Thiruparappu Falls

After the aqueduct the driver took us deeper into the Tamil Nadu foothills through some very narrow and curvy roads with the gas pedal floored. I told Richard to ask the driver whether he had considered trying for a drivers job at Force India. I think we made record time and we arrived intact and parked at the Thiruparappu falls.

Thiruparappu Falls

Bathing attire was strictly defined

As in other places, here also were vendors in full fling announcing their wares and products. It must be noted that in Tamil Nadu all plastic bags had been banned so whatever you bought it came wrapped in news paper or textile carry bags. A very commendable decree and excellent example for rest of the world, especially rest of India and all SE Asian nations.

Upper part of the Falls

The falls itself were located down a small slope and the falls were tumbling down noisily. The water cascade was quite high and water spray came several meters off. Very cooling indeed in the hot weather in Tamil Nadu. We did not go for a swim as the water did not look too inviting.

Bird at upper part

We walked up the slope and took off to see the upper side of the fall which had long trails were people could walk and enjoy the nature. I even saw a Kingfisher bird take off. Soon enough we realized it is late afternoon and felt the hunger pangs gathering so we got into the car and headed back to Nagercoil.

Carved cobra going after a frog

In Nagercoil we went from trying a couple of restaurants and ended up in Varas restaurant hotel that is supposed to be the hi-so joint in town. Maybe so but the toilets were in a filthy condition although the food was good and view excellent. We then headed back to the hotel and went off for a walk to see for shoes for Jira.

View from Varas Hotel

View from Varas Hotel

Eventually we found shoes for Jira and then she wanted to see some frocks but eventually it was me that ended up buying a few shirts and shorts.

Mathur Aqueduct

Next in the program was to visit the Mathur Aqueduct that is the longest and highest aqueduct in South Asia. Not that I think there are so many of them anywhere nowadays...

Richard and the aqueduct

Well, the driver left us down below and we started ascending the steps up to the aqueduct. Just before the top there were some local shops, one of them was selling honey and Richard being a great fan of honey got himself a bottle. A few more steps and we reached the top and so it was flat onwards.

The view

The view was spectacular if not mindblasting to look over the Pahrali river that was lined by rubber and coconut trees and the western ghats in the horizon. We met a few people and at the end there was a lady asking me money for using the camera on the bridge. I was kicking myself for not taking more pictures.

Me & Jira

The driver had taken another road and met us at the other end and so we piled in and headed towards our next stop.

Padmanabhapuram Palace

Next morning Richard picked us up again and on we went for the Padmanabhapuram Palace, the former capital of Kingdom of Travancore until it was moved to Thiruvanantapuram (Trivandrum). This palace is now in Tamil Nadu but is being administered by the Government of Kerala. The Palace entrance was lined with the usual sellers peddling everything from postcards to wooden carvings.

Stopped on the way to get some palm fruit, there was no wine

Our Ambassador taxi

The Palace is a huge complex of different rooms and audience halls made out of wood as well as a stone temple. The route is set by arrows and in many places there are guides that will reply to queries. Not sure if they speak English though as I had Richard ask them in Tamil. The floors were still in original condition and fully made out of natural materials such as coconut, burnt coconut husks (for color), egg whites, sugar and whatnot.

We walked through reception hall, council chamber, Kings and Queen's bedroom, the Armory, Guest house for International guests (all doors were bigger here), Kitchen area, Temple.

Portrait of last King of Travancore

Kitchen building behind the washing fountain

The buildings had at ground level a special window made of slats where the royalty could see out but nobody could see in. All upper levels were made of wood that were covered with clay roof tiles. After walking through the Palace there was a small museum adjacent to it where old tools, weapons, wooden and stone carvings of deities and other utensils were on display.

Squirrel carved into a pillar

Lion carving at temple

Naughty carving

There were also several stone tablets in Tamil script from hundreds of years back and I was surprised that Richard could actually read them. It is interesting that Tamil is one the worlds oldest languages still in daily use and it was the same language that the ancient Romans heard when trading with the Tamils. Latin is only spoken in universities nowadays... 

