Kerala Adventure with Amanda

My sister Amanda was volunteering at an orphanage in Jaipur, India, and at the end of her volunteering, wanted a travel partner for a week. I decided, well, it may be a bit crazy to fly halfway around the world for a 10 day vacation (Oct. 14-23), but hey, why not. I really enjoyed my trip to India for Ian's wedding in April, and Amanda was doing all the planning. She wanted to visit Kerala, in the South West tip of India. It turns out Kerala is an amazing and relaxing place that totally re-energized me. Maybe it was the company, the scenery, or the 5 massages, but whatever it was, it was amazing trip.

Arrive in Cochin

My friend Phoebe drove me to Boston, Logan Airport on Thursday night, for my Swiss Air flight to Mumbi (Bombay), connecting in Zurich. Once I arrived in Bombay, I went through customs and then needed to find the Air India gate for my 1AM Saturday morning flight to Cochin (Kochi). It was 10PM on Friday night, and I was a bit confused. There were no clear signs for the transit passengers, and everyone kept telling me to leave the airport then reenter.

As I wandered around, someone told me to take a cab to the domestic airport, so I did. Well, it turns out the domestic airport is ONLY for Jet Airways, and my connection was at the second floor of where I arrived. I then took my cab back 5km though a busy noisy Bombay airport area to my original terminal. It was only a $6 adventure, and I thought it was actually a fun beginning to my travels, since it ended well. Once at the right terminal, I checked in, and then got on my plane, landing in Cochin at 4AM. The Cochin airport is awesome and it turns out it is so much nicer then other Indian airports because it is privately owned.

As I left the airport, there was a man with a sign MR. Karna (Amanda). It was for me. The greeter and my driver took my bag and drove me to the hotel, were I was able to check in and sleep for the entire day, since my sister was not arriving until 4PM. Amanda had found "The Travel Planners"” who had planned our trip in Kerala, making all the hotel reservations and getting us a driver. Now, it is possible to do this all yourself, but the reasonable money we spent was so very worth it to just not worry or think about how we would be able to see and do the many great things in Kerala.

Amanda arrived at 4PM and took a much needed nice shower, before we got some dinner and then went to sleep. Our adventure was just beginning.

Drive from Cochin to Munnar

After breakfast the next morning, our driver Suresh, took us on a mini-tour of Cochin. We saw the Mattenchery Palace (with lovely murals of the Ramayana), the Jewish Synagogue area, the Chinese Fishing Nets. The fishing nets, as the rose and fell were really lovely. We did not want to spend too much time in the city, so soon headed up on the 4 hour drive to Munnar.

The drive to Munnar, in our Ambassador was beautiful, with waterfalls and hills with clouds nestled between them, but with a horrible potholed rode. Our driver was very good at maneuvering around the road to give us an easier trip. He also stopped whenever we expressed interest at looking at anything, which was nice.

Once we arrived in Munnar, we checked into our deluxe suite at the Munnar Woods and then headed to town. Lonely Planet was right, it was a very busy/dirty town, but luckily our hotel was before town, nestled in the hillside with views of the valley and the Tata tea trees. We then both got Ayurvedic massages, before bed.

Munnar

The next morning our driver took us to Eravikulam National Park where we caught a park bus up to the top area, where there was a view of valley as fog started to roll in. During the drive up and during our walk in the park we saw the Nilgiri Tahrs, the local kind of mountain goat. We also had amazing timing as we were their for the tail end of the blooming of the Kurichi or Neelakurinji Flowers, which turn the hills blue every 12 years. The next time these flowers will bloom is in 2018, talk about amazing timing! When we returned to the ranger station we bought a cut up pineapple from a roadside vendor, as a treat.

After our time in Eravikulam, we drove over to the Muttupetty Dam. At the dam we got into a speedboat, like all of the local tourists, and were given a fast ride around the lake. Halfway around, we were excited to see 3 elephants! They were just to the side of the lake, eating in the trees.

Amanda was super excited to see elephants in the wild, because while she had ridden one it the north, it is just not the same as seeing them in the wild. After our speedboat ride, we got some local corn from a roadside vendor and then headed over to echo point, where we heard the echo, then bought some local tea and chocolate.

After our Muttupetty adventures, we had a lunch buffet and then headed out to a tea processing plant. On the way there, we realized Amanda forgot her glasses at lunch, so we had to return, and luckily there were waiting for her to come back to pick up the glasses. After a view of the valley and a close up look at the tea trees (I think they are really shrubs), we went back to our room with its view for the evening rain, and headed to bed.

