaches are sandy but once again there were red flags flying so if you wanted to swim, had to use the hotel pool, which was pleasant enough. We had three nights here and it was a decent enough time to unwind and relax as well as checking out a few of the local bars and restaurants. I really didn’t do much here other than swim, eat and drink but there wasn’t that much more to do.

The next couple of days sees us reach the southern tip of India, Kanyakumari, also known as Cape Comorin, and stay in a hotel that was undergoing renovation work with hammering and drilling going on. Regardless, it was a bit of a milestone as if we kept heading south, we would end up directly in Antarctica but fortunately ran out of land. Now we start heading north up the east side of India and stop off in Madurai to visit the Sri Meenakshi temple which was quite impressive. However I’m growing tiresome of temples; have to dress up in certain clothes, remove shoes and not being allowed to take cameras in. Think I’m all ‘templed out’.

After Madurai, it was a pleasure to visit Pondicherry for a few days. It’s a French influenced town and is one of the few places in India where it’s possible to buy steak. As a pre-dinner snack we had some cheese, french bread and some decent wine on the roof terrace and then went out to a fabulous hotel restaurant that served an absolutely brilliant, juicy, flavoursome fillet steak. It was so good, we went back the second night and I ate the same. Perhaps I was getting a protein deficiency but those steaks certainly hit the spot. The only down side in Pondicherry were the bedbugs as I woke up with quite a few bites over my back, shoulders and legs. Remember I am in India so standards are lower than back home and insects, bugs etc. are to be expected in some places. Still didn’t dampen my spirit over that steak though! 🙂

Wyles Walkabout

Goa, Hampi and sore in Mysore

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It was an early start, leaving the hotel at 05:00 to catch the 07:12 train to North Goa. There was a little contingency built into this time which was lucky as a few of our group got separated on the way to the station and were dropped off at a different entrance, but we met up shortly after following a frantic search.

The train was over 1km long and had several classes but fortunately our A1 carriage wasn’t at the other end of the platform. The train took 15 hours to reach North Goa and although it was a ‘day train’, there were bunk beds in our air conditioned carriage so I was able to catch up on some rest.

Surprisingly the train left on time, was smooth and wasn’t overcrowded which was all unexpected but it seemed that every 5 minutes, someone would walk down the carriage selling various food items from “chicken lollipops” to “mixed fruit” and “chai”. All of which looked and smelled very good. I had some mixed vegetable noodles for lunch which were nice and not bad for 70p.

The time passed quickly on the train, even with two 1.5 hour unexpected stops along the way. I couldn’t help wonder how people would have reacted back home with these added delays. No doubt people would have taken to social media citing ‘outrage’ and ‘travel chaos’, and demanding compensation but here it’s part and parcel of the adventure and we didn’t really notice the delays.

Arriving in North Goa in the dark, we got taxis to the hotel which should have been a 45 minute journey, however the taxi driver must have thought he was on a Grand Prix circuit as it only took 20 minutes. We dropped our bags off at the hotel some of us wondered up the street to a little restaurant called The Mango Tree which had a good mix of food on offer. I ordered a margarita pizza as I just fancied something simple and plain. When it arrived there was hardly any tomato on there and it had at least a 1.5cm thick covering of cheese all over. I managed to eat about half of it but had to admit defeat before retiring.

Next day we walked to the fort above Vagator beach which was ok, very hot and sweaty. You could see several beaches from the fort but the smog seemed to dull the colours a bit.

Walking back to the hotel later, we went a different way passed some local houses and down some steps to cross a small river. Five people had crossed ahead of me and then it was my turn. Just as I was about to cross the river something caught my eye to the right, a movement in the undergrowth, now at head height. It was a snake! I only saw it because it moved. It was about 2 ft long and about an inch thick, brown with a yellow stripe the length of its body. Googling the description when I got back to the hotel, the closest I could find that resembled it, was a garter snake which are usually found in USA. But the good thing is nobody got bitten and it was non venomous.

A couple of days later, we caught a bus to South Goa and to perhaps one of India’s finest beaches (so they say), Palolem Beach.

We stayed in beach huts that were set back from the beach in a holiday park resort complex but they were more like portacabins than beach huts. Still, beds were comfy and the air con worked. I think we are about a month too early to see it at its best but even with slightly overcast weather and sand in suspension in the sea, it was pretty nice. There were two fantastic beach front restaurants though and the caipirinhas were excellent 🙂 We had no plans here, it was just free time to relax so had a wander up and down the beach and went for a paddle. Red flags were flying so couldn’t go for a swim even though some locals did.

While having lunch and overlooking the beach, I downloaded the November 2018 edition of Wanderlust magazine (the 25th anniversary edition) and was flicking through and was pleased and surprised to see me on the top left of page 9. I had submitted a photo to their ‘from the road’ section and they published it. 🙂 There’s also an article about Dragoman in their – one of their guides won guide of the year, an article about Mumbai where had just been and a few other articles about either were I’m planning to go or when I have been so quite an enjoyable read.

Was actually quite glad to move on from South Goa, it wasn’t as stunning as I expected, maybe various brochures had built it up too much. We left South Goa at a reasonable time after breakfast and we split into two buses to take us to Hampi. While we were on the train from Mumbai to North Goa, the truck developed a couple of technical issues which couldn’t be fixed roadside which is why we are using chartered buses. It was another long drive but the seats were large and comfy and there was ample leg room too so the journey wasn’t too bad.

