Xiao Ci did a great summary on our trip to India,
and so she has asked me to a detailed one complete with pics and all,
so here it is :)
and sorry for the delay...
DAY 1 : 10 Dec
AK 203. 2.50p.m. Malaysian time. The historical flight that would carry 10 eager souls from our humble LCCT to Kochi Airport in India. They were Rtn. Arthur, Ms. Hellina, Jerry, Xiao Ci, Izzah, Liang Yi, Chin, Graham, Jonathan and Eric. There we would be greeted by Atif as well as the Rotaractors from the Rotaract Club of Saibaba Colony D3201, with Sandeep joining us from Chennai at night. Chin, Xiao Ci, Izzah, Liang Yi and Rtn. Arthur took the Skybus from KL Sentral while the rest went straight to the LCCT.
After a slight expected delay we boarded and left Malaysian ground at 3.10p.m. The flight being roughly 4 hours, we had the chance to savour AirAsia's really cheap meals.
Pak Nasser's Nasi Lemak anyone?
After filling the customs froms and reading the inflight magazine from cover to cover, things started to get dull and so we slept, only to be awoken an hour later by Mr. Pilot "Rise and shine, we're travelling 20,000 ft above the air and we'll be landing shortly, make sure you are seated, thank you for flying with Air...(etc.)..." Then we peeked out the window and what lovely scenery met our eyes. Rocky mountains engulfed in snowy clouds and if you peered close enough, you could actually see fields sprinkled with windmills.
After touchdown, 4.45p.m. India time, we peered out and saw Kochi International Airport, different from Malaysian stereotyped airports. Quaint as it was on the outside, it had a modern inside. Passing through countless security checks we walked out of the airport and were greeted warmly by our India counterparts. They eagerly crowned us with 'malai', introduced themselves, obliged to several cam-shots and off we went on the 1 hour + journey to our accommodation for the night. Oh the exitement!
The long and bumpy ride broke all the ice and we were chatting like we'd known each other for years. There were 5 of them, Vishnu, Barathi, Abdul, Sethu and our dear Vignesh. We were also given a sneak peek of what Indian streets and traffic looked like.
We arrived at Ambady's Palmgrove Club, where we'd be staying for the night, hosted by the Rotary Club of Cochin. We had an introduction meeting, where they welcomed us, and treated us to a lovely typical South Indian buffet dinner (which we thoroughly enjoyed). There we learned that using fork and spoons was somewhat taboo. After the late dinner caused by different time zones, we had a small informal meeting with the RC of Saibaba Colony regarding our itinerary ahead.
DAY 2 : 11 Dec
We awoke to find Rtn. Arthur swimming in the pool, and while waiting for breakfast to be served we were treated to a spectacular all-round view of the backwaters of Kerala and its peasant-life. Breakfast was lovely with the irresistable poori and idly, and we left for the beach of the famous Fort Cochin. Around 10am, we stopped by The Dutch Cemetery where the Dutch soldiers were buried. We managed to snap several shots of the renowned Chinese fishing nets alongside the shore; they were made of teak and bamboo poles. Then we visited St. Francis CSI Church and the magnificent Santa Cruz Basilica.
Then we embarked on another arduous journey to the boathouse located in Allepey. Vignesh had booked 2 boathouses for all of us to stay for the night. On the way there, we stopped by to buy drinking water, and we managed to drop by a roadside stall selling nanarusarpert, water mixed with root essence powder, blended with soda. Surprisingly quenching as it was, we gulped down at least 2 glasses each, 7 Rs. for a glass. 7 / 13 = RM 0.53. Cheap? Hehe.
After a total of 4 hours, we finally arrived at the boathouse and we were thrilled with what lay in for us. The boats were no ordinary silly rafts floating, waiting for you to trip and fall in the water; they were long and big boats with 4 A/C rooms (each with attached bathrooms), a kitchen, and a spacious lounge with a flat-screen and dvd player with subwoofers. Who would expect this? The most important thing of course, was that there were electric sockets to charge our extra limbs. ^^
While waiting for lunch, we enjoyed the breathtaking scenery and played games in the open-air lounge. We played charades and taught them to play Big 2 and what better time than now to play Xiao Ci's Indian Poker? Of course we played it, with everyone esp. Barathi laughing their bums off. As we played, many other boathouses passed by and we waved, and they waved back, and Sethu, having lost at one round of Indian Poker was sporting enough to shout "I love you" to an Indian boatman who passed by us, making him happy.
Night saw us having fellowship with the mosquitoes with everyone in the lounge area, with stories being told, and mosquito repellent being rubbed on our hands and legs. Then we exchanged pendants with our Indian counterparts. After chapati and several curries for dinner, we watched Vertical Limit from the DVD player. Then it was sleeping time. :)
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