Roaring Through My Twenties

Kochi, Varkala, Trivandrum, & Ponmudi 

I actually didn’t anticipate writing a blog post about this trip, but after many hours on my train ride home doing some reflecting, I realized what a perfect full-circle moment it was to share. 

If you remember in early December I took a trip to Kochi, Kerala to visit my Fulbright friend Rachel. 

Now, this trip was my first time ever taking the train. What made it more anxiety-inducing for me was that I was doing it all on my own. Thankfully, with some help along the way, I managed to succeed pretty effortlessly. 

On top of that, December was also one of the most transformative months for me during my time here. Three months in, I was starting to feel the weight of my relationships and friendships in the US shifting, while also feeling like my life in India was really starting to take shape. While in some ways it felt like things were falling apart (dramatic, I know), in other ways I could see that all the pieces were coming together to create something very exciting and new for me. Despite how scary it was at first, I started to enjoy the feeling of not knowing what to expect.

__ 

So, this most recent trip to Kochi felt different. Months later and even feeling like I’ve mastered the Indian railways, I was not only looking forward to seeing Rachel but also the adventure on the train itself. 

(Sidenote: To be clear, I haven’t mastered the railways. In fact, as I was arriving on the platform my train was pulling into the station. The train was already late so I thought I *strategically* planned my arrival to the station so I would avoid sitting in the sun. But it actually arrived earlier than I expected and I found myself fast-walking to make it onto the train. Oops). 

First Night in Kochi 

Rachel and I reunited at the train station in Kochi. After a quick dinner, we spent the rest of the night catching each other up on our research, some recent adventures, and our feelings towards our impending departure from India. 

Varkala, North Cliff

In my last blog post, I mentioned that I’ve become more and more comfortable making last-minute travel plans. Although Rachel and I talked for a couple of weeks about taking a trip down the coast of Kerala, it wasn’t until the week that I was due to arrive in Kochi that we were booking last-minute train tickets to Varkala and back. 

Varkala is a coastal town about four hours south by train from Kochi. Known for the beaches and seaside cliffs, Papanasam Beach specifically and its water are actually considered to have holy, sin-cleansing properties. It’s a great tourist destination for both natives and foreigners (when we were there, we learned that a lot of college students from Bangalore like to come for the weekend and party…makes sense!). 

A big reason for this trip was that Rachel had not yet had the opportunity to take the train. We decided our trip down the coast was the perfect opportunity for her to experience it for the first time. And like many trains coming far from the North, she was able to experience the frustrations of trains arriving late. When we (finally) arrived at the station we did spend about fifteen minutes going back-and-forth with each other on whether or not we were standing on the right platform. “Kasey, are you sure we are standing where we’re supposed to be?” …Yes Rachel. No, maybe not. Actually, I’m almost positive we are.

No surprise, we did a great job and made it onto the train with no problem. The three and a half hours to Varkala went by quickly. I saw my first ever train cockroach on this ride and I didn’t love it. 

We arrived in Varkala with enough time to see the sunset on the beach. Afterwards, we had a nice dinner with some drinks.

Cliffs at Varkala beach

Varkala, North Cliffs (Day 2)

After breakfast, Rachel and I spent the morning exploring the shops and restaurants that line the cliffs. 

This feels like the perfect time to mention (or mostly complain) about how hot it is here in India currently. Walking along the strip, we’d frequently stop into random shops just to cool off from the AC. During one of these pit-stops, we actually stopped into a silver shop and, while half-looking at the jewelry and half-walking around just to cool off, we chatted a while with the shop owner. He shared with us how he’s originally from Ladakh (a Northeastern state) and only works in Varkala during the tourist season. He was struggling just as much as we were with the heat!

While browsing another shop (and buying matching “I love Varkala” hats), Rachel overheard one of the store employees talking in Malayalam about a guy who fell off the cliffs the night before. She inquired with him and apparently it’s quite common for the area. Yikes!

After a quick lunch, we hopped in the car to get to our next adventure: a country boat ride in the mangroves. While planning this activity, its original intent was to be for us to go kayaking. But after going back and forth about the strength we had to endure a 10 km kayak route in the heat, we decided we would enjoy the boat ride much more. No work required from us! 

Boat ride and mangroves

This was a lot of fun. Our guide was fun, too. About an hour into our route, he paddled us to an area where a bunch of other boats and kayakers were congregated. Watching others jump into the water and swim around, our guide encouraged us to join. It took only a little convincing of me from Rachel and soon enough we were both swimming around and laughing. Our guide took really funny photos and videos for us!

Me and Rachel swimming

We even watched the sunset from the boat, too!

Sunset from the water

We returned from our boat excursion and had a nice dinner. 

Trivandrum and Ponmudi

Before heading to sleep the night before, Rachel had mentioned that her friend was planning to come to meet us in Varkala the next morning and drive us into Trivandrum (the capital city of Kerala). Because he was driving through the night and because one of our activities in Trivandrum required us to get there early in the morning, she set the alarm for 4am (yes, 4am!!!!). 

And so, with maybe less than five hours of sleep, we hopped into Manas’ car a little after 5am and began the journey to Trivandrum. It wasn’t a long ride at all, actually. Though, Rachel was in charge of the music and listening to “Life is A Highway” from the Cars soundtrack that early in the morning was a weird start to the day. 

