Clinkers in India

Clinkers in India
© Sue Clinker - photo taken on our visit to Jaipur 2014

Sunday 28 February 2016

Some flowers wot we have seen on our walks

We're leaving the Olavipe Homestay tomorrow morning.   Our hosts have been so very welcoming and accommodating and the food has been superb.

We will be staying on a Houseboat/Rice Barge for a couple of days and then we're flying North to Mumbai on Tuesday.    Until then we won't have WiFi so this is the last post for a while and its all 'pretty flowers'

Kerala isn't known as God's own country' for no reason.   Its so very fertile and lush and its not just the spices, coconuts and bananas which grow well - the local flowers here are beautiful .. here's just a few we've come across when walking around the 'farm' Homestay today, and these are almost 'incidental' just growing like weeds in places







this next one is not so much a flower as what looks like a chestnut with a spiky case.  Inside there are some bright red berries which are crushed and used as the dye with which ladies add the red spot to their forehead (so Anthony told us)













Kids ..... and stuff!

Today (Sunday) after a lovely breakfast we said goodbye to the couple from Kent who are going on to Sri Lanka.    I believe another couple will be arriving later this morning so we'll see some new faces at lunch or dinner

We went for a walk along the lanes neighbouring our Homestay this morning.   As its Sunday the children aren't at school and they were very keen to chat to us.

David made the 'mistake' of giving one young lad a biro after which the boy cycled off into the distance to rally all the village children it seemed.   We were mobbed (in the nicest possible way) by kids wanting pens and pencils ... and they were all happy to pose for a few photos so I now have some great ref photos/ideas for future artwork .. and they have pens/pencils for their school work.


This little girl was is so beautiful

and Grandpa wanted to get in on the act too

I know I've lost some of the boy's face in the mirror of the bike but it was the girl in the lovely dress I wanted to capture.   their dad owned the nearby snack 'kiosk' and rushed out to give David a couple of toffees!


and the 'four legged' kids as well ... loved the way this one is kneeling down to eat


and this one seemed very curious about what I was doing



Nothing to do with kids at all ... but here's a rather large lizard just emerging from its leafy bed in a pile of old wood.

We have lots of the small lizard/gecko visitors at the Homestay, but this was a monster by comparison

and these are just  typical views of the area around the Homestay





Saturday 27 February 2016

Olavipe Homestay, Backwaters, Kerala

We arrived mid morning Saturday at Olavipe and were greeted by our Hostess Sumy and her son Anthony.    Their property is a heritage home built in the 1880s by Anthony's Great Great Grandfather (Not sure if that's enough Greats).    Anthony's father was one of 12 children and he inherited the property.   Following his death last year Sumi, and now Anthony are running it for a few months per year as a homestay/guest house.

The Gate House (which has two guest bedrooms)




The main house building




Traditional style meals are served round the large family dining table with our hosts and other visitors.   There is a lot of coconut used in Kerala cooking and we're certainly trying some unusual dishes.    We've had steamed plantains with fresh grated coconut and honey, dark and white rice boiled in hollow bamboo poles so its squeezed out like rice sausages, all manner of pickles and fruits and fish of course.  

Most of the veggie ingredients come from their own land where they farm organically on 40 acres.  Their cook makes the most delicious drink with ginger, cinamon and lime which is boiled up with a little sugar then cooled and chilled - so refreshing in these temperatures of 30+ degrees

David and \I had a mini walk round to get our bearings then later in the afternoon Anthony took us (and the couple from Devon) on a tour of the farm.   At the moment they only grow enough rice and vegetables for their own use but they grow lots of coconuts for sale.

These tiny pineapples are really delicious



As the farm is on the 'backwaters' there are plenty of waterways and on Sunday evening we'll be going out in a little boat to look at the scenery and watch the sunset.   There are plenty of egrets and cormorants around plus we've had several sightings of kingfishers and briefly seen a woodpecker.   We also scared a monitor lizard but he moved too quickly to capture him on camera.

Birds - mostly the birds stay high in the canopy of the trees so very difficult to spot/photograph but we hear them all day and night





Butterflies and bugs (so many exotic ones here but they never settle so are a challenge to photograph)


these odd bugs look like bi-wing planes - they're hovering all around the place - I think the only reason I managed to photograph this one is because he appears to be one wing short













Tea for Two .. and the Fish Market

Last night we set out to eat at a restaurant David had read about .... but we couldn't find after tramping up and down lots of back streets getting very hot and frustrated.     A 'tout' invited us to 'his' restaurant and, on the basis they served beer, we caved in.

