I moved to Calicut, India, in October 2012 to be with my husband. Moved to Trivandrum, India, in 2013 and have been here ever since. Ten years in, I feel like I'm still navigating my space in Malayalee culture. But one thing is certain - Kerala will always keep a piece of my heart.
Well, I head back to India on October 1, which leaves me with one week to enjoy and soak in as much of my Pennsylvania home as I can. I’ve already said my good-byes to some, and the travel anxiety is beginning to set in. I haven’t had a bad experience flying to or from India yet, but it’s just soooooooooooooo long. And I really don’t even think about how long the flights are once I’m on the plane, but it’s the idea of it. Three six-hour (approximately) flights, trudging through security at JFK, London Heathrow, and Kuwait, and then, my personal favorite, the immigration queue once I reach Trivandrum. But it’ll be 4:30 am when I land, so I’m hoping there won’t be much of a wait. And it’ll be all so worth it when I push my luggage cart out the doors and see Zac waiting for me, slightly fretting over my whereabouts.
The good-byes have been much less painful this time around. Last time, I had no idea when I would come back, and we all didn’t know how the Skype situation would work for keeping in touch. The tears and sorrows were for nothing because, honestly, I think I keep in better touch with people from India than when I am here. I am so thankful for the time I have been able to spend here. It’s been so nice to see those who I haven’t seen in a very long time.
I was able to see some of those people yesterday at the baby shower. I had a lot of fun, and I think everyone else did too. π I went with a rubber ducky theme, and my mom’s craftiness took off and left me with a super cute shower. Little Bean made out like a bandit with adorable outfits, toys, quilts, blankets, and money that will eventually be exchanged for a crib, a car seat, baby monitors, diaper bags, and other fun baby stuff. Here are my favorite pics from the day:
I think this was one of my favorite gifts. It made me giggle.The jelly bean jar was my mom’s idea, but I did the duck and counted the jelly beans (my brother helped count too).Ducky sugar cookies! We started with 80 – now there’s about 8 left!This Bon Jovi shirt has been passed through so many children in the Serafini clan, it’s unbelievable it’s still in one piece.I asked everyone to fill these out, and then after the shower, I strung them all together with ribbon to make a little booklet for myself. πSome were very poignant, others were downright hilarious.Mommy to be!Posing with my ducklings.A bag of Hershey Kisses given to “Princess Bean,” but we all know who is really going to eat them. Hint: it’s me.An absolutely gorgeous quilt made by my mom’s friend. It has little elephants on it.Some more decor.Some of the…ahem….male guests.Had to give a shout-out to the shower photographer. πThe cake that was almost too pretty to eat.The obligatory cake pose.
It’s exciting to think that the next time I update this, I’ll be back in India. I’m totally ready!
I have been having a great time in Pennsylvania. I’ve enjoyed a visit to Allentown, the Outhouse Races, visiting family, and eating all my fave foods. I need to put in a plug for Dushore – if you’ve never seen an outhouse race, do yourself a favor. Next August, go to Dushore Founder’s Day and witness the spectacle that is racing outdoor toilets.
I love it, which is funny because I hate sports.
I have a little less than a month left here, and I still have some things to get done, plus go to my baby shower. As much as I will miss being here, I am so excited to see Zac again. And I’m also pretty excited for Part II of Living in India, especially now that we’re having A BABY GIRL!!!!
“Daddy’s Little Angel”
I just found out today that Baby Bean is a girl, and she has the cutest buttcheeks ever! And I’m gonna try not to brag, but I totally had a feeling that she was a girl. No idea why I had that notion – all the “myths” about how I’m carrying should have pointed to a boy – I haven’t gained too much weight so far, and I’m carrying very low. So low that it seems like I’m running for the bathroom every 30 minutes.
I feel like I have learned things about her already, mostly about her movements. She likes to party the most while I’m getting ready for bed and when I get up in the morning. She also responds to The Beach Boys’ music. And only them. I listen to all kinds of stuff, but I only get kicks when I play “California Girls” or “Good Vibrations.” I haven’t figured out if that means anything, or if it’s just a coincidence. And another thing – I think she really responds to my stress levels. One night, about a week ago, I got really upset about something, and she was bouncing around for the rest of the night.
