Vietnam

Final thoughts on India

Describing India in a few succinct phrases is beyond my capacity as a writer, so I'm not going to try. After five months of travel I can say that my salient memories of India are the everyday interactions we had with people along the road. The moments of genuine curiousity and kindenss from strangers, when it didn't feel like somebody was trying to squeeze something out of me. Palaces, museums, forts; all of it was amazing, but it was the conversations over a fresh coconut milk along the side of the road, in the midst of the midday heat and the traffic that I will remember.

Cities and beyond

After our last few days in the hills we hopped on a bus and headed north for the Mysore in the plains of Karnataka. The city had a surprisingly mellow vibe for such a large population as well as one of the most elaborate palaces we have seen anywhere in India. Ridiculously ornate carved teak ceilings, engraved silver doors, and more chandeliers than I have ever seen, absolutely stunning. From Mysore we moved on to Bangalore to gather up some new bike boxes and prepare for the next leg of the trip to Vietnam. Damn, five months in India coming to an end, not quite sure yet how I feel.

Back to the hills

he northern beaches of Kerala were amazing, but they still don't compare to the hill stations in the Western Ghats, even with the extra effort required to haul a fully loaded bike up the hills. We arrived in Kalpetta surrounded once more by peaks blanketed in lush tropical forests and a shimmering sea of undulating tea plantations, what's not to love about that.

Our bikes provided a great way to poke around town, see the sights, and led to some lazy afternoon rides through the tranquil scenery. Traveling with empty bikes on all the trips out of Kalpetta was a welcome change, all we had to worry about was finding a nice mellow rhythm in the pedals and losing ourselves in the hills.

The first day we did a 20k ride out to Soochpara falls, a nice place to lounge in the shade and cool off under the cascading water during the midday heat. Entertainment for the afternoon was provided by the hordes of Indian tourist that collected in mass beneath the falls for a cleansing bath. My only suggestion for them would be to avoid white towels, there was more than enough on display without those adding to the show.

Chembra peak the next day supplied us with the most spectacular views while were in Kalpetta. We followed a series of interweaving dirt tracks, that cut a path through the open fields of grass along the shoulder of the peak, to the summit. What we lacked in shade was made up for with spectacular vistas in every direction and a gentle breeze to ward off the afternoon heat. The summit belonged to us and provided a comfortable cloak of silence, broken only by the grass rustling in the breeze. Moments of silence become so poignant when the day to day is shrouded in the constant din of traffic. I will leave any descriptions of the scenery to my camera which is far better at capturing the beauty than my words.

The last day at Karalad Lake provided a similar break. A short ride through bucolic fields of palm trees and wheat to arrive at a halcyon lake erupting in beautiful purple lotus flowers. No traffic to hear, just the rhythmic sound of a woman slapping her clothes against a nearby rock. Taken with the scenery the noise blended seamlessly into the landscape. The hills provide a perfect escape from the chaos that is the lowland cities of India.





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Equipment failure

Of all the the equipment problems I envisioned on this bike trip, the last one that occurred to me was having the bolt holding my seat to my seat post snapping in half. Turns out hauling a 15lb watermelon in my backpack down to the beach was a little much for the bolt to handle, so it unceremoniously dumped me on my ass in the middle of a dirt road, still a little sore from that one. Fortunately after some trial and error at the bike shop the seat was reattached to the post in a usable, if not perfect fashion. I should say it was barely usable, round two with the bolt occurred yesterday in the midst of an epic climb and left me standing on the pedals for the last 8k of the climb, fun times. There are definitely worse things that could have broken on the bike, but riding without a seat certainly isn't any fun. I think I need to buy smaller watermelons.

Updated bike route

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Heading north

Kerala is beautiful, but riding on the national highway in Kerala is far less amazing. We've spent the last few days plying NH 17 as we've moved up the coast toward the beaches in Kannur and Bekal, by and large uninspiring days of riding. The dust and exhaust on the highways finds its way into every little crease on my face, so by the end of the day I've got enough dust caked on my face that it looks like I'm wearing eye liner. Even so, it is still an enteraining way to spend a day and you usually encounter a fair share of random acts of kindness from strangers along the road. It's amazing how a few encouraging words or a cup of tea from random people on the road make up for a day of sucking in dust and exhaust.

The beaches in Kannur and Bekal have been worth the ride, large sandy expanses minus the overwhelming masses of people. Swimming in the Arabian Sea has been a pleasantly warm experience, like swimming in a giant bathtub full of sand. After spending a day at the beach I now know how all those coconuts make it from the top of the tree to roadside where they provide such a delicious treat in the middle of the day. Apparently the best way to climb a palm tree is to place a cord of rope around your feet that prevents them sliding off the side of the tree, and then shimmying up the trunk. I have the feeling that it is much more difficult than it looks, and in the interest of staying healthy for the duration of this trip something I don't plan on trying anytime soon. A direct benefit of this display of tree climbing prowess was a fresh coconut milk provided by the local tree scaler. Again random acts generosity make for a better day. Now we have a few days to wander the coast of Bekal and search out uninhabited stretches of coast line to bake our skin on.


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Parambikulam

Pollachi was not much of a town, but Parambikulam national park just 40k out of town was awesome. We rolled out of bed at 5:30 in the am to catch a 6:15 bus, giving ourselves plenty of time to figure out exactly which bus it was we needed to take. As always the extra time was put to good use since we never seem to find anything on the first try. After running back and forth between the two bus stands in town based on contradictory advice, somebody finally set us down on the curb where our bus would arrive with about ten minutes to spare, to that man I am grateful. The bus ride, was, well a bus ride in India, bumpy and long. We arrived at the park a little before 9 am. After taking some time to scavenge up the required guide for our hike in the park we took off for a nice long 6k hike straight up the highest ridge line in the area. Whoever builds their trails isn't all that interested in switch backs. On the hike it also became apparent that our guide was not a regular, due to the frequent stops and generally labored breathing as we climbed, but he did eventually get us to the top.

In a country teeming with people we were sitting atop a rocky mountain with miles of untrammeled forest surrounding us and just the sound of the wind in our ears. The scene was so peaceful I found to time to recoup some of the lost sleep from the night before. Too bad for me that I had rubbed my sunscreen off on the hike up and forgot to reapply before my nap. Pasty white skin meet high elevation sun and cower before its brilliance. Ouch. Outside of that the hike was spectacular and well worth the time and money. Now we are back in the thick of the heat in Thrissur, where my pores are currently expelling vast amounts of perspiration as I sit in the internet cafe and write this. I may actually be able to produce enough to short out the keyboard if I stay here long enough.

Updated bike route


View Kerala Bike Route in a larger map