a day cruising the backwaters

kerala = land of coconuts

the indian state of kerala is nice. the people are warm and friendly, and the land is green, lush, and beautiful - i've never seen so many coconut palms in my life. yesterday we took a five hour boat tour through the backwaters, or network of waterways that fringe the coast along the state. back in the days before roads existed, the local villagers used the small canals to get from town to town. today tiny rural settlements still live in the area and use the waterways to transport coconuts, bananas, nuts, and spices.

we toured the waterways on a kettuvalam, or covered rice barge. the boat was powered by two men - one in the front and one in the back that used 25 ft long bamboo poles to move and guide the boat. we made a couple of stops along the way to see how some local products are manufactured. first we stopped to see how fertilizer, calcium
supplements, and dyes are produced from the grinding of mussel shells. next we learned how fiber for rope is produced from coir, or coconut fibers. it was all quite interesting. our last stop was at a beach front cabana where we enjoyed a delicious kerala-style banana leaf lunch - yummy!

alina

timing is everything...

unreserved. it means you're not guaranteed a seat. why not just dive in head first to our first train ride in india? luckily, an incredibly kind indian man felt sorry for me and gave me his seat for the 8 hour ride. he and his wife have unreserved tickets too, as i see them moving around the carriage throughout the journey trying to locate more available seats. david ends up sitting on the floor in the open doorway of the carriage - which he actually appears to enjoy. every time i turn around he's talking to someone new, shaking someone's hand, or posing for a picture. you would think he's a rock star or something…
later that night we arrive into madurai, one of south india's oldest cities that’s history dates back to the 4th century b.c.

the highlight of madurai is its amazing sri meenakshi temple complex, a religious landmark that attracts over 10,000 pilgrims and tourists a day. the temple is an example of dravidian architecture with its 12 highly decorated gopurams (towers) of carved celestial and animal figures. unfortunately (for us), all of the gopurams are being restored and are covered with wooden scaffolding. luckily, we are still able to see some of the intricate carvings and images beyond the wooden beams. once inside the temple we realize we have visited madurai in the midst of its most important festival, the chithrai festival, a 14 day event celebrating the marriage of two hindu deities, meenakshi and sundareshwara (shiva). the temple is swarming with thousands of pilgrims and visitors that have come to madurai to worship and enjoy the festival events. the "wedding" ceremony is scheduled for the following morning and we see hundreds of women cutting the 9 vegetables that will be prepared for the luncheon that will serve 75,000 people the following day. wow. we're amazed at our unplanned "timing" and are happy to have the opportunity to participate in the festival's events and join in on the celebrations.

a few days later we opt for a 6 hour bus ride that will take us to kanyakumari, our next destination. after a rather painful journey (hot, dusty, and loud), we arrive to the southernmost point of india, also known as cape comorin. the small city is the "lands end" of the indian subcontinent and is where the bay of bengal meets the arabian sea and the indian ocean. the city has great spiritual signifigance to hindu pilgrims and is a place where people visit to fulfill their spiritual duties and bathe in the sacred waters where the ashes of mahatma gandhi were spread. kanyakumari is also known for chaitrapurnima, or april full moon day, the best time to experience sunset and moonrise over the ocean simultaneously. to our amazement, we find out the april full moon day will occur the day after our arrival. again, we can hardly believe our lucky timing. the following evening we gather with thousands of others to observe the simultaneous sunset and moon rise over the 3 seas. popcorn, cotton candy, and chai vendors make the event feel like a fair. we shake many hands, pose for many pictures, and smile and wave back to what seems like hundreds of indian people that are so interested in us. david says lately he feels like a politician…we are both truly enjoying the interactions we're having with indian people.

