Lesson 21 from India: Things are not always as they appear.

Our last night in Fort Cochin they treated us to dinner and authentic toddy (fermented coconut) YUM. Over dinner they shared the real story about Pinky, the 13 year old cousin that works for them and sleeps in the kitchen. Contextually the rest of the family sleeps in the living room. This was a little less of a Cinderella story than we had thought. She is from a very poor family in the North. Her last job was working in a hotel from 6am-12am, in the middle of the day she went to school. With no care from her parents or brothers she lived in rags and her destiny was ultimately to be sold off into marriage at a very early age. Working with the homestay family she’s far better off. She is paid well, has nice clothes, some freedom and can save for her dowry. In this progressive province she won’t marry until after the age of 21. Her boss cares for her but is strict to keep her from taking advantage which, apparently she has done before. Such a shy smile. She won’t even accept a chocolate bar unless you put it in her hand. Her sister will be joining her soon to work at the homestay. This family has rescued her. Still she will never be their equals, have the same love, privileges, or the freedom to just be a child. At 13 she must care for the 6 and 9 year old.

Cheesy angst poem:

Pinky Pinky makes excellent chapathy.
She washes my clothes,
but drinks no toddy.

Thirteen, thirteen, do you get a hug,
In between dishes and cleaning the rug?

I want to walk and tell you its fine
And give you the freedoms of my women-kind.

Would you believe me if I said I am not better than you?

I’m glad your sister is coming.

We left for the road at 6am, the kids and Lisa cried as we said goodbye. As always she has made an impression with her genuine love and affection for children. We will keep in touch with them.

We made it to Cherai Beach but Lisa was taken down with another heinous cold. After a restless night sleeping with little biting red ants we ditched that town and enjoyed a hair raising ride to Guruvayur. This is a hopping temple town with few foreign tourists so we stayed at a very swanky hotel for $16 until she got better. The staff were so amused by their foreign guests that we received phone calls starting at 8am to see if we needed anything. Lisa had tickled the fancy of the hotel receptionist so much that she came up to the room to take a picture of Lisa and touch her face. Then there were the two yes, two curious bell boys who came to the room to deliver, what must have been a very heavy roll of toilet paper. hahaha

This was an amazing place. We enjoyed authentic South India Thalis (traditional lunch) all served on a banana leaf, and eaten by hand. Yum!



There is a huge Hindu temple where they keep elephants for grand religious celebrations. If you want that your son gets a very good job you are welcome to donate large sums of gold so your prayers may be heard. Or, you may also wish to donate an elephant. They are sadly taken from the wild from their mothers and trained from a young age. Wild adults would not tolerate chains. Occasionally an elephant will lose its wits and go nuts. For such intelligent, social and magnificent beasts, their true home is in the wild. I know, I know, the context of millennia of tradition is not lost on me but still, too much context can cloud and issue like a thick smog clouds the lungs.

Lesson 22: Sometimes things are exactly as they appear.










On Sunday the town exploded with weddings. There was so many beautiful people and things to see here. Music around the temple at night, dancing, groups of pilgrams. We said wow a hundred times a day.






Now for the most endearing things in India:

Endless, endless, endless, endless, amounts of character.
Amazing birds with elaborate calls.
The food.
Street stalls.
Cool insects.
A city of lights on the ocean from small fishing boats, all night long.
Shiny sweets, shiny women, shiny shrines.
Chai chai and more chai.
The morning chorus breaking through the ubiquitous crows.
Magnum PI moustaches.
Night-time bat watching. Small bats…HUGE bats.
Men holding hands in friendship.
Turquoise ocean.
Big huge smiles
Being giggled at.
Unabashed starring.
The kindness of the people.
Their easy going attitude, nothing is a problem, even the traffic doesn’t stress them out!
Learning to eat with our hands.
Learning to use water instead of TP.
Longis (south indian clothing worn by men)






























Moments we could have done without:

Fresh dead dogs on the road in the morning.
Rotting dead dogs on the road in the afternoon.
The morning chorus of horking.
Being laughed at.
A huge dead bat electrocuted on the wires.
People who take a dump directly into the ocean.
People who litter directly into the ocean.
Explaining why Lisa’s hair is short, and yes, she is female.
Not holding hands in public.
Sharks being served at tourist restaurants. (endangered)

Most gagable moment:
Going to the post office, the man behind the counter does a farmers nose blow on the floor of the office, turns back to serve the gagging Lisa who swifty leaves the office asking Michelle to complete the transaction.

As soon as Lisa was well enough we moved on from Guruvayur. From there we’ve cycled over 100kms on a mostly rural ride, hitting the town of Thirur for one stinky night, then on to Calicut, a busy, relentlessly honking, smoggy city. The vibe has changed somewhat from the chill religious tones of Guruvayur and further south. Our presence through this stretch has been met with more flabbergasted jaw-dropping intrusive stares rather then the mostly kindly curious looks we’ve been used to so far. There are still very few foreigners here. Lisa did have to give one man a loud talk down and a hard whack on the shoulder for being inappropriate towards her. No, not all western women are like that.

