Yelläks /ˈyæl•eks/

When I went with Sunil to Kerala it was my first trip and my first time not being in the office. He did not want to shock me, so he decided to go there in an AC Three compartment, which we shared with four other passengers. It was air conditioned and had cool black colored windows, so nobody could have a look into it during daylight. Blankets and sheets were provided by the train personnel, because the train trip took around 14 hours from Chennai to Kottayam.

The following day we relaxed and went to Allepey through the backwaters by boat. The backwaters are a very complicated system of rivers and lakes. They are a very nice and, after the gear box of the boat broke and the engine was shut off, also peaceful place. There we were: in a very beautiful nature in the middle of fields that were divided apart by little earth walls, which also worked as a path to get to the stilted houses. In the raining season all the fields are flooded.

In the backwaters you can find a lot of big house boats. Tourists, who want to explore the routes in a comfortable way, rent them usually. The boats are also available with a cook preparing the food and air conditioning. After a while (a few hours or so – but time is relative, even more in India) a second ferry came. So we joined the already packed people on the second boat and continued our trip to Allepey, where we had lunch (beef suprisingly).

The next day we went to Erumeli. Erumeli is a little village close to the jungle and is usually only reachable by jeep with a four wheel drive. On our trip through the forest, we met nobody with one exception: The road was not really a road. It was a hilly and dusty track in the woods. Suddenly we heard a strange noise and an rickshaw passed us hopping and bouncing. The driver was very concentrated to avoid the deeper holes. I do not know, how it managed to get there.

With one of Sunil’s family friends and two other guys, we spent a night and two days in the jungle, which was one of the best experience I have ever had. The way to the camp side was a riverbed. Fortunately the river did not have so much water in summer, but still had enough to take a bath or to catch fishes. During the day the air was very humid and Sunil and I sweated like hell. The two other guys wore just a dhooti and a bag, which they usually carried on their heads. They said that it is safer to carry a bag like this, because if we get in contact with tigers or elephants, they were able to drop any unneeded weight immediately. Even today I do not know, if they just wanted to scare and to make fun of us or if they were serious.

The night was awesome. After the fire burned down and due to the absence of artificial light, we could see an uncountable numbers of stars. The whole sky was so packed that it was almost impossible to find an empty spot. On the next day we went back to one of the guy’s house, where he offered us honey from his stock inhabited by very small bees.

On the last day, Sunil and I visited a bird sanctuary. One special thing in India are the entry fees: Foreigners have to pay a lot more. Usually they take the price for Indians, remove the “Rs.” and add “$” in front of the price. So if Indians pay Rs. 5, foreigner have to pay $5, which is around Rs. 250. It is a little but unfair, but it keeps the place going. Unfortunately we did not see so many birds, but we heard them making a lot of noise.

We went back to Chennai by Sleeper Class. This class had similar to AC Three, but is not air conditioned (fortunately), does not have the black colored and not openable windows, and blankets were not provided either. If the windows are open and if there is a problem and the train has to stop, you will be able to see swarms of mosquitos flying into the compartments. But who cares about all the things, if we are able to sleep almost everywhere?

[Show as slideshow]