But, they don't actually have a liquor licence which is a tad tricky when the police station is situated directly across the street.    Never mind, very ingeniously we were offered 'special tea' and this is how our beer was served up

I'd forgotten to put the battery back in my camera so David took this on his phone ... a bit dark but you get the idea



The meal was lovely ... after days of eating just vegetarian meals (as the chicken/mutton tends to be full of bone pieces) we opted to have a chicken curry dish and it was fantastic .... not a bone in sight, we also had tandoori mushrooms which we've never seen on a menu before.

This morning before breakfast we walked down to the beach where the Chinese fishing nets and small fishing boats are situated.   Its a very tacky area in the daytime as coachloads of tourists are shipped in to see the nets but they aren't actually working in the daytime ... the fishermen tend to woo tourists onto the boat by doing a few dummy raising/lowering of the nets without actually catching anything - they then charge a 'small' fee for letting visitors on board to take photos.   Very lucrative.

Early in the morning the fishing boats/nets have been productive overnight and the fish is auctioned off to fishmongers who then sell them in smaller lots to individuals.   These are some pictures we took - much nicer atmosphere there in the mornings before the coaches start arriving.










Bidding war for this prime specimen





 One of the many merchants who re-sell the fish in smaller quantities.   The plastic crates on their bikes are filled with ice to keep the fish fresh




 Then after breakfast we set off for our next stay at the Olavipe Homestay, Backwaters, Kerala which is described as 'simple' accommodation so we're not quite sure what to expect!

Friday 26 February 2016

Boats and Buses and Broadway

As suggested by our driver who lives in Kochi, we set out for an early ferry across the bay to another part of the city ... Kochi/Cochin is made up of several islands.    Once we had tickets the men were herded to one waiting area and the women another (behind bars) but once the ferry docked both gates were opened simultaneously and it was a mad rush to board ... no 'women and children first' mentality here .. I used my size to good purpose and got a seat - David didn't!

The ferry trip was just about 15 minutes and cost the grand total of 8 rupees for the two of us - that's 8 pence!


the 'back end' of the ferry


Worryingly, our driver slept through most of the crossing but the rudder was tied in position with a bit of string so I guess he's done this many times before ... he awoke in time to guide the ferry in




 The scramble to get off first


The Broadway area is less touristy than Fort Cochin where we're staying.   The shops are 'fixed prices' and sell household items/clothing rather than tourist tat.      There is a huge market there so we wandered round to watch all the lorries being loaded (overloaded) with produce





Its not just the lorries that get overloaded, the people and bikes do too




But its the people who interest me most ... everyone's a business man it seems, no matter if the 'shop' is just a section of pavement


Show repairers


Two very jolly market guys ... they gave us an orange to share (which was delicious)


and this chap wanted to be photographed .. what wonderful whiskers!


Local Artist


It was around 35 degrees this afternoon and sooooo humid.    By chance we found a doorway marked Beer and Wine and it turned out to be a bit of a speak easy type place ... pitch dark inside with a few locals watching an Indian film on TV.   It was wonderfully cold with powerful air conditioning so we spent half an hour in there nursing a beer and cooling off.

We found a bus stop and sat down to wait for a bus.   After a while a very nice Indian Gent told us that no buses were stopping at this place due to road works and he directed us to the next working one.    There were several ladies waiting there so David asked one if this was the correct stop for a bus to Fort Cochin.   We got a lovely head wobble which is always confusing because it can be used to indicate YES or NO.   Joshi (our driver) has tried to show us the subtle differences and I think it mostly depends on whether the head wobbler smiles or not (wobble and smile mean yes - wobble and no smile = no)! 

The bus was full initially but as people got off we managed to get seats - no aircon on these buses but the windows aren't glazed so when the bus is moving there's a nice breeze.   I chatted to the lady next to me (she spoke perfect English) and she said the weather is particularly warm just now.

I love the bell pull to notify the driver when to stop - just a string running along the top of the bus which activates the 'dinger'


and here's our driver reflected in his driving mirror ... the light on the panel behind him is a brake light which glows red when he brakes so passengers can brace themselves!   Clever eh?


We got back to Fort Cochin in one piece and walked along the beach path to our hotel.   We did give in and make a purchase along the way but I think we got a bargain after a bit of haggling.

Who remembers Spirograph?   Well this guy was selling small kits - just 6 wheels in each bag but we beat him down to just 100 rupees (£1 for 2 bags)