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I am trying to change my body clock so that I am awake and on my bike at first late to make sure that I arrive at my destination before dark with plenty of time to find somewhere to stay.
I was up for 6.30 and on the road for 8. It felt great to bike in the cool air. I found a lovely little back lane away from the highway and made my way to Cherai beach. The beach is popular with tourists and Indians wanting to get away from the city for break. I stopped off for breakfast by the beach and enjoy the views. It was still early and so there were not many people about.
I then headed up the coast. The atmosphere today was different to the last few days as it is a Sunday. Many shops were shut and most Indians I saw were either at their churches or temples or playing sports. There was a church with Indian music blaring out and people dancing and just round the corner a Hindu temple with people singing and banging their drums. It is a great thing about Kerala - all of the religions co-exist very well. There was a church/temple/mosques every 100m or so. It is amazing how there are so many places of worship and how grand they are verses the wealth of the average Indian and their homes.
As I was cycling through a village on my way to catch a ferry north I stopped off for a little while to watch a training session for the game of Kabaddi. It is an Indian game played without a ball. Two teams occupy opposite halves of a field and take turns sending a "raider" into the other half, in order to win points by tagging or wrestling members of the opposing team; the raider then tries to return to his own half, holding his breath and chanting "kabaddi, kabaddi, kabaddi" during the whole raid.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabaddi
It was very interesting to watch. I then took a Ferry ride with all of the local traffic. On the other side of the water I met 14 white cyclists. They are on an organised bike tour of Kerala for 2 weeks! They have it all planned out for them with a guide etc and only do about 80km per day with no luggage. How very dull and un-adventurous. Nice people though.
As I was cycling through a little village I saw a really interesting thing.... about 100 people all in a line passing rocks along a line in order to build a church. Apparently every Sunday all of the Christians work together to slowly build the church for the community! Cool.
In the afternoon, I met a retired German couple that are touring round Southern India on bikes for 3 months. They had a good map - but said that they got it in Germany and that it is not available in India. They suggested a route to Ooti. Strange to see 2 sets of cyclists on one day. However, both sets did think that I am made doing it on my own. So far it really has not been a problem and I have felt completely safe and happy biking on my own.
When biking down a little country land, I stopped to help a little girl that had caught her shawl in the back wheel of her bike and she invited me back to her family home for some tea and cake. She showed me the photos of her and videos of them dancing at the famous Guruvayur temple.
I found some lovely little villages to cycle through and so quaint little roads. The people were really friendly and I kept on stopping to chat. I stopped at a little bike repair shop and asked if they would fit a bell for me. All of the traffic in India use their horns as a signal that they are there rather than just looking and obeying the traffic rules as we do in England. A bell really is needed in India to inform other vehicles that I am here.
I got to Guvayer about 6. My legs were still feeling strong and I wanted to carry on but it was getting dark and someone I was chatting to said that there is a famous Hindu temple in town and so I decided to stay and see it and stay in Guruvayur this evening instead of further up the coast. I biked round town and found the temple while it was still light and got my bearings and then tried to find somewhere to stay. Unfortunately, I had not realised that it is a very famous tourist place and so the prices are higher than elsewhere. Having tried to get a room in the government provided accommodation (200RS per night) and found that it was full I eventually found a place for 500RS.
Once I had checked in and showered at the hotel I headed out for a walk around and wondered to the temple. There were literally thousands of people there.
Outside the temple there is a large stage with performances taking place. It is a big honor to get on the stage and perform traditional dances in front and audience at the temple. The children that I had spent some time with this afternoon (girl whom caught her shawl in her bike) had showed me their video of them dancing at the temple with their friends. They were every proud of the event.
There were loads of beggers at the temple - more than I have seen anywhere else in Kerala. It was incongruous to see many beggars asleep on the floor close to the front of the stage and the audience sitting in chairs watching the performance from further away. I am guessing that many poor people head to Guruvayur to beg because there are so many people and perhaps they are more generous on their pilgrimage than they would normally be.
I queued up to get in but found when I got to security that I was not allowed in as I am not a Hindu. Fair enough - it was interesting enough to take in the atmosphere outside and see all of the people. I headed back about 10 and got some porotta and bananas on the way. Sat and wrote my blog for a while and had an early night. Lovely day exploring India.
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