28 March 2013 Chiang Mai Zoo

Chiang Mai Zoo is brilliant. As good as Paignton Zoo, maybe even better.

85 hectares in the foothills of Suthep Mountain, the zoo is set in a forest, with breathtaking scenery all around.

From the monorail, you can look down, (sometimes from a great height!), on animals from all over the world. Here we gaze down on a lion relaxing in the heat.

An open sided bus takes us all around the zoo, we can hop on and off, very helpful for getting to the enclosures higher up the mountain. I take a picture of giraffes from the bus.

Nearby is a HUGE Indian elephant with wrap-around tusks.

The aquarium is imaginatively laid out, sometimes in caves, then looking down on rays, then in long tunnels with sharks, huge fish and turtles swimming all around you.  

 

 

 

 

Next, the star attraction, the Pandas. In large open settings, they look content. 506 507 512 517

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The white tigers are alert  

But the Bengal tiger is fast asleep .

 

 

 

 

 

The leopards are fighting over some meat some tourists offer them through the wire fence.  

The bird house is the size of The Albert Hall.

You can zip-wire over the lake, I didn’t.

The Llamas in the children’s section reminded me of trekking in Peru.

Hundreds of deer are enjoying the sunshine.

 

 

 

 

But it is too hot for the Indian rhino.

We visit the gibbons who live on natural ‘islands’ of trees and vegetation, the crocs in their mucky water, cuddly koalas, storks, emus, flamingos and the jaguar.

But no time for the penguins, snakes, hippos, tortoises and zebras. Oh dear, I’ll have to go back again another day.

Back in Chiang Mai town centre, I have a few drinks and a meal with friends and meet my bride.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Take care you all, John

18 March 2013 last day in Kochi, India

Nothing planned for my last day in India.

Two of the French guests have left at 6am for their flight home.

The lady of the other couple comes down at breakfast-time and announces that her partner is ill with severe chest pains. She is understandably very worried. I think of Basil Fawlty and his dead guest, but decide not to mention it.

Stanley orders a car to take them to a hospital that he promises has good doctors and won’t insist that the sick man is kept in for three weeks of intensive tests only to discover that he has indigestion.

I offer to go with them, their English is not bad, but they struggle to understand Indian accented English, and maybe I can help with the communication. Michel comes down and is obviously in great pain.

The hospital is an interesting experience. The nurses and doctors are efficient and professional, but the hospital is packed and obviously over-extended, and is not well cleaned. We are very grateful to the ‘minder’ who has been assigned to us. He takes us to the appropriate departments for the various tests, shows them where to make the necessary payments, then leaves us in a very clean and comfortable waiting room, where I watch Australia lose for the third time out of three tests against India.

An ecg, blood test, scan and 10 hours after leaving Jasmin’s, Michel is told by the very professional Dr Sunil that there is nothing serious wrong with him, he has acid indigestion and can go. He is given a prescription and we are all much relieved. My French friends think my presence has helped and are very grateful.

Two interesting foot-notes: 1. there are 1,000 blood tests being taken in this hospital today  2. the young trainee nurse in Casualty says she especially asked to be assigned to us so that she could ask about nursing opportunities in France and England. After gaining experience qualifying, she wants to work anywhere but India because the pay is so low. We wish her good luck and agree to send information to her. Good for England or France or Dubai or the US, but sad for India.

Back at Jasmin’s, there is just enough time for me to pack, send a blog, have dinner and get a photo of me with Stanley and the wonderful Jasmin.

Then I’m off to the airport for my 11pm flight.

So this is the end of my South Indian escapade. Kerala is a beautiful and interesting State. The people are friendly and helpful. The food is superb, even if you have to keep asking for ‘no spicy please’ as I do.

Now I am flying to Chiang Mai, the small, cultural city in the North of Thailand. I have friends here, and plan to mostly relax, including reading a few books in the sun by the very nice Wangburapa Hotel pool, and playing some squash at the British Gymkana Golf Club!!

If anything interesting happens, I promise I’ll let you know.

BFN, take care you all, John

17 March 2013 Munnar, India

The early morning trek from the hotel is a vigorous walk down and back up the steep slopes of the adjacent tea estate. The vista is mountains, woodlands, tea plantations and tourists being silly.  