You know, I was going to be one of those women who tried not to read too much about pregnancy stuff, but that didn’t work out at all. I made some decisions easily, like breastfeeding and cloth diapers, but others have been a real pain. Like where is the baby going to sleep? I have Western culture telling me to get the baby into her own room AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, but then I have Eastern culture telling me to let the baby sleep in our room for as long as needed – when she needs her own room, it’ll work out. Another problem – to have an epidural or not. I thought at the beginning that I was going to have an epidural, no questions asked, but yeah, then I started reading about it. Do I really want to risk the side effects of a spinal headache, slowed labor, needing a catheter? But then again, I want to be able to somewhat enjoy the labor and not be in so much pain that I want to throw myself out the hospital window. Perhaps I’ll make the decision that day – I don’t think they have silly things like birth plans in India.
Yep…these are our baby’s cloth diapers. Cute, no?
I have this image in my mind of Zac, Bean, and me all cuddling together on our bed. I know that’s not going to be the complete reality – she’ll scream and cry, wake us a million times during the night, poop and pee all the time, eat all the time, and cry some more. But who cares? What matters most to me is that image in my mind. It’s so sweet that sometimes when I think about it I’m almost moved to tears. I know that those moments will make all the times I am horrendously sleep-deprived worth it. This is going to be the greatest adventure. I really cannot wait for her to arrive.
I suppose it’s time to post an update? These last few weeks have been pretty much a whirlwind. We have been trying to get things in order for my trip (successfully!), trying to find a place to live (another success!), desperately finding a new doctor for me and Little Bean (done and done!), and squeezing in one or two fun things before I leave (also, success!). I figured I’ll post my highlights of the new city, for us, so far.
The IISER Trivandrum Guesthouse
Our room may not be fancy at this place, but it has air conditioning, hot water, free wi-fi, our room gets cleaned a couple times a week, and we get three square meals a day. And Shashi, the cook/caretaker, has somehow managed to rekindle my appreciation for Indian food. I don’t know how he did it because I was still hating it all when we moved down here. EVERYTHING he makes tastes good, even if it looks gross to me. God bless him, for real. It also helps that we get to veg out three times a day on this nice balcony.
And here’s our room:
We’re allowed to stay for a month, which has turned into the biggest blessing of all, because then we were able to focus a lot of time on finding a place to live, and that brings me to my next highlight.
Our New Home
Just look at this place.
We’ll be living on the top floor, which has three bedrooms, a huge living room, two bathrooms, a dining room, and a lovely kitchen. I don’t know how new the whole place is, but the owner (who lives on the bottom floor with his family) is just finishing up our place. It’s in such a good location too. This was maybe the second or third place we looked at, and I think Zac and I both knew when we saw it that we weren’t really going to consider any place else (unless it was exceptional).
Thiruvananthapuram Zoo
This was our fun outing. Zac’s cousin, Arun, did us a gracious favor by taking us to the zoo. The zoo is apparently one of the oldest in India, and it is housed in the same complex as the Napier Museum, which we didn’t get to go to, but the building itself was lovely. The zoo was much larger than I expected, and it housed a lot of animals. The highlight was a lioness chowing down on her dinner; the biggest disappointment was the king cobra – we could barely see it through the bars on its cage. Here are some of the best pics.
Seal of Kerala in the front, Napier museum in the backLion-tailed macaque
Lion behind us!She was loving it.A one-horned rhino with no horn. I’m just hoping it was a rescue.Hippo!GaurOxBengal tigerThis photo just makes me laugh.
Unfortunately, since our visit there, I have read in the newspaper that the baby hippo was accidentally stepped on and killed by its mother, and two of the leopard cubs died of a virus. So sad. π¦
The Indian Coffee House
So, the Indian Coffee House is a chain of, you guessed it, coffee houses that was started pre-independence. The earliest one was opened in 1936 in Bombay. We stopped at one yesterday (because preggo was hungry) in the late afternoon. Let me tell you, they had the best masala dosa I have ever had.
So, if you’re visiting India on a budget and need a clean, cheap place to eat, PICK HERE. There’s about 400 of them across India. You won’t be disappointed.
And the biggest highlight of our move so far…
Credence Hospital and My Second Ultrasound
I’m going to be honest – Credence Hospital was my second choice for a place to see an obstetrician and deliver the baby. We went to the Kerala Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) first because we had heard that was the best hospital in Kerala. Well, it was super, super crowded both times we went, which is saying something because MIMS was regularly crowded as well. We both decided the crowds were something neither of us wanted to deal with, so I got online to find a different hospital. I discovered Credence and the chief obstetrician Dr. Santhamma Mathew, who, by the way, just won some 2013 Times of India health icon award. Yeah, she’s a big deal.