a couple of days ago we made our way via 7 hour train (reserved sleeper this time) to the nice city of kochi, or cochin. we're staying on an island off the coast called fort cochin, which is small, quiet, and rather peaceful. our room is at a portugese heritage home called spencer house (800 rupees or $20.00) that is 360 years old. it has no a/c, but it is incredibly atmospheric. this morning we awoke to birds chirping, rather than honking horns…nice change of pace. tomorrow we're taking a day trip to cruise the backwaters of kerala - we'll keep you posted.

alina

our first days in india

arrival into chennai was painless as our pre-paid cab deposits us directly at our hotel, the thaj regency (750 rupees, or $19.00). Air conditioning doubles the rate…but it feels like a hundred degrees outside. the bathroom's a bit skanky, but at least the toilet isn't a squatter and the a/c is icy cold. additionally, the room is gigantic and is about twice the size of our usual hotel room. after checking in, we take the lift to the rooftop to observe the city and street life below. weaving rickshaws, cows and goats in the street, lots of litter, and loads of people…we ain't in singapore anymore. we hit the streets in search of some grinds and within the hour we're enjoying some delicious south indian vegetarian cuisine. after eating we take a walk around the neighborhood, visit an internet café, and end the evening with some sweets and masala tea at a nearby bakery. not bad for day one. on the following day we hire an auto rickshaw driver to take us on a short tour to some of the surrounding sights and temples. one of the churches included st. thomas, which contains the tomb of the apostle. we weren't feeling the "shopping" portion of the tour and to the surprise of our driver, we ended the tour a bit earlier than he expected.

after a couple more days of slowly acclimating to india, we board a two hour bus for a short ride south to the small city of mamallapuram (pop. 12, 000). the city is listed as a world heritage site and is a renowned center for stone carving. about 200 sculptors/shops line the streets offering their magnificent works of art for sale. we purchase three tiny pendants from the actual artists. our first day in the city we visit the park areas that contain huge images carved into large stone formations. the carvings are distinctive for the simplicity of their folk art origins and show scenes of every day life. they are so detailed and amazing. we see a huge boulder known as krishna's butterball and decide to take a rest in the shade of the "precariously" balancing ball. we quickly draw a small crowd of locals who are eager to shake our hands and pose with us for photos. a group of young, happy guys tell us it’s the tamil new year, which is why the city is so busy with many indian families touring the sights. we laugh and have fun hanging out with them before finally moving on. after we're far away they are still waving and yelling "bye" to us - incredibly friendly people.

the following day we tour the two main historical sights of mamallapuram. first we visit the five rathas, which is considered to be one of the finest examples of early pallava art. the rock cut temples resemble chariots and the life-sized elephant image is regarded as one of the most perfectly sculptured elephants in india. next we visit the shore temple, which is world heritage listed and represents the final phase of pallava art. after the temple we enjoyed some time at the beach, watching the fishermen prepare their nets for the following day.

alina

singapore, the wrap up

our comments and observations of singapore:

• same as other south east asians, singaporeans are friendly people.
• singapore is clean and modern. it seems like a really nice place to live.
• same as malaysia, singapore is ethnically diverse and english is widely spoken.
• the options for shopping and eating in singapore are endless - it's easy to fill the day doing just that.
• fines, fines, fines…singapore is full of them.
• we are still occasionally seeing footprints on the toilet seats…
• we are still jaywalking…it's habit after 5 months in asia
• we love black pepper and chili crab!
• for the first time in south east asia, scooters are not parked on the sidewalks.
• hawker stalls are the best way to eat in singapore. there are abundant, clean, and the food quality is excellent.
• western fast food restaurants are everywhere. singapore has over 300 mcdonalds, which are open 24 hours a day!
• budget accommodations are far and few between in singapore. rooms are sparsely equipped and bathrooms are shared.
• singapore isn't the easiest destination for budget travelers…because it ain't cheap

what things cost in singapore:

