We left India. At least the mainland.
What happened so far:
We arrived in the beautiful state of Kerala, at the southern tip of India on March 23rd.
Our first stop was Alappuzha. Here we arranged for a backwaters tour on a houseboat. Full post here. Definitely a highlight of our tour. The next stop was a 12 hour ride bus ride away, but well worth it: Munnar, the tea plantation land. We stayed in a little village and really enjoyed the nature, the colours of tea meeting the purple of the tree blossoms and the relaxed vibe of our village. Plus, we had HBO (TV channels) & Co. The public television in India, with its wide selection of English movies, shows blockbusters non stop. Very laddish blockbusters: Basically Superhero movies all the time.
Another bonus, Munnar is a hill station and therefore a great location to cool down from the hot climates of India in Spring (here Summer). Not so cool: Trekking was prohibited and the nice trails were off limits.
So far it was all “India light.” But that changed. We wanted to get to the east coast. On the way to the coast, and only 3 different buses away, was Madurai. It is a big Indian city with all its privileges: Busy, loud and dirty but with a temple (complex) worth seeing: Meenakshi Amman Temple. It was huge! And busy with ceremonies and prayers in every corner at various shrines. As always we had no clue what was going on.
We stayed just one night to explore the temple and left the next day for Puducherry. Puducherry is a nice escape from the chaos of the roads. This colorful, tidy seaside town welcomed us with international cuisine, many cafes, French architecture and a relaxed vibe.
Aaaaand the winner of the strangest town in South India goes to…Auroville! Auroville, next to Puducherry, is an international concept city founded about 50 years ago. The community consists of about 3000 people who moved here from all around the world and settled around a gigantic golden globe structure, called the Matrimandir. It functions as the main centre for meditation. Pictures of the Mother (aka the founder of the Auroville concept) can be found all around Auroville and Puducherry (…cult alert?!). Despite this, the Auroville community maintains some very unique and noble values (reminding us of that 60s spirit). Check Wikipedia for more information. We had the chance to chat to some Aurovillans and their neighbours.
Although the food was nice and the people super friendly, we got tired and instead of spending more time exploring the state of Tamil Nadu as initially planned, we wanted some holiday from the bus rides, the hot weather and the beaches covered in plastic. “Holiday within a holiday” sounds like this movie Inception, we know, but that is how we felt.
Our choice: the Andaman Islands. A chain of tropical forest islands closer to Myanmar than to India, that can be reached only with Indian domestic carriers. Also home to native tribes.
Sounds like the place to find paradise and so we left the mainland.
Take care!
Britt & Alex
Photos from South India:
