View India To 23rd Feb 2011 in a larger map
Up at 6.45 to go and get some lovely breakfast at the coffee shop down the road. I had seen it last night and realised that they serve proper coffee and so decided to go there this morning. It was the best breakfast yet in India. Really great veg curry and porotas and several cups of proper coffee.
I ended up spending quiet a while at the temple after breakfast. Although as a non Hindu I was not allowed into the temple itself the atmosphere outside was very much worth seeing. There were literally thousands of people there. Several wedding ceromonies were taking place on the stages. Everyone looked really happy and were smiling and joking - other than the bride and groom (that had only met a few days before!).
http:/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guruvayur_Temple
There were thousands of people queuing up to get into the temple. Everyone in the queue was packed in very close. Indians really do not have the same issues with personal space as we do in the Western World.
Like last night there were loads of beggers. I found it really difficult to see really ill and disfigured people begging for money. We really are so fortunate in the West having welfare systems. I know they do have problems and cost a lot but it is certainly better than old people with rotten, infected, smelling legs begging in the street.
I walked back from the temple to the hotel and packed up everything and then got on the road by 10. I had wanted to get going earlier but I really enjoyed just taking in the atmosphere at the temple. The people were really friendly again and kept on asking me to take their photos and wanted to talk to me about their temple.
It took me a while to find the right road when leaving Guruvayer. Google Maps on my phone is invaluable in India, however there are still some errors and I went down a few little lanes which were not actually on the maps by accident. I changed my mind this morning about carrying on up the coast for about 40km and then turning in land. Instead I decided to go on the little back lanes in land from Guruvayer straight away.
I finally got on the right road leaving Guruvayer and just started getting into the rhythm when I got a puncture! First of the whole trip!!!!!!!! I have been really impressed with the puncture resistance and general hard-wearing nature of the Marathon Plus Tyres. The only reason I got a puncture this time was because an extremely sharp thawn punctured the side wall of the tyre - right next to the rim of the wheel. It was not a problem to fix it by the side of the road as I just put in a new inner tube but I did get a huge audience watching me for the whole time. Apparently I am the local freak show!!! I have a very different bike to those available in India and they are not used to seeing gears let alone a women in Lycra getting covered in oil and fixing a puncture.......... Good job I have no shame and don't care :-)
The puncture happened right outside a cafe and the guys that work there invited me in to wash up and I ended up having an early lunch. It meant that I did not really properly get on the road till about 12.30.
I had a really great ride from Guruvayur to Perinthalmann. I used google maps on my phone to find loads of lovely little back roads. It was a longer route and the roads were in poor condition but I really enjoyed seeing all of the little villages and stopping and chatting with people.
I still had 2 hours day light when I arrived in Perinthalmann and I was not too sure whether to just stay in Perinthalmannia or whether I could find accommodation further on (so I have less to bike tomorrow). Google did not return anything but some locals said there was some where to stay in Pandikkad so I biked there. There was only a dodgy place so I turned round and biked back... oh well what's another 40km or so when you are biking through India.
I arrived back in Perinthalmann and checked out a few places to stay. I found a great little place with a single room for 120RS (less than £2) . The people were really friendly and I felt safe and the room was clean - even if not that well decorated etc.
I decided to splash out on a good meal as the room was so cheap and went to the restaurant attached to the high end (ok well 500RS per night - so not really high end) hotel across the street for dinner. Had a great chilli ginger prawns and rice. I ended up staying up far too late faffing with photos rather than going to sleep when tired. I really need to work on changing my body clock so I am awake and biking when it is first light.
For more pictures please see:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=111335&id=1408960696&l=1b9134bc70
I ended up spending quiet a while at the temple after breakfast. Although as a non Hindu I was not allowed into the temple itself the atmosphere outside was very much worth seeing. There were literally thousands of people there. Several wedding ceromonies were taking place on the stages. Everyone looked really happy and were smiling and joking - other than the bride and groom (that had only met a few days before!).
http:/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guruvayur_Temple
There were thousands of people queuing up to get into the temple. Everyone in the queue was packed in very close. Indians really do not have the same issues with personal space as we do in the Western World.
Like last night there were loads of beggers. I found it really difficult to see really ill and disfigured people begging for money. We really are so fortunate in the West having welfare systems. I know they do have problems and cost a lot but it is certainly better than old people with rotten, infected, smelling legs begging in the street.I walked back from the temple to the hotel and packed up everything and then got on the road by 10. I had wanted to get going earlier but I really enjoyed just taking in the atmosphere at the temple. The people were really friendly again and kept on asking me to take their photos and wanted to talk to me about their temple.
It took me a while to find the right road when leaving Guruvayer. Google Maps on my phone is invaluable in India, however there are still some errors and I went down a few little lanes which were not actually on the maps by accident. I changed my mind this morning about carrying on up the coast for about 40km and then turning in land. Instead I decided to go on the little back lanes in land from Guruvayer straight away.
I finally got on the right road leaving Guruvayer and just started getting into the rhythm when I got a puncture! First of the whole trip!!!!!!!! I have been really impressed with the puncture resistance and general hard-wearing nature of the Marathon Plus Tyres. The only reason I got a puncture this time was because an extremely sharp thawn punctured the side wall of the tyre - right next to the rim of the wheel. It was not a problem to fix it by the side of the road as I just put in a new inner tube but I did get a huge audience watching me for the whole time. Apparently I am the local freak show!!! I have a very different bike to those available in India and they are not used to seeing gears let alone a women in Lycra getting covered in oil and fixing a puncture.......... Good job I have no shame and don't care :-)The puncture happened right outside a cafe and the guys that work there invited me in to wash up and I ended up having an early lunch. It meant that I did not really properly get on the road till about 12.30.
I had a really great ride from Guruvayur to Perinthalmann. I used google maps on my phone to find loads of lovely little back roads. It was a longer route and the roads were in poor condition but I really enjoyed seeing all of the little villages and stopping and chatting with people.
I still had 2 hours day light when I arrived in Perinthalmann and I was not too sure whether to just stay in Perinthalmannia or whether I could find accommodation further on (so I have less to bike tomorrow). Google did not return anything but some locals said there was some where to stay in Pandikkad so I biked there. There was only a dodgy place so I turned round and biked back... oh well what's another 40km or so when you are biking through India.
I arrived back in Perinthalmann and checked out a few places to stay. I found a great little place with a single room for 120RS (less than £2) . The people were really friendly and I felt safe and the room was clean - even if not that well decorated etc.
I decided to splash out on a good meal as the room was so cheap and went to the restaurant attached to the high end (ok well 500RS per night - so not really high end) hotel across the street for dinner. Had a great chilli ginger prawns and rice. I ended up staying up far too late faffing with photos rather than going to sleep when tired. I really need to work on changing my body clock so I am awake and biking when it is first light.
For more pictures please see:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=111335&id=1408960696&l=1b9134bc70
No comments:
Post a Comment