The problem was, we weren't meant to be on this train. We had booked, but like in an earlier blog, we had learnt how this reservation / waiting system works. We hadn't made it through the waiting list and were stuck at spots 5,6,7 on the list. Just about everyone we asked said we should just get on and find a seat. Sarah and I were skeptical because our waiting list positions hadn't moved in a few days, indicating the spots were fixed. Maybe because I was looking forward to a sleep on the train or because of stupidity we still tried our luck. When the conductor arrived and asked for our tickets we pleaded innocence and asked where our beds were. He was quite abrupt with us. I tried to negotiate and push him to work out a solution for us. We had just sat down in an empty cubicle.
The one Indian lying there told me to go and push him a little harder and also slide him some rupees - as was the norm. I chased him down and did just that. He kept saying there was "no chance" and that normally he could do something but in this case, during the indian holidays the beds were really booked out and our waiting list positions stood. Bugger. We had a few options - one was to try our luck avoiding the conductor for a few more stops. Our very helpful Indian companion (who sold paper cups if you ever need any) asked on our behalf a few people. He gave us the same answer. In the end we decided that we'd get off at Kochi to avoid getting kicked off at a not so friendly station. At least Fred knew Kochi and a hostel there. Sadly we disembarked at Kochi trainstation.
Having an extra day along the way wasn't the end of the world. We would not have used that day very effectively in Bangalore as the boys were also busy. Kochi is a small harbour city on the northern end of Kerala and the peninsula where Allepey lies. After being booted from the train, we caught a tuk-tuk back to the "Treehouse" guest house where Fred had stayed a few nights earlier before meeting us in Allepey. For him it was back-tracking. In the end the extra day was an enjoyable one. We had clean rooms and good rests. The breakfast in the guest house was a decent one again of coffee, omelette and fruit. Fred had arranged a deal with the tuk-tuk driver the night before to do one of three things. The first was to find us a travel-agent where we could book our trip back to Bangalore via bus. This we did after lunch. The second deal was lucrative for the driver. He told us he gets 150 rupees from every shop he brings tourists to. Thus, Fred had agreed that if we are dummies to this deal and get taken to three shops we won't pay for the tuk-tuk for the day, which included getting taken back to the bus station, just out of town at Ernakulam. So we spent much of the morning getting in and out of the tuk-tuk at the travel agent, the three tourist shops (buying nothing of course!!) before getting dropped off at the main attraction, the chinese fishing nets at the harbour. We walked around the foreshore but were not really inspired by Kochi. In the end we were just killing time. The fort of Kochi was surrounded by a number of the red May Trees we had grown to like. For lunch we made our way to Dal Roti, a well-know foody hangout. Indeed the food was sensational. In the cool of the restaurant we treated ourselves to a Thali each, some chai and even a dessert. All was delicious and we had easily killed the afternoon! Soon we were back in our tuk-tuk, all paid for already, and on our way to the bus station. Not as chaotic as the bus station in Bangalore, the bus station was still a tin shed full of people waiting for their respective buses. Our only entertainment was a group of old ladies were making quite a commotion in their little squat next to where we were sitting so much so that the police came in to give them a good 'telling-off'!
With a grumble from both us (that we were on a dreaded bus again) and the bus itself, we pushed off from Ernakulum. It was an effort to get comfortable with the arctic breeze blasting down from the airconditioning vents and the bouncing around but I do remember getting some sleep on the first leg of the journey. At our first stop things starting getting weird. We were already expecting a 12 hour journey but to be waiting for over an hour in the carpark of the bus stop was annoying. Soon we were to find out that the bus had broken down and the driver had been driving without fully functioning electrics since Ernakulum. Great! We were all ordered out of the bus and told another would come. An hour or so later one did. Hoping the air-con was less aggressive we boarded only to be disappointed. Luckily i'd dragged out my sleeping bag inner for warmth. Bouncing around we continued on the "highway" back to Bangalore. In a state of exhausted sleep, delerium, turned off brain I slept in parts. It was at 5am that I realised that we were heading through the mountains. We had to cross a large mountain pass to get to Bangalore. Banglore was situated in the centre of India at 1,500 altitude so it made sense. There was one section were the bus was tackling hair-pin turns up the mountain on the third or so hair-pin the bus got wedged in the corner. The second driver got out to direct the bus back and forth until they got around. I hate to think how tired the drivers were and how close we were to the edge but I do know I was looking out of the window of the bus and there wasn't land underneath for a good distance, I was looking down a cliff! Although I wanted to think I was dreaming it was actually beautiful to see the different shades of dark blue of the mountains in the distance. The fires and smoke coming from the villages showed they too were waking up for another day of tea picking and farming. At Sulthan Bathery deep in the mountains we stopped for a chai and toilet stop. It was a welcome stop although the well trained monkey were an unwelcome host. Like everywhere the monkey have a very mischievous ability to sniff out tourists and cause trouble. As we got closer to Bangalore the traffic started to thicken and the general surroundings intensified into what again what was a big busy city. Only 5 hours behind schedule we arrived at a bus-stop at the edge of town. We fought with the tuk-tuk drivers and ended up getting an overpriced ride to Forum to meet Praful. Our journey was not so bad, just another to laugh about, just another to put in the "that's the way they roll in India" chapter!