Once again it as dark when we arrived in Hampi, but the restaurant at the hotel served good food and beer. The rooms were little round bungalows with thatched roofs and a hammock on the porch. Small but comfortable and the beds had mosquito nets which worked and were necessary. In the morning we walked down a little lane, crossed the river, which looked as if it belonged in a Tarzan film, in a little boat powered by a spluttering outboard motor and visited the ruins of Vijayanagara which was the ancient capital of the Vijayanagara empire, now a UNESCO world heritage site. The site as huge and took until mid afternoon to explore.

On the way to Mysore, we stopped for lunch at a roadside restaurant, like we had most drive days, and I ordered a paneer tikka masala. But on the bus later in the afternoon I didn’t feel quite right. There had been a cough going around over the last few weeks and I was fortunate enough to not have it but suddenly it started. Still full from lunch, I skipped dinner and went straight to bed, but at 02:00hrs was up with sickness and diarrhoea, mixed with a cold and a fever now in full swing. Needless to say I got no sleep and with energy levels depleted, I just stayed in bed switching between full sweats and uncontrollable shivering with visits to the bathroom. I took various medications but my body just rejected them, so it was a case of let it settle for a bit and then take some. Even a week later am still ‘delicate’ and I have got some strong cravings for some English food, or anything without a curry flavour. Just the thought of curry makes me feel sick still, which is frustrating as still have over a month in India to go.

So didn’t see much in Mysore, only the hotel room and that wasn’t much to write about. But I seem to be on the mend now. Am able to keep food in and am keeping hydrated. Still, given I have been travelling since the beginning of July and have been in India for over a month already, this is the first time I have been what I’d call ill which isn’t bad.

Wyles Walkabout

Udaipur to Mumbai

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One of the last days in Udaipur was spent exploring the city palace (it’s the largest palace complex in Rajasthan) along the shore of Lake Pichola. I chose to go with an audio guide so I could wander around at my own leisure which is a better way of doing these visits as you can actually hear the guide, rewind a little or even skip a little further forward if needed.

It was fascinating to see a ‘portable cage for trapping and keeping tigers’ in the palace garden. The cage was really big and there looked nothing portable about it. So I took the opportunity to sneak inside it, at least it not being used nowadays, except for maybe the odd tourist photo…

After a spot of lunch at a rooftop restaurant, it was back to the hotel to pick up laundry and pack ready for an early departure the next morning. The truck was parked a few kilometres away from the hotel due to the narrow streets so we got a tuk tuk transfer back while most of the city was asleep. Strangely it looked dirtier without all the hustle and bustle.

Once loaded onto the truck we drove 400 km to Mandu, an ancient fort city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. The accommodation was camping in a hotel grounds but I decided to upgrade as I fancied a comfortable bed (after a 7 hr drive). Dinner was a camp cooking vegetarian option and it was really good, but it didn’t take too long for mosquitoes and dogs to come out. I was so glad I upgraded to a room and was not sleeping in a tent. I was really surprised to see how green and lush the vegetation had become – a stark contrast to the dry, barren sandy desert further north of Udaipur. Equally, I had noticed how much healthier some of the animals looked, as if they were very well nourished.

In the morning, we visited an abandoned hill top fort consisting of many palaces (mahal’s), including Jahaz Mahal and Hindola Mahal.

It’s surrounded by stone walls dotted with darwazas (gateways).

Leaving Mandu behind it was another few hours in the truck passing various Indian settlements which now all look the same, driving to our overnight bush camp near Kharwand Dam. It was getting quite late by the time we arrived and the sun was ready to set. Fortunately there were still some cold tonic waters in the fridge to go with my gin 🙂 The bush camp was fun, gathering firewood and camp cooking. Despite a slight risk of a shower, the rain held off which kept the temperature up. It was a fairly remote location with zero facilities, but thankfully nature didn’t call.

Continuing next day, we drove to Ellora where there are ancient Buddhist, Hindu and Jain caves which were hand carved into the rock and contain several temples back dating back to between 6th and 11th centuries. Some of these caves go in excess of 100m into the rock so it must have been a real effort to produce. Outside every cave there seemed to be a family of monkeys waiting for any opportunity to grab some food of unsuspecting passers by.

The next evening we arrived in Mumbai. Well, we arrived at the city outskirts by 15.00hrs. By the time we negotiated the traffic and dodged a few low hanging cables it was close to 19.00hrs before we arrived at out hotel. It wasn’t the best hotel, but it was a comfy bed for a few days and we said goodbye to three of our group and hello to two more, so there’s a fairly constant number on the truck.

Mumbai is a pretty interesting place and had some free time to explore. In trying to find an ATM I ended up stumbling across cricket training grounds so actually spent the morning watching the locals play. It all seemed very civilised, albeit roasting hot. In the evening we had a fabulous meal at Leopold’s Café made famous by the novel Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts which is about an Australian bank robber and heroin addict who escapes from jail and flees to Bombay, as Mumbai was formerly called. The cafe was also an early site of gunfire and grenade explosions during the November 2008 Mumbai attacks by terrorists. The terrorists sprayed fire inside the restaurant from outside killing 10 persons and injuring many others. The restaurant was extensively damaged and you can still see the bullet holes in the restaurant walls.

The next day we did something very upmarket and had high tea at the 5 star, internationally renowned Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. It was a luxurious buffet for 3 hours without a sausage roll or cheese and pineapple on a stick in sight. I don’t know if it’s just because I had been on the road for so long, but the tea was amazing (tasted like proper tea back home).