Drive from Munnar to Thekkady

The next morning it was time for another 4 hour drive along the mountain side to Thekkady the gateway to the Periyar Tiger Reserve. It was another beautiful drive, with lush tropical valleys, tea trees, and waterfalls. During the first part of the drive, the children were heading to school, so from town to town we got to see the different colors of the school uniforms. It turns out Kerala has one of the highest literacy rates in all of India, 100% in some counties.

In Thekkady, we went on a Spice Tour, since this was the land of spices, and saw where just about everything came from. Our spice place was mainly a Cardamom grower, with lots of tall Cardamom trees. After our spice tour we headed into the Periyar Tiger Reserve for a boat trip around the lake. While we were waiting for the boat, we saw several monkeys, and took lots of pictures of them.

The boat ride was a very peaceful view of the landscape, showing us more of what Peiyar looked like, along with a variety of animals, dear, bison, and wild boar. After the boat ride, we signed up for a Hiking and Bamboo Rafting Trek for the next day.

That night we tried another Aruvedic massage and steam bath. It was a quite lovely end to the long day.



Periyar Tiger Reserve

Today we got up at 7AM and headed into the park for our bamboo rafting and trek. At Periyar station, we met up with a family of 3 from Bombay, a family of 3 from Canada, and a doctor from Ireland. We then met our guides -– 4 local men, and our guard, with his big gun. The guides had us put on foot/leg coverings to help protect us from leeches, since it rains every day and this brings out the leeches. Once we were all geared up, we headed out.

First we went on small bamboo rafts across the water to a landmass. This is where the trek began. We walked though the woods, seeing the plants from the spice garden in nature. I asked the guard about his gun, and he said he had only used it once, and only shot up in the air to scare off some animals. The trek was along muddy lanes that had many leeches. They crawled all over out shoes. We came to some clearings and then had tea. The great thing about Kerala is how everyone always wants to feed you, and such yummy local food.

After our snack we got on the bamboo rafts, paddled a bit and just enjoyed the peaceful scenery. People call Kerala, God's Country, and sitting on the water paddling away, I think that is a good name for this place. We went on another short trek, saw some animals in the distance and then sat down for a major meal. Then it was back to the rafts and the trek home.

At the end of the day, our driver was waiting for us. We headed back to the hotel, stopping off for some shopping. While were stopped, I squealed, LEECH. It turns out one of the leeched had attached itself to my back. Now at least the leeches were small, but still, this one was engorged on blood and gross. The driver lit some matched to get the leech to disengage, and then Amanda scooped it up and threw it out. No more leeches for me.

After the long day, we headed back to the hotel to sleep.

House Boat

The next morning it was yet another 4 hour drive to Kumarakom. It was a lovely drive down the mountains to the river ways of Kerala. Sadly, we had to say goodbye to our awesome driver and the Ambassador, as we got on our houseboat - called a Kettuvallam, for a day on the backwaters, Kerala style.

The backwaters are just so peaceful. People seem to live on small sandbars between open water, where there is fishing and rice growing. At our lunch stop, we went for a walk along one of the sandbars to a Tiger Prawn shop, and bought some very fresh prawns for our dinner.







We continued to float around the backwaters for the rest of the day. We got off the boat a few times, to stroll through towns and enjoy the backwaters, but mostly we just boated around. Different from the hills, there was a real serenity here on the water, which I loved. That evening we had a beautiful sunset and then we docked for the night. That night it was under the mosquito nets for sleep on the water.

Drive to Kovalam

We had breakfast on the boat and then a leisurely morning ride through the backwaters. It was just lovely. Around 9, our time on the houseboat came to an end, and we left for Kovalam.

Yes, it was another 4 hour ride -– this time on better roads, but not with Suresh, the awesome driver. The new driver took us into Trivadurm, where we went to a local market for rice and spices and other packaged souvenirs. After a brief tourist stop, we headed down to Kovalam and our hotel, the Uday Samudra

That evening I got a Podikizhi (I call it the tea ball massage), which I thought was wonderful. There were two ladies doing the massage, and they just made me smile and relax. It is so nice to just relax and feel like the weight of everything slipping away to nothing. After the massage, Amanda and I got some food, and listened to the waves before heading to bed.

Kovalam Beach Day

We spent the morning watching the fisherman bring in their nets and hanging by the pool. It was really the first morning we did not have to go somewhere or sit in a car. It was nice to have a quite start to the day.