The one Indian lying there told me to go and push him a little harder and also slide him some rupees - as was the norm. I chased him down and did just that. He kept saying there was "no chance" and that normally he could do something but in this case, during the indian holidays the beds were really booked out and our waiting list positions stood. Bugger. We had a few options - one was to try our luck avoiding the conductor for a few more stops. Our very helpful Indian companion (who sold paper cups if you ever need any) asked on our behalf a few people. He gave us the same answer. In the end we decided that we'd get off at Kochi to avoid getting kicked off at a not so friendly station. At least Fred knew Kochi and a hostel there. Sadly we disembarked at Kochi trainstation.
Having an extra day along the way wasn't the end of the world. We would not have used that day very effectively in Bangalore as the boys were also busy. Kochi is a small harbour city on the northern end of Kerala and the peninsula where Allepey lies. After being booted from the train, we caught a tuk-tuk back to the "Treehouse" guest house where Fred had stayed a few nights earlier before meeting us in Allepey. For him it was back-tracking. In the end the extra day was an enjoyable one. We had clean rooms and good rests. The breakfast in the guest house was a decent one again of coffee, omelette and fruit. Fred had arranged a deal with the tuk-tuk driver the night before to do one of three things. The first was to find us a travel-agent where we could book our trip back to Bangalore via bus. This we did after lunch. The second deal was lucrative for the driver. He told us he gets 150 rupees from every shop he brings tourists to. Thus, Fred had agreed that if we are dummies to this deal and get taken to three shops we won't pay for the tuk-tuk for the day, which included getting taken back to the bus station, just out of town at Ernakulam. So we spent much of the morning getting in and out of the tuk-tuk at the travel agent, the three tourist shops (buying nothing of course!!) before getting dropped off at the main attraction, the chinese fishing nets at the harbour. We walked around the foreshore but were not really inspired by Kochi. In the end we were just killing time. The fort of Kochi was surrounded by a number of the red May Trees we had grown to like. For lunch we made our way to Dal Roti, a well-know foody hangout. Indeed the food was sensational. In the cool of the restaurant we treated ourselves to a Thali each, some chai and even a dessert. All was delicious and we had easily killed the afternoon! Soon we were back in our tuk-tuk, all paid for already, and on our way to the bus station. Not as chaotic as the bus station in Bangalore, the bus station was still a tin shed full of people waiting for their respective buses. Our only entertainment was a group of old ladies were making quite a commotion in their little squat next to where we were sitting so much so that the police came in to give them a good 'telling-off'!
With a grumble from both us (that we were on a dreaded bus again) and the bus itself, we pushed off from Ernakulum. It was an effort to get comfortable with the arctic breeze blasting down from the airconditioning vents and the bouncing around but I do remember getting some sleep on the first leg of the journey. At our first stop things starting getting weird. We were already expecting a 12 hour journey but to be waiting for over an hour in the carpark of the bus stop was annoying. Soon we were to find out that the bus had broken down and the driver had been driving without fully functioning electrics since Ernakulum. Great! We were all ordered out of the bus and told another would come. An hour or so later one did. Hoping the air-con was less aggressive we boarded only to be disappointed. Luckily i'd dragged out my sleeping bag inner for warmth. Bouncing around we continued on the "highway" back to Bangalore. In a state of exhausted sleep, delerium, turned off brain I slept in parts. It was at 5am that I realised that we were heading through the mountains. We had to cross a large mountain pass to get to Bangalore. Banglore was situated in the centre of India at 1,500 altitude so it made sense. There was one section were the bus was tackling hair-pin turns up the mountain on the third or so hair-pin the bus got wedged in the corner. The second driver got out to direct the bus back and forth until they got around. I hate to think how tired the drivers were and how close we were to the edge but I do know I was looking out of the window of the bus and there wasn't land underneath for a good distance, I was looking down a cliff! Although I wanted to think I was dreaming it was actually beautiful to see the different shades of dark blue of the mountains in the distance. The fires and smoke coming from the villages showed they too were waking up for another day of tea picking and farming. At Sulthan Bathery deep in the mountains we stopped for a chai and toilet stop. It was a welcome stop although the well trained monkey were an unwelcome host. Like everywhere the monkey have a very mischievous ability to sniff out tourists and cause trouble. As we got closer to Bangalore the traffic started to thicken and the general surroundings intensified into what again what was a big busy city. Only 5 hours behind schedule we arrived at a bus-stop at the edge of town. We fought with the tuk-tuk drivers and ended up getting an overpriced ride to Forum to meet Praful. Our journey was not so bad, just another to laugh about, just another to put in the "that's the way they roll in India" chapter!
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