The outside and inside of Credence isn’t as nice and sparkling new as KIMS, but the caring and compassion of everyone I have dealt with so far surpasses any concern about a few stains on the wall. Dr. Mathew is great – she’s easy to talk to, and when I saw her today (in a room next to the big delivery room), she had already assisted in five births this morning. FIVE. And I saw her around 10:30 am! FIVE. And she was just as cool as a cucumber. She went over my ultrasound and my chart and gave me the total okay to go to the US. Woo! One more thing, as I was waiting next to the delivery room to see the doctor, I heard a woman in the midst of labor. Yeah, that wasn’t scary at all….
I think my favorite thing so far about Credence was the radiologist who did my ultrasound today. He was so jolly and cheerful, and he showed me everything! Our baby’s little face (eyes, nose, and mouth!), the little heart and heartbeat (“Ohhhh, the heart is beating so nicely” were his exact words), little fingers and hands, little spinal column, little legs – he went over it all and explained it step by step, which was a far cry from my first ultrasound at MIMS, where I didn’t know what was going on at all. And while he was showing me the baby, the baby let out a hiccup, floated to the top of the screen and then slowly floated back down. I had promised myself to try not to be a dork this time, but a tear or two leaked out as I watching.
This is the last time I’ll update, most likely, until after I return from the US. Unless something super exciting happens there, but I really just plan on eating. π
Baby “Little Bean” Zachariah as of June 26, 2013. I have vowed not to post ultrasound pics on Facebook, but that doesn’t mean I won’t do it on here.
Okay, soooo, I am starting to write this blog entry on May 31, 2013, in hopes that I won’t forget all of the things I want to write. First, let’s flashback to the beginning on May – I was diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome. In a shocking twist of fate, it also turns out I was already a couple weeks pregnant when I was diagnosed, but I certainly didn’t know then. I had an ultrasound done and everything. I was given medicine and told to come back in six weeks to see how the meds were helping. To sum it up, we were not expecting a pregnancy until my hormones and all that were straightened out, which could have taken months. Flash forward to a week and a half after my diagnosis, I was experiencing cramps and a slight nausea after eating heavy meals. Oh, and mood swings. Mood swings like you would not believe. Finally, the last week of May came around, and I still had no period. So, I did what any responsible adult would do – I googled my symptoms and the results showed that they were an early sign of pregnancy, but I was thinking, “LOL…yeah, right. What are the odds of that happening?” So, I asked Zac to buy some pregnancy tests for me. I tested in the morning, two days in a row, both were clearly positive.
Cue morning sickness. Or, for me, all day nausea. And exhaustion. And the thought of eating any Indian food completely repulsed me, even the smell of chicken biriyani (which was my favorite) totally grossed me out. And still does (at this point). But luckily, I have been able to buy and eat Kellogg’s Corn Flakes, salty crackers, ICEE pops, pasta, and Maggi noodles (the Indian equivalent of Ramen).Β These are good and all for my nausea, but what I WANT to eat is as follows: garlic breadsticks, mashed potatoes with gravy, macaroni and cheese, bacon, tacos, pancakes, a turkey sub with tons of pickles and Italian dressing, a bagel with cream cheese, sweet potato casserole, and maybe a chili dog or two. I WANT EVERYTHING I CAN’T HAVE. And it’s not just “Yeah, that stuff sounds pretty good right now.” It’s “Oh my goodness, I would hike up a giant mountain if there was a turkey sub at the top.” Like, for real, Zac could be taking me to the nicest Indian restaurants in Calicut, and I would be fantasizing about a Crunchwrap Supreme from Taco Bell.
Back to the story – I was whisked away to the Malabar Institute of Medical Science (MIMS) hospital once again to see my wonderful doc, Dr. Tajunnisa, who made me get a blood test for the absolute result. And after congratulating us and feeling my tummy to make sure things felt normal, Dr. Tajunnisa thankfully prescribed me some anti-nausea pills. My new best friends. I can now at least function close to what a human being should be.
And it’s already amazing how, in an instant, my priorities have absolutely changed. Every decision now is tinged with “Will this be good for baby?” Seriously, everything we buy that we don’t necessarily need, I am thinking “This money could be saved for baby.” I had been planning this trip for us to take in December to see the Taj Mahal and the Himalayas, and now, well, I just don’t care if we ever do it (although we still eventually will go, I’m sure). I’m having a baby, and that’s more wonderful and beautiful than 20,000 Taj Mahals combined. PLUS, now we have decided we should go to Pennsylvania during that time because, if given the choice between the Himalayas and shoving my mom’s Christmas cookies down my foodhole, I’m picking the cookies. Ok, that’s only part of the reason. I really, really, really want to see my family before I pop out baby.