During the mid-day rain we got Podikizhi massages and then headed over to Lighthouse beach for some lunch at Fusion. The lighthouse beach was bigger then ours and at it I got a chance to swim in the Arabian Sea.

Back at the hotel we enjoyed an amazing buffet dinner, while listening to a local band and enjoying the start of Diwaili fireworks.


Bombay

After a morning by the pool, we headed out to the Trivandrum (the capitol of Kerala) airport for our flight to Bombay. It was a nice flight on Jet Airways (now my favorite of the internal India airlines).

During the week, Amanda and I had been reading Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts, about Bombay and the Bombay mafia. It was cool to now get to see the city that we had read about. Upon arrival we took a local cab to our hotel, the Taj President, and after checking in, wandered around the city a bit. We saw the India Gate, where I bought awesome samosos from a local sidewalk vendor. We then went to the bar Leopold's that was featured in the book. It was nice to see some of the places from the story -– making it feel real. We then headed back to the hotel, so I could get ready, since my flight was leaving Bombay at 1 AM. Amanda flight was not until 1PM on Monday, so she could spend the night at the hotel.

As I left Bombay in my car, we drove along Chowpatty Beach, where locals were setting off many fireworks in celebration of Diwali and the India New Year. It was nice to leave the city and feel like a celebration was going on.

It was a wonderful trip and you can see more pictures here: India Pictures

Fall Colors

For the weekend after my 32nd birthday, after a breakfast at the Harvard Club with my friend Lora from California, I headed up into the heart of New England, Vermont and New Hampture.



Friday afternoon was spent wandering the Dartmouth campus, then heading across the road to Norwich, VT, to visit Amy. I think the major tourist attraction (besides the natural beauty) is the King Arthur Bakery Store. My friend Amy from Princeton is now a professor at Dartmouth. She invited over Kristin Fountain, another one of our classmates who writes for the Valley News, for a girls night.



The next morning, Amy and I went for a walk on her local roads, checking out the Vermont colors, in a foggy but beautiful morning. After our walk, I headed out, driving across New Hampture and into the White Mountains, to visit with the Shen and Mlyniec families at Phoebe's family cabin called Far Mountain. The drive across New Hampture was beautiful.







It was fun to arrive at the cabin and take a nap in the warm afternoon.



We then opened up the cabin, went for a walk to the brook, and then got ready for a campfire dinner. It was fun making the "Hobo Dinner" which is a lot of yummy stuff in tin foil that you put on the fire! It was wonderful, but what was the best, was making S'Mores for dessert. It has been too long since I roasted marshmallows.



It was early to bed and then early to rise for a beautiful fall day - sunny and clear and perfect for a hike. We ate breakfast (including some blueberry muffins from King Arthur's Bakery) and then headed out for a hike at Welsh-Dickey. It was an amazing hike - with good friends.






After a beautiful day in the hills, I headed back to Boston ready for another week of Fall.

See a whole set of my pictures on the web here:
Fall Colors Pictures.

Another Move!

Yes, I have moved again, but this time only 5 blocks away from my 209 Washington St. home in Brookline. One roommate, Christi, is getting married in October, and the other roommate, Rachel, was moving to New York, so I decided to move rather then find 2 new roommates. My new place is a very cozy second floor unit in this brick building.



I have one roommate, Kristin, who is a nurse, and who decorated the place with lots of nice comfy furniture, and my 3 pieces of living room stuff seem to fit in fine.



My bedroom looks much like my bedroom has looked at the last 3 places, as it turns out the same furniture and wall hangings, look pretty much the same wherever you go. I took this move to pair down my clothes and stuff yet again, with the Goodwill getting a whole new set of donations.



The move was the end to a very hectic summer, where I went on lots and lots of trips, from France to Colorado, and several to southern and northern CA. Now I am settled back into like in the Boston area, just in time for Beautiful Fall - crisp weather, no more super hot and sticky days and nights and not yet freezing. For the fall, I am signed up for lots of sports (BSSC Softball, Buda Ultimate, BSSC Volleyball, a Triathalon), along with 2 book groups and volunteering with an afterschool science club. Lots of good adventures to come.

Camp Blue 2006

This year, like most years I have been able to since I was 5, I returned to the Lair of the Bear Camp Blue, the Cal Berkeley Alumni family camp in the Sierra's that I love. I love being with people who have known me for years, up in the mountains, just enjoying life. Here is the story of my 2006 Camp Blue Week 7 Adventure.