I have often found Richard a great help as when we are visiting Malaysia, Singapore or Thailand we always meet local Indians there and they most likely speak Tamil as they are descendants of their Indian forefathers that have settled abroad for one reason or the other. This way we get local knowledge of how to find venues and where to get materials (without soliciting the help of an agent).

Kumbhakarna, the hungry and sleepy boy

Wooden birdlady, an avatar of Shiva (?)

I can also see that the Tamils are the ones that has been taking the Indian culture abroad for millennia, the Angkor Wat in Cambodia or even the Thai script is a good example of that.

Suit used for general punishment

Kanyakumari

We had some breakfast and soon after Richard came to pick us up to go to Kaniyakumari (Cape Comorin). The day was already stiflingly hot and no inkling of rain was to be seen as up in north.

Richard & Jira outside Suchindram temple

Suchindram temple

Kanniyakumari is some 30k's south of Nagercoil, it is the southernmost point of the sub continent where the Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean meet. Our first stop was at the Suchindram Thanumalayan hindu temple. As usual photography was prohibited. The temple itself is 1300 years old and still an active place of worship. Upon entering I had to remove my shirt and shoes. The entry was free so, I bought some pooja materials to make merit for Hanuman and Lakshmi. A Baba took us around showing the highlights of the premises. We could see where the oil lamps were placed in the olden times when hundreds of people were fed on the temple grounds and also the musical pillars carved out of single stone blocks, we also saw the only (?) female Ganesh statue in India.

Kanyakumari Church

Having done this stop we started further south to Kaniyakumari and soon reached the small city and the waterfront where there was two small islets with the Vivekananda Memorial built on one and on the other a tall statue of Thiruvalluvar, a famous Tamil poet. Transport was by small ferries that took people to and fro the islets. The wind was not strong but a stead breeze kept blowing and the swell was rolling in from the Indian Ocean which made the boarding a bit risky as the ferries were whisked forward and backwards while people were trying to board. Richard told us that sometimes the ferry service is suspended if the seas gets too rough so if you are on the Islets you need to sit it out there.

Vivekananda Memorial

The poet Thiruvalluvar

The Islet was very peaceful with the building serving as meditation halls and part museums. It is built to honor the Swami Vivekananda who visited the place in 1892 and attained a great state of enlightment and is now a very popular place to visit both for Indians and foreigners alike. The Vivekananda Memorial has even its own dedicated website. We walked around for awhile and admired the views but soon we felt a less spiritual rumble in our bellies and left for lunch in Kaniyakumari.

On Vivekananda

Exit from Vivekananda

For lunch we had a traditional thali that is a big stainless steel plate with lots of small bowls containing various dhal's, dahi, sweet dahi, rassam and veg curries. In the middle there is a mound of rice on a banana leaf. All you need now is a right hand with deft fingers to spoon it all up. We also managed to get some Kingfisher to wash it all down.

Swell from Indian Ocean, in background Kali temple

After lunch we walked around a bit checking the local stalls selling knick knacks for tourists. It was mostly engraved shells, T-shirts, slippers, sunglasses, spices etc. We walked to the Kali temple that is on the shore side facing the Memorial, there is also a Gandhi Mandapam (Memorial) where his ashes were kept before immersion into the sea took place. I saw another Gandhi tomb in New Delhi, so I wonder what is kept there.

Kattumaram

The shore side up from Kanyakumari is not that impressive, some hotels and guest houses are built there but the shore itself is pretty inaccessible. After awhile we ended up to the Church facing the Vivekananda and we also went inside. The church was pretty sparsely furnished and did not even have an organ. Otherwise it was beautiful. I walked to the beach behind the church where I could see several fishing boats laid up for the spawning season as well as one traditional Tamil craft called "Kattumaram", literally translated "bundled logs".