And let’s talk for a minute about how wonderful my husband has been. He has been bringing me takeout food everyday because I am too useless to cook right now (our kitchen makes me gag). And it’s not easy finding stuff I like; I did like eating Indian breads and curry for a while, but now my stomach has started a mutiny against that as well. So, now this is how it usually goes: Zac – “What do you want me to get for lunch?” Me – “Macaroni and cheese.” Zac – “…..I’ll just bring you a veg burger.” And if I think I’m concerned about baby, he’s concerned times 1,000. And when I am jolted awake in the middle of the night by nausea pangs, he is right there awake with me and soothes me back into slumber. He’s the best man for the job, and I can’t wait to see him as a dad.
Update June 27, 2013 – I went for my first ultrasound yesterday. Having an ultrasound done here is a bit different than in the US, from what I can remember. Because there are so many people, the radiologists don’t have much time for bedside manner; they just have to keep the patients going in and out as quickly as possible. We left early yesterday in an attempt to beat the crowd (it didn’t work), and I was ushered in maybe about 40 minutes after we arrived. Zac had to go for an X-ray at the time of my ultrasound, so he didn’t go in (and don’t worry – it was just for a general check-up). This time, my radiologist was a woman, which made me a little more comfortable, but she still sat there stone-faced through much of the scan. I was so desperate to blurt out, “Is there even anything THERE? Say something!!” After about 5 minutes, she finally got a slight smile on her face, turned the screen towards me and said, “Here is the live fetus.” And there was our baby, swimming in and out of focus. I got a big, stupid grin on my face, a lump in my throat, and tears in my eyes, and all I managed to squeak was “So tiny!”Β This made the radiologist smile even wider, and she replied, “Yes, everything looks fine.”
After we got the results, and I cooed over the pic of Little Bean (my nickname is Bean), we went out for a celebratory lunch at one of our faves, M Grill in the Focus Mall. I had homemade primavera pasta, which was AWESOME and exactly something I had been craving, and Zac celebrated like any man’s man would – he ordered a steak. After this, we went back to the hospital for my appointment with Dr. Tajunnisa. I will be so sad to leave her because she worked abroad in the UK for quite some time, so she knows how fussy white people can be. And she’s okay with it. Anyway, she literally gave us a thumb’s up after reading the scan results, gave me my approximate due date (January 25, 2014), felt my tummy some more, and sent us on our merry way. Okay, so there was more involved in the appointment than what I wrote, but you get the point.
Since my due date is in January, it looks like I won’t get my wish of shoving Christmas cookies down my foodhole, but I am planning to go soon (Doc gave the okay on traveling after 4 months). I am excited for it, but I am sure Zac will be shocked at my size when I arrive back here.
And, just so everyone knows (or whoever reads this), I am delivering here in Kerala, and our kid will be able to be a US citizen. We just have to file lots paperwork and go for an appointment at the closest US Consulate.
One last thing – we are moving to Trivandrum/Thiruvananthapuram in about a week, so this may be my final post until we get settled down there.
Our kid’s first Bon Jovi t-shirt. We bought this back in January. No lie.
Disclaimer: If seeing fish guts and blood bother you, skip this post.
Remember how, in one of my earlier posts, I insisted that my life here was not all glitz and traveling? Well, I am going to prove this today.
Keralites love their fish, and I can totally understand why – IT’S ALL FRESH. And, considering we have fish stands right down the road from us, we eat fish a lot. Which, in turn, means I clean fish. A lot. And I like to think I have become quite an expert at it. I have de-faced and de-gutted both big and small fish. I feel the small fish, like sardines and kora, are the most difficult to clean because there are so many of them. Unfortunately, for me, the small fish are my favorites – they taste the best and are generally the healthiest. Especially sardines. They’re like WonderFish.
SO MANY.
One great thing about the giant, empty house we live in is that there is a work area off of the kitchen. It’s almost open air, so I can clean the fish without the kitchen stinking up too bad. A downside – sometimes, if I take too long cleaning, ants will start to creep in the windows because they smell braaaiiins (like zombies. I really hate ants). Anyway, here’s my work area:
From top left: Sardines, salt (to put in water), pan of water, aluminum foil, scissors and knife.