 

 

 

 

We still have time, before breakfast, to wander through the nearby village. The people here are incredibly welcoming, with children and adults alike pleased to see us.   

 

 

Breakfast is on the hotel balcony with our German friends 

Then to the tea factory. We are shown the rolling, drying and chopping of the leaves ………….and the shop. I buy some green tea for my children. Apparently, it will help to keep them healthy. I hope so.

Here are the instructions for making a proper cuppa.

In the centre of Munnar town, I find the indoor market and buy some nice little things for Ruby, Amber and Grace.

Back on the road, we pass a Christian procession. Lots of happy smiles and singing. Hinduism, Islam and Christianity appear to live comfortably side by side in this part of India. In one town we pass through, the temple, mosque and church are within close sight of each other. It reminds me of Pi, and his father’s incredulity at Pi’s insistence that he belonged to all three callings. The deeply religious Pi couldn’t understand why he should not. The section of the book where Pi is confronted by his three respective teachers is hilarious. (Sadly, this classic exchange is not included in the film.)

Next, we visit Madupetty Dam. Very scenic. The low water level, a result of much reduced rainfall recently, is causing concern. June and the rainy season are still 10 weeks away.

Now we are on the way back to Kochi, and our driver/guide suddenly pulls over to the side of the road. He has spotted another procession, this time Hindu. Three ginormous Indian elephants (see p.s.), decked out in all their regalia and accompanied by a small but raucous crowd, are parading to induce rain. They even have their umbrellas up in case the gods respond precipitously.

 

 

 

 

Again the people are delighted to see us, the children love to see their photos.

Lastly, near Kochi, we stop for the sunset

 

 

 

 

And I have my picture taken with Sophie and Katie

Late back to Jasmin’s, I join the other four guests, all French and patiently waiting for me, for another amazing Jasmin Indian dinner.

That evening there is a storm, Jasmin’s internet goes down, and I cannot publish yesterdays blog. So I get my head down and sleep like a log. Good-night all, John

p.s. yes, ginormous is a proper word, even though blogspot has put a red line under it!

16 March 2013 Excursion to Munnar

Collected 6.30 by car already containing Katie and Sophie for 2 day trip to Munnar in the mountains. First stop on the way is to say good morning to a big black cow.   Next we are by a river to watch ‘elephant washing’. Three very unhappy looking young Indian elephants are being cajoled into kneeling then lying in the shallow water. Hind legs chained together, they are shouted at and beaten with sticks, but one in particular doesn’t want to lie down. I leave when one of the handlers loses his rag and starts hitting hard and fast.  

On further stops, our excellent driver/guide shows us pineapple plants,   rubber trees,   

 

 

 

 

Chocolate trees

  (= Cocoa) (above and below)

 

 

 

 

a jackfruit tree (below)

  and cashew nut trees (below)   (the cashew nut is the top bit)

Then beautiful views from Neriyamangalam Bridge

 

 

 

 

 

This spectacular waterfall next on our list was a little disappointing due to the total absence of any water. 

The spice farm next is very well laid out, we are guided through by a lady who explained, in excellent English, the healing benefits of dozens of trees, bushes and plants. Here is  a nutmeg tree. Nutmeg helps you to sleep, but taking too much can be a bit dodgy, she tells us.

Randomly, we learn that the bark of the bay-leaf tree provides cinnamon.

Next an elephant ride   followed by elephant posing   and an elephant blessing

Munnar is high up in the foot-hills of a picturesque mountain range, 2000+ metres above sea level. Tea plantations cover vast areas of the hill-sides, intermingled with natural woodland where it is too steep to plant tea bushes.

 

 

 

 

 

The landscapes are stunning here

Our hotel is ‘The Misty Green View’. This is it, the little one with the green roof. Here is the view from the balcony where I am typing this blog alongside Katie and Sophie who are writing postcards.

 

No internet or wifi here, so plan to publish when I get back to Jasmin’s tomorrow evening.

Dinner with sociable bunch of Germans, lots of good chat, Indian food OK. Early night with early start trek tomorrow.

BFN, John