Saturday: Heading up to the Lair

Saturday morning I woke up early and I drove up to Pinecrest Lake. Pinecrest is in the Sierra's off Route 108, pretty much in between Lake Tahoe and Yosemite. After a brief stop at Target for a chair and some sundries, I went directly to the lake to take a swim. It was 112F in the Valley, and while 20 degrees cooler in the mountains it was still hot. After a swim and an Its It, I drove over to the Camp Blue Check in to check into the Lair.


After checking in, I went to my cabin - Tent 9, unloaded the car, and then parked the car by the tennis courts, just like my dad used to do. Tent 9 is up in the hill of Camp Blue, one of my favorite sites at Blue. Nearby, I ran into one of my neighbors, Bill and Kathy Godwin, who were at Camp from Utah. It was good to see them again, and hear updates on their sons.

For the afternoon, I went for a swim at the pool, then had some impromptu cocktails, before heading over to dinner. Saturday night is turkey dinner - yummy. That night was the opening campfire, and it made me happy to hear the staff dance out to "Saturday Night, Saturday Night, the weekend starts on Saturday night. Summer's Here and summer’s Gone, Mountain Air is Full of Song, so come on everybody and Sing along, Hooray, Saturday Night!!" We were introduced to the staff and the new manager of the camp - Mike White. The best skit of the evening was the toasts to Mike White - and how wonderful and powerful he is Chuck Norris Style (Substitute Mike White for Chuck Norris in all the quotes). That night, I read a little in the lodge before returning to the tent and sleep.

Sunday: A day of Rest

Sunday, fittingly, was a day of rest. It was still fairly warm out, so after breakfast, I hung out by the pool and read. I started on a series of Amelia Peabody mysteries and just enjoyed the day. Lunch was the traditional BBQ, and I ate outside on the new deck.

In the afternoon, it was time for the annual pool party - with the staff doing crazy dives, a belly flop contest (I came in around 4th), and then the camper staff InterTube Water Polo contest. This year I was the only girl to compete at all, but it was fun, and nice to be wet in the heat.

Before dinner, the Brown's and Kliszewski's hosted their annual Margarita party, and I caught up with several old friends, before we all headed over to dinner. That evening was a lecture by the head doctor for the Raiders who talked about Magic and Medicine and their links over time (this actually was substantiated by my Amelia Peabody mysteries!). I went to bed early, so as to be ready for the Monday morning hike!

Monday: A Hike and Amanda Arrives

I woke up early, opened up the cabin, and looked out at the trees. It is so peaceful, early in the morning, with only birds and squirrels to keep you company. I headed to the dining hall to eat a bit and pack a lunch for the official 3/4 day hike to Camp and Bear Lake. Ellen Green joined me on the hike. It was a great hike for a hot day, shady on the way in, a swim in the lake, and then a downhill walk back to the cars. I do love swimming in the high mountain lakes.

After my return, I spent some time by the pool, and then Amanda and Carter arrived! They settled into the tent, then we went to a Cocktail hour at Tent 14. All our parents old friends got to see Amanda and Carter, before we headed into dinner, Carter's first Lair meal.

After dinner, it was time for Disco Bingo, where when someone gets a "Disco" a song starts playing and everyone dances! Costumes, dancing, and prizes for a Bingo, it is always a fun time. After Disco Bingo, we got Carter his first Lair Burger at the Lodge, before playing some hearts with Rich Green, and then heading off to bed.

Tuesday: Art, Softball, and Swimming


After a tough wake up to make it to the dining hall for breakfast, we headed to the pool for Water Aerobics. The pool was warm and filled with 20 people as we treaded water and stretched. It turns out water aerobics is a lot of fun.

After this we headed to the pottery area to make our pots - I made some small ones on the wheel, while Amanda and Carter made larger ones.


It was then time for lunch. After lunch I headed over to the Gold Softball field for the Camper/Staff softball game. It was a good warm-up for the Gold game, even though we lost.

After the game we returned to camp and headed down to the famous Long Island Ice Tea Party with the Castanada's. Many of the people at cocktail hour asked about my friends Ken & Julia, who had come with me the last few years. They were unable to make it this year, but I expect they will be back in the future.

After dinner it was the 6 on 6 volleyball tourneyment. I played on the Brodsky team, since my normal team, the Umedas (Ian, Kim, Martin...from the exciting Indian Wedding) were not at camp this year. We did not win, but it was still nice to play some volleyball, and always cool when people come up afterwords and complement you. The rest of the evening was quiet, as we were tired from the full day of sports and activity at the Lair.

Wednesday: The Lake

We had a very slow start to the morning, missing hot breakfast and only going for continental breakfast. After eating, we headed down to the art grove and glazed our pots. Ready for firing, we put them on the shelf, and then headed out to the lake.