I used to use newspaper when cleaning, but I found out that using aluminum foil holds the fish “yuck” much better, and that means I don’t have to clean as much when it’s over. So, this is my process: cut off fins, scrape off scales (if any), rip off the face, remove the gills, cut it open, remove the entrails, plunk it in the salt water. Repeat until done. Believe it or not, I find cleaning fish to be a great stress reliever, and it’s pretty good exercise for my arms.
Snipping off fins!Scraping scales!Ripping off the face.A faceless sardine.Pulling out the gills.It’s a dirty job but somebody’s gotta do it. Especially if that somebody’s hubby loves to eat fish.
My least favorite part. It’s the smelliest.Before dropping it in the saltwater. Lovely, no?
And that’s the process. It completely grossed me out the first 10 times I did it, but now I don’t think twice. The only time I still get the willies is when I find a foreign object lodged in a fish’s mouth. Freaks me out, especially when it’s another fish. This last time I cleaned, however, I found something a little more pleasant.
Little green sand dollar! Try to ignore the slime on my hands.
After the fish are cleaned, Zac takes over most of the time, makes a masala paste, and marinates the fish in the paste. Then, we fry it. We have that, along with moru or tomato curry, and beans mehrukkupuratti. Other times, I make fish curry or meen peera. If it’s a really big fish, like a black pomfret, Zac will slather it in spices, wrap it in aluminum foil, and grill it on our tabletop electric grill.
Whenever I clean sardines or cook with them, I remember how I used to get excited whenever Walgreens would have canned sardines on sale. You know the ones I’m talking about – the canned sardines with the peel back lid, loaded with salt. I even thought it was exotic when I noticed they packaged them in hot sauce and mustard, and now I’m making complex Indian dishes out of them. IN INDIA. Awesome, right? I know I think it’s pretty awesome. π
Apparently, going on a houseboat, or kettuvallam, cruise is the thing to do when you’re in Kerala. Really. Check out any Kerala/South India tourism website; they’ll be including a houseboat cruise in your itinerary. For my poor husband, this meant months of listening to me cajole him into going on a houseboat. He had already been on one and thought it was boring. And hot. And full of mosquitoes. I said, essentially, “Too bad, you’re still taking me.” So, in celebration of our first first anniversary, we arrived in Alleppey for a houseboat cruise.
Generally, the houseboats are long, narrow hulls that have almost all amenities. Ours was an air-conditioned one-bedroom boat with a fully modern bathroom. Adjoining the bedroom was the TV, dining and lounge area, and we also had an upper deck on our boat. We had requested the honeymoon package, so we had our bed decorated with flowers, a candlelight dinner, and a honeymoon cake.
For the first day of the cruise, check-in is at 11 am or noon. We had hired a driver to take us from Thiruvalla to Alleppey, and he took us to the wrong jetty first. Thankfully, that was all corrected before we lost any time. When we arrived at the right jetty, two members of our houseboat crew were there to haul our bags onto the boat.
Our houseboat was behind that big one; we had to go through the first boat to get to ours. I was only a little afraid of falling in the water as we were jumping from boat to boat.
Once we got settled and explored the boat, we got our welcome drinks, which was some delicious fresh juice concoction. They either serve juice or tender coconut, and, because I drink coconut water all the time now, juice was a nice change of pace. After finishing, Zac and I went to our upper deck to enjoy the view as our boat started the cruise from Alleppey to Kumarakom. The views were breathtaking.
Zac enjoying his welcome drink.
Standing at the back of our boatRelaxing on our upper deckThe view as we were leaving the jetty
I should have mentioned earlier that when you book a houseboat, it’s like booking your own personal mini-hotel. The boat has its own crew, including a captain and two cooks. After cruising for an hour or so, the captain stopped the boat so we could be served lunch, which was traditional Kerala-style lunch with rice, Karimeen fry, sambar curry, bhindi fry, cabbage thoran, and pappadum.Β Unfortunately, ours wasn’t served on banana leaves. π¦
Karimeen BEFORE getting fried up!Karimeen AFTER getting fried
We know what Zac likes (food)Boy, that was good.
After eating, we started cruising the backwaters again, enjoying the sights and sounds of southern Kerala. We did see some fishermen, diving in and out of the water, trying to catch some fish. We also saw St. Mary’s Church, which is right along the backwaters.
St. Mary’s ChurchJust. Gorgeous.View from our lower deck
At this point during the cruise, you have the option to stop and do things, such as touring a bird sanctuary or shopping in a village. We, however, stayed on the boat and relaxed because that’s what we are good at doing. And I felt the scenery was too beautiful to compromise by doing something that could easily be accomplished once finished with the cruise.
