Wed 13 Apr 2011
Hello Family,Yesterday was a big spa day for us. Our package at Indus Valley Ayurvedic Spa included massage, a facial, pedicure and manicure. So, we had to squeeze site seeing in between our spa. The facial was by far the best I have ever had, it would have been $200 in the US.We had our driver take us to the Majarah’s palace, which they call the Taj Mahal of South. The palace is very beautiful and the grounds are very nice. There is an indoor portion that we just could not get to. We kept going in the wrong way (entrance was not well marked). Then we missed the shoe drop off, so we had to go back and check our shoes. We almost got in, when they told us we needed to go check our cameras, which was pretty far back to the entrance. We gave up and decided to go the outdoor market. On the way to the market a guy walked over and said ‘The Market is closed for lunch. I am heading home for lunch, but I will take you to where they make the incense and the oils’. Amanda says ‘Oh, okay let’s do that.’. I whisper to Amanda ‘the markets not closed, this guy wants us to go to the oil shop’……this goes on. I can’t convince Amanda, so we head down back allies to the incense shop. The entire time I am thinking ‘we are going to be sold into slavery’. We did see incense being made which was kind of cool, and we smelled some lovely oils. The oil guy made us tea, which I did not drink incase it was poisoned :). We did get out of there without a problem. On the way back to the car the same guy that led us astray, comes up in a rickhaw and says get in, it’s free…..we said no thank you. What does George Bush say ‘fool me once, fool me twice….you can’t fool a fool again ;)Back to Indus Valley for more spaing and then off to the Brindavan Gardens for the dancing fountains. The Brindavan Gardens are a bit like the Elitches Gardens without the rides. Amanda and I were the only non-Indians there. There is a big lagoon that can be crossed by bridge or boat. We walked across the bridge. The gardens were nice, but the main attraction is the dancing fountains, the sow start at dusk. We got there just as it started up. It was fun. The fountains are lit up by colorful lights and choreographed to Indian music, like at the Belogio in Vegas. We stayed for just a little bit, because we needed to get back for dinner. unfortunately our car was parked in by other cars and we couldn’t leave. The driver made us wait in the car, because we were attracting too much attention.day 12We had to leave at 6:00 am to drive to the Bangalore airport. amanda had to go wake up the driver from his car in the parking lot. four hours to Bangalore, 2 1/2 hour flight to dehli, met up with Scott and to our B & B. The B & B is tolerable. They have beer in the fridge which is good. Walked to dinner, had meat entrees after many vegetarian meals.Day 13Met with Tannnie at the original B & B we were supposed to stay at, because she is helping with our travel plans to Agra for the Taj Mahal. I almost cried when I saw how nice the place we were supposed to stay in was. She said she had availability for our last night, so we are moving over there for our last night. We saw some really amazing sites today. we saw a minuet (really tall ornate building) and a very large tomb/mausoleum. 160 members of the royal family buried there. we also went to Old Dehli, that was quite an experience. Another famous Delhi historical site called the Red Fort was there.Tomorrow The Taj. 4 hour car ride there and 4 back.
Anyway, it was about a two hour drive to Kumorakon. The countryside was beautiful. We also drove close to the sea quite a bit (Arabian Sea). At Fort Kochi, we had seen the ancient Chinese fishing nets that are still intact, but it wasn’t that inspiring because of the distraction of all the trash, but as we drove out of the city there were a lot more and they were very beautiful. I was nervous about our houseboat ride. I had doubts about what the boat would be like, so I was nervous as we arrived in Kumorakon. When we finally got on our boat it was way better than anything I had imagined. The boat is so charming. We felt like we were in a Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy movie. It has a living room and dining area and then 2 bedrooms with king size beds. They welcomed us with a coconut with a straw in it. Coconut water directly from a coconut is so much better than coconut water out of a can. The houseboat cruises on what is called the Backwaters. The Backwater are fresh water, but are very close to the sea. They are sort of like the channels in Venice, but much bigger. Most of the day we spent perched on the front of the boat on cushions just behind our captain VJ as he steered us around the Backwaters all day. We were surrounded by banana, coconut, cashew, mango and other trees. Rice fields lay beyond the trees. We passed small villages where the people who worked in the rice fields live . We saw woman washing there clothes and pots and pans in the river. We saw children and men bathing in the river, but with some clothes on. We saw children just out of school in the uniforms waiting for there ‘bus’ boat. This ride is definitely a highlight of the trip so far. Our captain VJ traded songs with Amanda. VJ has a very nice voice and a great sense of humor. Our cook Jacob, prepared the most delicious lunch. Again, way beyond my expectations. Ken, I am now feeling a little guilty that you are not here with me, because you would be in heaven here on the boat with the most amazing Indian food. For dinner we had fresh caught giant prawns, that we picked out at a stand along the river, where we also had a little ice-cream treat. I had my usual drumstick cone, tasted just like back home off the ice-cream truck :).That’s it for now. Next stop the Taj Retreat and Bird Sanctuary.