Catch Up

I've realized for some time that I neglected to mention, at any point, what my travel plans are.
I'm hoping to travel for much of the year. This being month four I expect most of my plans to change over the course of the trip. As of now, I'm still touring Kerala by mountain bike. I'm hauling about 25 kg on my rear rack, 8kg in a top tube pouch (tools) and another 8kg or so on my back (water and food). I made the mistake of keeping my fat knobby tires on my bike, so the going is a little tougher than necessary. I spend a lot of my day pondering friction and the "pore size" of Indian pavement as a result. I'll continue with this ramshackle rig to Vietnam in March, and I plan to bike south through Laos, Cambodia and into Thailand. From there, I'll head north to China and bike from Lhasa to Kathmandu over the month of May. June is a planned group trip back in India (Corvallis friends, and friends of those friends) from Manali to Srinagar by way of Leh. If money allows, I hope to make it to NZ and then off to Africa to help Steph with round two of her fellowship fieldwork. I'm super excited for each stage of the adventure and can't deny loving it so far.

Munnar!

Munnar is covered in tea. The hillsides in every direction are a carpeted in a maze patchwork of what looks like lush, leafy green, batting. It's like something out of a Lewis Carroll novel- very other worldly. We spent a few days exploring the hillsides by bike. Though there is no shortage of offers for guided trekking, it's easy enough to head for the hills and find plenty of public cow paths and roads carving through the plantations. The few days of rest at about 5, 000 ft allowed us a brief reprieve from the heat and humidity. The decent from Munnar was breath taking. The topography of the landscape is exaggerated by the tea bushes, so the view from above look out over an undulating sea of green, with hilltops capped in green spirals. From Munnar we headed toward the Western Ghatts through the Chinar Wildlife Reserve, miles and miles of coconut palms, and on into Utamapelt. The mostly downhill day allowed us to push a 130K in to Pollachi, in Tamil Nadu. We ended up in a dodgy back alley hotel, but spent our time there exploring the Parambikulam Wildlife Reserve. The reserve is home to 15 of the 1,411 tigers left in India (there's a very well publicized Save Our Tigers campaign) but none in sight during our visit. We were required to hire a guide, but were fortunate enough to be led on a great hike through tropical, deciduous, and pine forest. We ascended a grueling 3,000 ft in a short amount of time, but the view of miles of jungle were well worth the mild heat stroke. Our guide took more pictures of us than the landscape, leading us to believe we might have been on his inaugural trek as a true blue guide.

From Pollachi we headed back along the coast to Thrissur, where we discovered ice cream cones and the zoo. Both cost only 10 rupees, but the ice cream was significantly more enjoyable. The animal cages were hard to stomach. They were devastatingly under sized, crude, barrack-like animal prisons. Dramatic? Maybe. The furrier animals were lethargic to the point of barely conscious, and I could very literally feel their pain. We nursed our depression and cooled off with not one, but two frosty cones.

The heat in Thrissur and beyond has been borderline oppressive, so we've been getting up in the dark and hitting the road at first light every morning. Lucky for us it's watermelon season! We've been dividing our roadside rehydration between coconut water and melons (piled high) along the way.

Planes, Trains and Double Decker Automobiles

We wrapped up Rajasthan by strapping our bikes atop buses. We did this with reluctance, but the long stretches of desert between our last destinations were short on water and safe places to sleep, and we were pressed for time (considering all we wanted to see). We traveled on to Jodhpur and explored its hilltop fort, with fantastic views of the "blue city" splashed in indigo below. The wide tree-lined lanes, cooler weather and chaotic spice market were major highlights. Our home stay was next door to the HQ of an NGO working to empower local women. The organizer, a colorful and vivacious man, gave me a gigantic can of Canadian bear mace when he learned I was traveling the country by bike. I was entertained by his emphatic and theatrical explanation of its necessity, so I didn't refuse (I ditched it before ever having to use it though). Our last leg through Rajathan brought us to Udaipur, a touristic lake-side city surrounded by rolling hills. Despite the glitz, this was my favorite city stop. Not only do I love mountains and proximity to water, but the palaces and gardens are incredibly well maintained and fantastically colorful.

We took a 14 hour train ride back to Delhi to send Adam back to Australia and to prepare our bikes for a plane ride to Kerala. Packing our bikes for the train ride ended up a painless and entertaining effort. We made good friends with the cheerful guys at the station's parcel office in Udaipur (ending in several group pictures) and found our bikes unscathed at the other end. We managed to snag second class non A/C sleepers for our long ride, but were also lucky enough to share close quarters with a man who snored loud enough to eclipse the rattle and clang of the train itself. Quite a feat. Our time in Delhi was passed by endless pots of Chai and games of rummy (thanks Steph!). We also made our way to the Gandhi Museum and the 40 acres of gardens surrounding it (thanks for the recommendation Anne!), which turned out to be major highlights.We arranged to get bike boxes from an outfitter in Delhi and, despite flagrant weight violations, got them (jam packed) on our plane to Kerala sans charges.

Kerala is amazing. We started this leg of the adventure in Fort Cochin, a sleepy southern town on the shores of the Arabian Sea. Our home stay in Cochin was nestled in a thick neighborhood jungle of coconut palms and banana trees, and our host family was incredibly kind. The heat and humidity, as expected, hit us like a ton of bricks. Our late morning departure to Thattekhad Bird Sanctuary 70K away meant a punishing sweat-fest of a bike trip. Luckily, fruit is plentiful and we were able to stop for fresh watermelon and coconut water to hydrate. Despite the weather, getting back on the bike felt glorious. Thattekhad boasts 300 bird species and, although we're far from being ornithologically savvy, it was exhilarating to spot a few rare species. Our initial predawn tour of the park was cut short by a pack of wild elephants blocking the path. Apparently they're quite aggressive and will charge when threatened. We made up for it by touring the area by canoe and unencumbered bikes. This was our first opportunity in a long while to enjoy some single track riding. The nicely packed trails took us through small villages lining the riverside and along lakes dotting the park's borders. We stayed in the park an extra day to catch the Shiva Festival. The festival celebrates Shiva's protection. To show reverence, the villagers stay awake all night to allow Shiva rest from 364 days of vigilance. Celebrations included a theatrical and rucous procession that entailed impressive frantic drumming, dancing, and explosive fireworks. The men did all of the dancing, beating each other with tree branches in a writhing mosh pit encircled by a row of clasped hands attempting to contain the chaos as the procession made its way down the street. The women calmly led the masses, lining the street in rows holding candles floating in bowls of flower petals. The display was magical and a nice departure from the campy variety of "authentic" dance and theater that most tourists are limited to.

After an exhausting 30 miles of climbing, we've made our way to Munnar. We're surrounded by crisp air, true mountains and rolling patches of fresh green tea plantations. We'll hang out here for a few days to explore more single track and, hopefully, do some rock climbing.