Kanyakumari

The "Kattumaram" is consisting of not much more than 2-3 tied up logs and Richard said they also put a sail on it. I think the Tamil fishermen have a lot of guts going out to sea in these crafts. As Jira was feeling tired we headed back to Nagercoil and Richard dropped us off at the Hotel. We took a short rest before Richard came and pickked us up in a tuk-tuk that took us to his house. At his house we met his wife Wonita, her niece Annabel and his eldest son Allester as well Richard's mom.

Women waiting for bus

After some small talk Jira went to try on how to put on an Indian sari and after wards she realized it is just like the Thai traditional dress but with an additional fold. Then it was time for food and we were served parathas with prawn curry and vegetables. Soon after it was time to get back to the Hotel for a good nights rest.

Jira trying on sari

Wonita & Richard

Touristing in India

As I still had some days of vacation left to spend I asked Jira whether she would be interested in joining me to go down south India to Tamil Nadu and meet Richard who was on his annual leave also. She said yes and we spent a week getting her Indian visa made. Cost was abt 4000THB via a travel agent, at least it saved us the time and hassle to go up to Bangkok and in the end I think it would have been more expensive.

Maharashtra paddy fields

Another problem was to get a flight ticket to India that would have cost triple the amount on my flight (Thai airways) but I found a same priced ticket as mine at Malaysian airways. So, kudos for them for flying people around cheaply and none for Thai trying to extort the max from their own people. Only minus was that we had to travel separately, then I also had to arrange train tickets from Mumbai to Trivandrum, return was easy but the departure we were on the waiting list. Thanks to Saini we managed to get those tickets as well all in rupees as we did not use foreign tourist quota (they have to pay hard currency).

Maharashtra

I arrived about an hour before Jira to Mumbai without any hassles and was waiting for her to land. After awhile she found me albeit I had been keeping a keen eye on the stream of people coming out of the airport. Then it was on to queuing for the pre-paid taxi to Khargar as we had agreed on staying at Saini's pad for one night. We arrived at midnight so it was just hello, shower and sleep for Jira. I sat up with Saini and discussed some job things.

Kerala

Next morning 10th July we had to leave early again for Kurla train station. The weather looked good but halfway to the station it started raining, of course our luggage was on the roof of the taxi as the dickey (boot) was taken up by the LPG tank. We arrived the station about an hour earlier of departure and found our seats confirmed on the tatkal scheme (short notice quota) and even beside each other in 3rd tier A/C. Dubey was escorting us and kept an eye out for bag snatchers, we found our compartment and settled down for the 1800km journey to Trivandrum.

In Kerala, note the lungis

Soon enough the Netravati Express train left on time and we were on our way. I called up Richard letting him know of our arrival. Soon enough the vendors (all licensed) started running up and down the aisles selling tea, coffee etc. This was not like the Rajdhani Express where all was included in the ticket, here everything went on cash payments. Lunch time came and we opted for the non-veg which was ghee rice and fried chicken with dhal.

Kerala landscape

Soon enough we passed Panvel, the last suburb of Mumbai and the Maharashtrian countryside spread out on both sides of the rail. Everything was as green can be with all the monsoon rains continuously pouring down. Peasants could be seen ploughing their paddy fields with Oxen and planting rice. Waterfalls and rivers cut the scenery at steady intervals. Soon it was dark and nothing could be seen. Dinner was served later and we had the non-veg option which was chicken and ghee rice with dhal. Then we made our beds and I pushed Jira up and I slept myself down below.

Netravati Express

Next morning we got up at at first light, same as all other passengers. Soon enough the chai wallas came around and other wallas selling Pao's and Samosas for breakfast. The train made breakfast had the non-veg option that was a few slices of bread and a fried egg. The sun came up after the rainy Maharashtra and we were in Kerala already. One could see men walking around in their lungis and the script had changed.