The walk to the lake took us through Gold, and then through the forest service campgrounds. Once at the lake, we rented a motor boat for 2 hours and then proceeded to adventure on the lake. This adventure began with me crashing into the dock, just after starting the boat, as I was not particularly skilled. Carter took over, and soon we were out near the dam. We all jumped out of the boat and swam around, enjoying the sun and cool water. Climbing into the boat was not particularly easy, but after several tries we all made it in.

We then explored the far east shore of the lake, a place we had not really ever managed to make it to in the paddle boats of our youth. I then took over steering and we headed back to the dam, finding branch at the side of the lake to hook into, so we could go swimming again. After this, we headed to the cliffs, and Carter jumped off the rocks. We brought the boat back, got some food, and then headed back to the lair.

We spent the time before dinner drinking with Bill and his daughter in Tent 10. It was fun to share stories with our neighbor and hang out by our tent. After drinks I headed out to dinner with the Broadsky family. I remember where their children were babies, but now they are big. It was nice to catch up with David on how he is doing. Wednesday night was the night of the Blue Review, and Carter needed to see at least one show at the stage. The little kids singing was a lot of fun, and some of the other talents were also enjoyable. After the show we walked up to the Vista lodge for the "Adult Dance." While not a lot of dancing took place, it was a wonderful walk to just look up and enjoy the stars.

Thursday: Tennis and Lounging by the Pool


After Breakfast it was the women's Blue vs. Gold volleyball game. We had a lot of fun, even if we did not win. After the game, Amanda and Carter headed home. It was sad to see them go.

I spent the rest of the morning playing tennis. First doubles with the ladies, which was good - we all won a serve and lost a serve in a very well matched game. After lunch, I returned to the courts to practice with Rich Green. It was like camp of old, when I would play with my dad, hitting the balls around and getting mild instruction.

After Dinner, Ellen, Rich and I headed down to the creek. The creek was Amanda's favorite place at the lair. We saw lots of bugs and other critters. After our walk it was time for the "Hoot!" All the classics were done, 7 Old Ladies, the Rooster, a Round, and then several great songs by a staff that could really sing. They were a really good group.

Friday: Softball, a tweaked ankle, and the Farewell Show

In a small change in schedule, the women's blue versus gold match was in the morning. I walked over to Gold and got ready for our big game. It started off slow, with me at 1st, not a lot of great hitting, and some missed plays in the field. At the top of the 5th (the last inning), things were looking grim. We were down 2-7 and Gold was up. I was moved to Third, and with a series of great plays by the shortstop and pitcher, we were able to get 3 easy outs. Then we were up at bat. We gathered for an inspiring cheer, and then the bottom of the lineup began. Slowly the hits kept coming, until finally, Kristin came up to bat before me. She hit a HOME RUN, driving home everyone on base and tying the score 7-7! I was next, and have a solid base hit. Then Chizzy came up to bat, and hit a grounder to the right side of the field. I rounded second, and while the base coach at third told me to stay, I decided to head home and managed to confuse the gold players and score the winning run! It was very exciting. Later Rosemary and Jerry Brown, said that my father was looking over me and he must have inspired the play. One of the nice things about the Lair is how many people remember my father, and tell me stories of how he was and what they enjoyed about him. I do not often get these reminders in my daily life, and this is probably one of the reasons the lair is so special to me. Unfortunately I also managed to tweak my ankle.

After lunch, I did practice my tennis serve with Rich Green, before the ankle started to bother me. I went to the nurse and she said it was an odd sprain in that it was the inside of my right ankle, not the outside. With only a little swelling, it didn't seem too bad. The rest of the afternoon was spent by the pool, reading the last of my Amelia Peabody mysteries. Before dinner, I watched Rich's tennis match, and then joined him and Ellen for dinner (tri-tip).

After dinner, it was time for the Final Show! This year the theme was "Stanfordization" and with great songs, lots of cool jokes, the standard dissing of Stanford, but also a message about how the commercial things and making money are not what the lair is about, it is about the people and the memories. It seems the staff is not so keen on some of the "improvements" and donation requests. It was then off to the lodge for my last lair burger and Its It of the week, before heading to sleep.

Saturday: Saying Goodbye and Driving Home.

The week at the lair was over. It was so nice to see everyone again, and feel part of the mountain spirit. I said goodbye to people, packed up the car, and headed home. 51 weeks before the next Week 7!

More Pictures from the Lair of the Golden Bear!