There wasn’t much set on our itinerary for this day trip except that Rachel wanted to go see Shree Padmanabhaswamy Temple. This temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Vishnu. It’s considered the richest temple in the world because of its six semi-mysterious vaults inside. From what I understand, the temple was first built in the 8th century and restructured again in the 18th century. For many centuries, the local royal family owned and managed the structure. It wasn’t until 2011, when the Supreme Court of India filed a petition that sought transparency in the management of the temple, were these six vaults discovered. Successfully opening five out of the six vaults, they discovered a huge (articles describe it as “mind-boggling”) amount of items like gold, diamonds, sacks of coins dating back to the Roman Empire, and more. All of these items were acquired over time by people giving offerings to the temple Deity.  

…and I was not allowed to enter it. Nope, I know. The temple only allows practicing Hindus inside. Rachel and Manas are not Hindu but they could at least pretend that they were. Though, they had to follow a strict dress code and they definitely weren’t going to let Rachel enter in jeans. They both bought dhotis to wear (a long piece of cloth that wraps around the waist…typically worn exclusively by men…haha) and promptly ditched me (with my permission) to sneak a peek inside. 

When they returned they both spoke a high praise of what they observed inside. Since there were no photos allowed inside they described it to me as much as they could. Jokingly, I said  “guys, can you draw a picture of what you saw in there?…You know, for my blog?” I received a firm no from both of them. I will continue to use my imagination of what it was like.

Me and Rachel in front of Shree Padmanabhaswamy Temple

Our excursion at the temple wasn’t long. Afterwards, we went to eat breakfast and met some of Manas’ friends. From there, they pretty much planned the rest of the day for us. 

Together we headed to Ponmudi, a hill station a little over 1.5 hours from Trivandrum. Ponmudi is a relatively popular tourist destination for natives and foreigners. The ride into the mountains is quite beautiful and the cooler weather was exactly what we needed. 

Having the opportunity to know a lot of different people across India, I tend to pester some into teaching me words or short phrases in the local language. Rachel and Manas both speak and understand Malayalam. As we were going up the mountain, I asked the group if they thought we’d see any monkeys. Then I promptly asked Rachel to teach me the word for “monkey” in Malayalam. Kurangan. Kurangan. Kurangan. The car listened to me repeat it until I got it right. On my fifth or sixth attempt, I actually watched a monkey run across the road right in front of our car, just as if I was summoning it. You can imagine that I just kept saying Kurangan for the rest of the day (or until I forgot how to pronounce it…which was actually quite fast).

Me and Rachel in the hills

After a couple of hours taking in the views atop the hills, we headed back down to begin our journey back to Trivandrum. On our way back, we stopped at a small creek for a swim. Initially, I held firm on my stance that I was not going to swim because I didn’t want my clothes to be wet for the rest of the car ride back. However, that lasted all of ten minutes and then I found myself joining the group in the water. Except, I didn’t last long, especially when everyone started talking about the little fish in the water that bite. Nope! 

After lunch Manas, Rachel, and I headed back to Varkala for the evening for dinner. Rachel and I were actually supposed to stay one more night at our hostel and then take the train back to Kochi early in the morning. Since Manas was driving back into Kochi that night, we decided to join him and return early. 

And so began, at 9pm, the 4.5 hour ride back to Kochi. 

It was a semi-tumultuous journey. All of us were dead tired from the lack of sleep and activity-filled day. But we made the best of it. An hour and a half into the ride, we stopped for some roadside chai to get our energy up. I finally got music privilege, but almost instantaneously lost it after playing “Give Me Everything” by Pitbull and “Just Dance” by Lady Gaga. Okay, not the vibe, got it! A couple of songs later, the bluetooth in the car somehow stopped working. No problem, I will sing karaoke. I sang several mashups while Rachel urgently fiddled with the bluetooth system. She got it working again and I then lost my karaoke privilege too. 

We made it back to Kochi just a little before 1am.

Last Day in Kochi 

Rachel and I spent my final day in Kochi just hanging out, shopping, and eating. 

Rachel and I are a part of the very small group of Fulbrighters who are based in the South. And a part of the even smaller group of researchers who are in their cities alone. Our friendship throughout my time here has meant a great deal to me. In all the ways we are different, whenever we come together, we tend to share very similar stories, experiences, and feelings. I have really valued and appreciated our ability to relate and support each other over the last couple of months. 

Accompanying me to the train station the next morning, we said our goodbyes. Luckily, Rachel is also from New York. We’re already making plans to reunite when we both return to the US. 

__

It’s been a little over two weeks since this trip. In that time, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking and rethinking about who I was in December. How brave she was to get onto the train with big feelings and knowing as little as she did. I wonder now if I hadn’t gotten on the train if I would have had all the exciting adventures I’ve had so far (I think so, but it would’ve taken me time).

In less than a week, I leave for a two week semi-solo backpacking trip up North before I return to Mangalore for only a few days to say my final goodbyes. As you could imagine, I’ve been feeling a myriad of emotions. Next time I write I’ll likely be back in the US – though with lots to share. 

Disclaimer: This blog is not an official site of the Fulbright Program or the U.S. Department of State.  The views expressed on this site are entirely those of its author and do not represent the views of the Fulbright Program, the U.S. Department of State, or any of its partner organizations.