Next on the agenda was tea time. So I got to sip tea and relax and enjoy the scenery. What a life.
Tea and banana fritters, and the cook served it to me on the upper deck.Paddy fields in the distance
After tea time, the boat cruised for another hour and a half, and then anchored for the night. This was when it got boring, for me anyway. The houseboat stops at 5:30 pm, and then dinner isn’t served until 8 pm, so we had a couple hours to kill. When it was finally dinner time, we had our sweet, honeymoon candlelight dinner, complete with our cake. To top it all off, we watched a horror movie, and then finally retreated to our air-conditioned bedroom.
Candlelight dinner!Flower covered bed in the air-conditioned bedroom
The next morning, we were served breakfast and then cruised back to the same jetty from where we left. On the way to the jetty, some locals caught up to us in their boats and held on to the sides for a quicker ride back to the mainland (check out the photo at the bottom). If we had to do it all over again (and who knows? We might do it once more before leaving Kerala), we wouldn’t spend the night on the boat. For Zac and I, it was uncomfortable because the boat kept rocking in the water all night. I feel it’s better to cruise all day and then get off the boat at evening and stay at a resort. Another thing, our cruise route was supposed to be Alleppey-Kumarakom-Alleppey, but we were pretty sure our captain took us halfway (if that) to Kumarakom and then turned the boat around. So, next time, we would do a one direction cruise, such as Alleppey-Kumarakom.
Another tip – be wary of the shops that the houseboat stops at. They have a tendency to overcharge unsuspecting tourists. Zac was furious when he figured out that the locals were charging double price or more for fresh fish and prawns.
So, yes, the Kerala houseboat. It was an overall good experience, and I’m super glad we went. The scenery was beautiful, and the cruise was relaxing. The food was very tasty, and our crew was very nice. There are just some things we feel we would do differently next time.
The locals hitching a rideBreakfast – idli, sambar, and coconut chutneySome fresh pineapple too
I have a mild case of tonsillitis this week. That, coupled with the incredibly strong antibiotics the doctor gave me, has left me feeling a little under the weather. So, in all of this down time I have now and I keep mentioning them, I thought I would finally make a post about the Andaman Islands, where we honeymooned.
The Andaman Islands are known mostly for their diving and snorkeling excursions, but it’s also a good place to simply relax. We spent most of our time on Havelock Island. Havelock is about 2.5 hours away by ferry from the capital, Port Blair. We were on Havelock for five nights and Port Blair for two. We didn’t do too much in Port Blair – I was violently ill the first night there and the second night we had decided to just relax at our resort. In short – we had all of our fun at Havelock. Here are some of the best parts (if you haven’t already seen these photos on my Facebook):
The mangrove cruise, where we kayaked through the sea and estuaries to get the low-down on mangroves, was the favorite part of our trip. We dragged ourselves out of bed at 5:30 am, put our upper bodies through a strenuous workout, and loved every second of it. I am serious on the workout part. Even Zac, who is the buffest person I know, had to say a few times, “I need a break. Can you handle it for a couple minutes?” Looking back, I realize, with humor, that the whole kayaking thing is also a good test for newlyweds. You have to be communicating and working together in order for the kayak to move in the right direction. However, at one point, our kayak was just not moving the right way no matter how hard we tried to turn it, and we floated right under some thick mangrove branches. Aside from having to lie down in the kayak, I had my hat and sunglasses knocked off and Zac sustained a few scrapes. The rest of our cruise was peaceful; the water was so calm and quiet, even the sea was quiet that early in the morning. An added bonus to the cruise – we saw a brown-winged kingfisher, which is one of the rarest birds to see (no pics of it though).
Aside from kayaking, we didn’t do much activity, just walked around the different shops and ate a lot of grilled fish.
Swapan’s grilled fish – AMAZING.
I also fed a stray kitty when we were at Swapan’s.
Hey, they only stressed not feeding the DOGS; they didn’t say anything about cats
Speaking of strays, I have to mention there is a stark difference between the two sides of the island where we stayed. One side is definitely the “budget” side and the other is a “you’ve got money” side. The budget side is normally where the backpacker divers stay, and the beaches have a lot of stray animals running around. This side of the island also has an extreme low-tide (thanks to the 2004 tsunami) from early afternoon until nighttime. There is more action on the budget side however. The two biggest villages are within walking distance from almost all the resorts. We stayed at two resorts on this side, Island Vinnie’s and Eco Villa Palm Beach Resort, with the latter being our favorite.