Netravati Express

As the day went by we came more south and the landscape had more rivers crossing the rails. We also could see more in land lakes that are called backwaters as many are accessible from the sea. The day was really long and the train was running late due to having slowed down the previous night, also in Kerala this train was stopping at every station. Finally we arrived around 8pm and at the platform we were met by Richard and his son Ashley. Soon enough we were ushered into a white Ambassador taxi and off we drove towards Nagercoil in Tamil Nadu.

It was dark already so there was not much to be seen except at times big crowds of men gathered around wine shops getting their evening fix. We passed the border into Tamil Nadu and the road became narrower and interestingly the roadsides became littered with hospitals. After about an hours drive later we arrived Nagercoil and the taxi drove to Hotel Canaan. The reception area was full of Jesus pictures and bible quotation that I got a feeling of being in a church than a hotel but nevertheless it was a hotel. We had some late dinner and settled down for sleep.

Captain's blog June 2010

Having been on vacation for most of the month there is not much to tell you this month. I flew back from Finland on the 8th I was Mumbai by the 9th to deal with the monsoon berth issue that had yet to be resolved.

Sunset over Mumbai 

All efforts to anchor inside Prince's dock or on the seawall had failed, the dock is being handed over to the contractor that is going to fill in the docks and no vessels were granted berths in there.

Hog Island repair jetty

As secondary plan (after the Prince's dock failed) we initially planned going alongside the Hog Island repair jetty and share the berth with another vessel. Unfortunately the vessel was longer than reported so we did not take the short berth due to safety reasons. The berthing fees are also exorbitant, for a piece of concrete berth with no facilities (no water, electricity or sewage) they charged the same as a marina in South of France.

All our plans for a berth were shot

I went with Saini to Darukhana to look for second hand mooring ropes in hope of the jetty at Hog Island. The same state of affairs was still ongoing as last year, the beach was full of vessels being scrapped.

Warehouse in Darukhana, only Freddie was missing

On the 14th we moved anchorages to the inner anchorage in front of Prince's dock. It was a tight squeeze and eventually managed to find a spot with 1' turning radius to all surrounding ships. The anchorage was full of offshore vessels in various conditions. On the 15th a storm started blowing and unfortunately the vessel in front of us started dragging anchor and despite we took evasive action we got touched by the OSV on our bow.

Our scrape with Sindhu 8

The damages was a bit carpentry broken but it could have been a lot worse. Same day we got permission and we hoisted anchor and moved to NE Elephanta Is anchorage, i.e. in the middle of nowhere of the mangrove swamps. At least we got the peace and quiet to write our letter of protest to the offshore vessel Sindhu 8 that had failed in avoiding the collision with us.

From here we have long tendering trips to Belapur jetty but officially we should be going to the Baucha Dhaka pier (Fishermen's pier) some 3,5' away (not a nice ride with 1m waves). So at last it was dawning that there are no berths in Mumbai for long term stay, the Indira dock is for commercial use and we were told that some of the berths had been made unaccessible due to a sunken vessel in the dock basin. A really sad state of affairs regarding the yachting scene in India.

Then on the 17th I had my ticket booked to go to Thailand to finish my remaining vacation days I was at the airport and had checked in at about 10pm. Then at the immigration counter the Officer asks me where the registration stamp from the Mumbai police is? I was all question mark and stammered an excuse. I was then directed to the supervisor and he explained that I need to register (due to the employment visa I have) at the local police station as per their regulations within 14days. Then he told me that I could not leave India before I had done this registration. I asked if I could do it here now, no, it was not possible. Another gentleman came and got my checked in luggage to me and all I could do was go back to Mumbai.

Indian residential permit

Next day went in preparing documents and standing in line. Fortunately Office had some contacts to the registration office so I was fast tracked through the hoops. By 2pm I was officially a permanent resident of India. Then it was off to Thai airways to get a new flight and luckily I got one on the same day, so I was flying the same flight I had booked earlier. This time at the immigration counter I had no problems checking out of the country as I had my little blue book to show the Officer.

Dawn over Bangkok where I changed planes

On 19th morning I landed in Krabi and was met by Jira in the Land of Smiles.