• a/c double room with shared bath at backpackers cozy corner hostel $35.00
• laundry service $6.00 a load
• internet $2.50 per hour
• a short ride on the mrt $1.00
• a large black pepper crab $25.00
• an order of bbq stingray $7.50
• house-made noodles with minced pork and black bean sauce $3.50
• mutton murtabak $5.50
• chicken curry soup $3.50
• fresh squeezed juice $2.50
• kaya toast $0.85
• fried oyster pancake $5.00
• chinese sesame and black bean paste dessert $3.00
• a large tiger beer $7.50
• large bottled water $1.50
• 12 oz diet coke $0.90
• coffee at a local café $1.25
• milk tea $1.00
• 8 treasure chinese tea $3.00
• postcard $0.35
• postage to the usa $0.35
• a buddhist pendant $4.00
• chinese silk house slippers $4.00
• a chiropractic adjustment $75.00

what's next?

tomorrow morning we 're taking a 4 hour flight (our first flight since leaving honolulu)that will take us to chennai, india. farewell, south east asia…hello india!

onward!

alina

singapore... the end and a new beginning

singapore seems more congested and crowded than when i visited a few years back. it's still the same and so…nice. the city is so modern, clean, civilized, and organized - it just doesn't feel like we're still in asia. all the same crazy laws still exist: no eating or smoking in public, no chewing gum, jaywalking, or littering…there are fines for everything. there's even a fine for transporting durian on the mrt. i don't think we'll have a problem abiding with that one. the food and shopping are still amazing as well, and david and i are enjoying our last few days of south east asian cuisine. although we've been traveling for over five months now, we feel as if our time in north and south east asia is "quickly" coming to an end. we are sad, yet happy to end this chapter and begin a new one as we make the final preparations to enter india. we can certainly say that south east asia has treated us well. for the first time, we had the flexibility we've always dreamed of having while traveling and were able to tack on about five additional weeks of travel time to our original itinerary. for the first couple of months we certainly dealt with a fair amount of challenges in terms of living out of our "comfort zone". we have learned to be more accepting, more tolerant, and more patient - not only with each other, but with everything in our day to day lives. it's taken five months of being on the road for us to finally be comfortable with being "uncomfortable". in the beginning, a lot of every day situations seemed foreign to us. now…it's just life.

some things we've become rather accustomed to after traveling in asia for five months:

walking…a lot
watching where you walk so you don't step in a big hole…
watching where you walk so you don't step in poop
watching each other's back
hording small bills and change
navigating and reading maps
language barriers…
negotiating menus that are not in english
playing charades
constantly buying water
being gigantic in lands of mini people
getting stared at…
asian men staring at your boobs…
asian girls staring at your boobs
bath slippers that don't fit
cold showers
hard beds
mini towels
using public transportation systems
beggars
jaded locals…
jaded travelers
doing currency conversions
packing and unpacking
wearing a money belt
the heat
asking, "how much?"
bargaining for almost everything
hand-washing our clothes
"going with the flow"
telling our story
eating fish sauce and chiles in almost everything..
eating unidentifiable meats…
eating soup for breakfast…
eating rice at every meal…
eating the ice…and not worrying about it
eating with the locals
squatters…
spitters…
litter
death-defying bus travel
paying to pee…
paying to wipe
our dollar losing value
blogging…
everything being the same-same…but a little bit different

as we prepare to enter india and the middle east we are expecting a new set of foreign experiences and challenges that we presume will take a few months of getting used to. just in time…we were starting to get a little bit too comfortable.

alina

malaysia, the wrap up

our comments and observations of malaysia:

• we don't find malaysians to be quite as shy as other south east asians. they are actually somewhat outgoing, very helpful, and incredibly friendly.
• malaysians provide excellent customer service. professionals in service industries seem to go out of their way to do a great job.
• we didn't encounter near as many western tourists in malaysia, as in other countries of the region.
• we find the cultural diversity of malaysia to be amazing. kuala lumpur seems to have multi-ethnic cuisine options that are endless. we find the different cuisines of malaysia to be outstanding and some of the best eating in south east asia.
• kuala lumpur also has almost 52,000 street hawkers, or food stalls. being huge fans of street food, we just couldn't get enough of it.
• kuala lumpur is choke full of western-style restaurants such as mcdonalds, burger king, kfc, pizza hut, dunkin donuts, subway, and starbucks. mcdonalds is so incredibly popular that they offer 24 hour delivery with no minimum order for a 3 ringitt fee, or $1 usd. unreal
• malaysia lacks proper sidewalks.
• when david isn't nearby, they speak to me in malay…
• beer in malaysia the most expensive we've come across in south east asia, with a large bottle starting at about $4.00, and running as much as $10.00 a bottle in trendy restaurants in kuala lumpur.
• we love milk tea! we succeeded in our mission to drink it every day while in malaysia.
• malay chile peppers are actually edible and aren't nearly as "burn your face off" hot as the nearby thai chile peppers.
• malaysia is a safe country to travel. the country has some of the stiffest laws in south east asia and punishes drug trafficking with the death penalty.
• to the traveler, malaysia seems to be a bit more refined than other south east asian countries.
• malaysia is in the process of eliminating squat toilets. many toilet stalls come complete with instructions on how to sit instead of squat on the toilet seat. one set of instructions even stated, "you are not a bird". david once noticed a set of footprints on a toilet seat where the last user obviously did not read the posted instructions…
• malaysia is a wired country, with wifi being everywhere and readily available.
• english is widely spoken in malaysia - it even appears to be some malaysian's first and primarily used language.
• malaysians are rather aggressive drivers. unlike their thai neighbors, malaysians are not apt to allow pedestrians to cross.
• decent budget accommodations are difficult to come by in malaysia. a double room with a private bath costs more than $20 per night - considerably more than other countries in the region.
• things in malaysia cost a bit more than the other south east asian countries we've been to. you don't get as much bang for your ringitt, but the costs of food, touring, and transportation is still considered cheap to western travelers.

what things cost in malaysia:

• a/c double room with private bath at heeren inn in melaka $23.00
• milk tea $0.35
• large bottled water $0.60
• fresh tomato juice $0.50
• fresh brewed coffee $0.75
• lime juice with plum $0.60
• 12 oz can of diet coke $0.55
• a curry chicken samosa $0.30
• indian chicken tandoori and nan plate $2.50
• a nice seafood dinner for 2 at a chinese restaurant $12.00
• dim sum breakfast for 2 in penang $6.00
• large bottle of beer $4.00
• roti canai $0.50
• banana leaf indian set lunch $1.50
• curry mee $1.10
• fish ball soup $1.75
• chicken rice ball set $1.50
• admission to a chinese clan house $1.00
• admission to penang museum $1.00
• admission to the canopy walk on penang hill $1.50
• a five hour bus ride from penang to kuala lumpur $10.00
• a short ride on the kl monorail $0.60
• a shave and a haircut $5.00
• postcards $0.25 each
• postage to the usa $0.18
• wifi service at the guesthouse $1.50 per day
• a malay headscarf $4.00
• crystal earrings $3.00
• the malaysia mask $32.00
• a hand-made change purse $2.00

what's next?

we're currently in the city of melaka. tomorrow we'll board a 4 hour bus that will take us across the bridge (border) and into singapore - where we'll spend our last few days in south east asia. we'll be in touch…

alina

the malaysia mask

iban = man or people in malaysia

the ibans were the original inhabitants of borneo island. a long time ago the ibans were a strong, warring tribe and were known for practicing headhunting. needless to say, they were a very feared tribe in borneo, malaysia. ibans believed in the tale that the natural environment was populated by spirits, which had the power to control people, animals, and crops. today the days of headhunting are long gone and the increasingly urbanized population is primarily christian and muslim. this is the mask from malaysia. it is iban in style and is believed to attract good spirits.

alina