In front of our sea-facing villaSitting in front of our second-story viewIt was pretty.And we got to eat our breakfast in front of the sea. Not bad.
We had to break up our two nights at Eco Villa with a night spent at Barefoot at Havelock Jungle Resort, arguably the best resort on the island and for good reason. This resort is only a couple minute’s walk to the Best Beach in Asia – Radhanagar Beach. There are no stray animals on this side of the island (I wish to remain blissfully ignorant of how they keep it that way), and it is soooo clean. At Barefoot, we booked the nicest room they have – the Nicobari Villa, of which they only have one.
While we were at Barefoot, we also received our glorious three-day Ayurvedic massages in two days. One of mine included something called “Chocolate Therapy,” and it’s exactly what it sounds like. They slather you from face to feet in a chocolate pack (after the massage), and it was so refreshing. I smelled delicious.
In between our massages, we went to Radhanagar Beach and got in the water for a little while. And by “got in the water” I mean, Zac went up to his knees, and I went as far as I could before my fear of sharks kicked in.
BeautifulReady to play in the water!Bollywood Baywatch?This may have been the wave that knocked me back to shore
Also, in between massages, we ate at Barefoot’s restaurant, which was the best overall. The restaurant itself was open air (like most of the eateries on the island) and it had cushions to sit on instead of chairs.
He ate fish curry, and I had pizza with real bacon on it.
Overall, Barefoot was our favorite, and I would recommend it to anyone who is going to Havelock strictly for relaxation. If you’re not going to do any hardcore diving or snorkeling, don’t waste your time with any of the other places, spend the extra money and stay at Barefoot. It’s worth it. Another suggestion – if you’re planning on having any interaction with Rajan the elephant at Barefoot, book that waaayyy ahead of time.
Here’s a few more of my favorite pics from our honeymoon.
At a restaurant in Port BlairFirst time in the water!
This was cute.Last day at Radhanagar Beach
I have already planned our next trip which will happen in December – the Himalayas and a few other parts of North India. But I’ll try not to post about that until we actually book it. π
Or at least Ayurvedic massages do. To read details about all of Ayurveda, I would check this out because it’s a whole system of traditional Indian medicine. Zac and I had three Ayurvedic massages done in the Andaman Islands at Barefoot resorts. Up until then, Zac had been insisting that Ayurvedic massages bring nothing but problems because he had gotten sick each time he previously had one. However, after our first massage at Barefoot, we both felt like brand spankin’ new humans. We then decided once we got back to Calicut we were going to find a good place to go for semi-routine massages.
We decided to go to Kadavu Resort for our next experience in Ayurveda. This place by itself is totally relaxing; it’s right next to the Kallai river and the traditional Kerala style buildings just add to its charm.
We booked for body and face massages and also a steam bath. Here’s what my massage room looked like:
I had a gorgeous view of the river. I only had a few seconds to really take it in before my massage therapist told me to get naked. And here’s the thing – it’s not like in the US where they give you your privacy so you can slink under a nice soft blanket with your underwear still on. Nope, my therapists have watched me strip down completely. And, once you’re nude, they put on what I can only describe as a disposable sumo wrestler diaper. I’m sure that is not what it’s called, and it makes the whole thing sound bad, but it’s not. I’ll get to that. After you’ve come to terms with being naked in front of a total stranger, they make you sit on a stool and begin by massaging your head and neck. My massage therapist began by saying a prayer and blessing me by touching the top of my head, my palms, and my feet with coconut oil. She told me she prayed for good health.
Having my head rubbed or massaged is one of my favorite things in the world, so when my therapist began rubbing my head, it was amaaaazing. She put coconut oil all through my hair, and then rubbed my scalp in circular motions. As if that wasn’t good enough, Ayurvedic massage therapists do this technique where they tap your head with the sides of their hands, almost like a karate chop. If you have long hair, they also do a technique where they twist and pull the hair lightly. If it sounds painful, let me be the first to say that it is sooo not. I had to keep from drooling on myself as she was doing all of this.
After this was done, my therapist had to help me get on the massage table because I was already a little too relaxed. More warm coconut oil (and I’m talking lots) was put on me and she began a traditional Abhyangam massage. Abhyangam massages involve a lot of rubbing in repeated motions, especially if a sore muscle is discovered (or at least that’s what my therapist did). I won’t bore you with details of this, but my fave parts were when she ran her thumb directly up and down my spinal column, when she rubbed my feet and all of my toes (individually!), and when she beat up my calf muscles.