And finally it was my turn to get sick. Giving into the temptation of butter chicken, I’ve learned my lesson too stay away from meat in India. After 4 days of sickness, we were happy for the satellite TV in the room, and we’ll be happy to get out of here.

Tomorrow we leave by car for Wayanard Wildlife Sanctuary (too far to cycle with no stops) in search of breathable air and wild elephants, the only kind we’ll give money to see.

If you've liked the photos so far, most of them are Lisa's doing!

Thanks for writing everyone!

Hi-tailing it,
Michelle and Lisa

(P.S. Tracy, yes we should have brought that extra tool, I broke a spoke on my back wheel! ha ha...we'll find someone to fix it, do you fancy flying out?)

We stayed 5 days in Kovalam, a beach town fabled once as a pristine destination for hippies in the 70’s. Now more developed and touristy, the relentless sellors really do ruin the atmosphere when your chillin’ at the beach. The beauty of this place lives in contrast, past and present meet and cultures shake hands.











Two days of riding brought us to next beach, Varkala, where we stayed a week. It has such a beautiful beach which the police keep most annoying beach vendors away, and we were able to find our peace. We slooowwwweeedddd dooowwwnnn considerably and sunk into the beeacchhhh life, dude. The heat of the sand in the afternoon made us stupid and sunburnt; so we took to siestas and early morning swims. Covering up in the sun is a necessity, now I know why the head dress started.

You know your relaxed when you have the time to separate the colours of the sand grains.


We met some really nice travellers from Switzerland with whom we shared a few meals. Its nice to meet people on a similar cultural level and not have to pretend we have husbands or that we are Buddhists! Not just that, they were a refreshing couple who see more to life than work.

These beaches are a gentle mix of all. The early mornings have yoga practitioners greeting the day, traditional fishermen returning from their all-night vigil and groups of Indians starting the day off right with religious rituals and prayer. The afternoon sees relatively naked tourists baking in the sun, there lounge chairs and umbrellas are slowly surrounded by fishing nets laid out to dry. The evening bring Indian families for an evening stroll or swim. The boys play in jovial groups and the women wade in fully clothed. We were sad to leave.



Lisa got knocked off her bike on a very small road in the beach town of Varkala…some &#*$ing people! Arg. She was fine, but after a very frustrating day it was the icing on the camels back.

Since Varkala the craziness of the roads have somewhat calmed. We are finding that the 4-lane highway is our best bet as it has at least a 2-foot shoulder. The passing lanes are a very very good thing for bus drivers with something to prove! We’ve learned how to ride here and how to cope. This involves and ear plug in my traffic-side ear, a loud bell and an air filter. Happily we plug along, now very much enjoying our rides. Honk if your Indian!










We hopped a 8 hour ferry up the back water canals of Kerala to bring us to Alleppey.









It was a gorgeous ride, not without its usual realities. The canals are both the sewer system and the swimming pool. The many jellyfish spoke of polluted waters and any far off view is hazy. We were transported to a time were modernity hadn’t made its ugly footprints.




With some of the most biodiversity in the world India has a lot to loose and a lot to save. Cool encounters so far: Kingfisher, big jellyfish, garden spider.




















Another 60kms brings us to Fort Cochin. We found a homestay in a gorgeous house that is spotless and friendly. It even has children to amuse Lisa! Lisa worked on the parents so we could take them swimming for the first time ever! They were ecstatic and so were we.






One day, playing together in the rickety park Lisa noticed a boy around two, playing alone. We brought the police who laughed and explained he was a gypsy street child and not from this province, so there was nothing to do. Eventually a girl came claiming to me his sister though not knowing his name. The child ran off…across the road. It always feels better at least to try. Humph.
The family is lovely, besides the cousin who is 13, works all day and sleeps under the kitchen counter and certain belief-systems we just can’t jive with…we’ve had an amazing time with them so far. We feel at home, have many conversations, share stories and play with the kids. Last night they treated us to authentic toddy (fermented coconut) and a delicious meal.

We took in a show of Kathikali dance, the traditional dance of this province Kerala.


Through all our amazing experiences so far, we now feel adjusted and comfortable in India. It’s a spiritual place, and that’s adsorbing into us. It’s a strong calm in a place that only appears chaotic a first.

Much to the children’s delight we’ll go swimming again today for the second time. Dad has promised to take them once a week now and try to leave the fear of his drowned brother behind.

Tomorrow we head off for an 80km ride up the coast.

We hope that you are all keeping well...

Making waves in India,
Michelle and Lisa