Normally, this is when the experience is finished and the therapist helps you to the shower and lets you rinse off the gallon of oil, but we had booked the steam also. So, my therapist had to help me off the table and to the sauna for two reasons: 1) I was slippery and 2) I was almost comatose from being so relaxed.
The saunaIn the small bowl is the “gallon” of oil
The sauna was exactly what was expected – hot and steamy. I was sweating so much that when my therapist opened the sauna, she actually laughed at me. Then, she had to wipe off my feet (sweaty, ewww) and assist me to the shower. At the last place I had an Ayurvedic massage done, my therapist helped me to the shower and then let me go on my own, but not at Kadavu. My therapist there first scrubbed me down with a green gram dal mixture and then shampooed my hair. What.
My experience of getting a massage at Kadavu was great, and it was an awesome way to celebrate our second first anniversary (we had two weddings for those who don’t know). We stayed and had dinner on the balcony at Oottupura restaurant, and that was delicious, especially the chocolate mousse that came inside an edible chocolate cup. I was like a kid on Christmas morning with that.
When Zac and I had gone to the Andaman Islands, we were under the impression that the beaches on Havelock Island were going to be chock full of at least one elephant. We were sorely disappointed, in that respect. So, a couple weeks after we got back from our honeymoon, we were still itching to see some elephants. Then, I did what I do best – got on the internet and found the closest place in Kerala to see, ride, and bathe elephants. It was only a two day trip – we left way too early the first morning and then returned the following evening. Our first stop on our trip was Punnathur Kotta in Guruvayoor. Punnathur Kotta is an elephant sanctuary where many of them are trained to work and perform in Hindu ceremonies and festivals at temples.
My first impression of these gentle giants was how expressive their eyes are, and most of them, I thought, looked terribly lonely. They still seemed to enjoy themselves when possible, especially during shower time.
Punnathur Kotta holds about 50-60 elephants at any given time. It was a good place simply to see elephants, but no one really lets you interact with them. The elephants go about their business, and you walk around and watch them (they are chained up unless they are working, another bad part).
Our next stop, where we stayed the night, was Kodanad. When I had found the resort I wanted to stay at, I didn’t realize that the resort was directly behind the elephant sanctuary there. Every morning, the elephants pass by our resort’s front gate, and this guy –
– goes to the front gate, knocks, and gets a piece of toffee. Just take another look at how cute this little guy is –
I’m pretty sure in that last photo he’s trying to get my scent. He tugged a bit on my arm, and I thought I was going to fly in to the water. So, little guy was definitely the fan favorite, and I think he knew it too. Next on Zac’s and my bucket list was bathing an elephant, since that was one of the things we had hoped to do on Havelock. We had to wait until all of the less cool people left the riverside, and then the mahouts (the guys who work with the elephants) beckoned for us to come bathe a ginormous male elephant.
This experience was astounding. His skin felt like wrinkly, hairy leather, and when I was briefly using the scrubbing brush on him, he flopped his ear closer to me so I would massage him there too. Unreal.
After the bathing was finished, we walked up to the sanctuary to ride one of the elephants. While we were waiting, little guy came through again, after getting blessed at the temple –
Seriously, I could look at his photos over and over; he’s so cute. When our elephant came, we loaded up, and she took us for a very short “safari.”
Like I said, the ride was brief, but it was great. Half of the exhilaration comes from sliding around on the seat. However, Zac and I decided if we ride an elephant again, we’re doing it mahout-style (sitting near the head). It’s kind of overwhelming to be near a creature so large. We were putting our trust in an animal that could have simply swiped its trunk to the side, and we would have been seriously hurt. They are amazing, beautiful animals that I noticed have a lot of human-like characteristics. Little guy kept wandering off and getting in to trouble (not serious trouble, but his mahout would get frustrated – hilarious.), and there was a 16-year-old male in Punnathur Kotta that was rebelling against his mahout by refusing to shower or pose for a photo, just a human teenager would rebel. But maybe all of that is just wishful thinking on my part. I like to personify animals.
We also did a pilgrimage in Malayttoor on this trip – climbed up a mountain to see the apostle Thomas’s footprints – but that is a whole post on its own.
And now, just for giggles, here’s a photo of little guy sticking his trunk in my hubby’s armpit.
An American in Kerala 