Honeymoon from our honeymoon

17th September 2010

Crash! I woke up to the sound of waves pounding against the rocky wall outside Aaron and my hotel room. I could feel a cool breeze blowing in through the window and smell the salty Arabian Sea. I opened my eyes to see the cheery bright orange walls of our hotel room, which would otherwise have been vaguely reminiscent of a prison due to the bars across the windows. We stayed here for five nights at the Briton Beach Hotel, a couple of km down the coast from Cherai beach in Kerala, South West India. The hotel is situated right on the waters edge with just a man-made support rock wall separating it from the sea.

After working on an organic farm in Sri Lanka for the last month my husband and I decided it was time for some rest and relaxation. We heard great recommendations about Kerala, so we decided to head there as soon as possible when we returned to India. We arrived in Chennai on the south east coast of India a few days ago, were we stayed for one night before getting the overnight train to Kerala. Chennai is the sixth biggest city in India (so pretty huge!) with a population of about 4.5 million. Whilst there we visited the largest museum in India which hosted a great variety of rather antiquated displays.

After our overnight train to Eranaklum, Kerala, we got a rickshaw to the port, then a boat to Vypeen Island. Once on the Island we hopped on a bus and communicated to the conductor that we wished to go to Cherai beach (on the other side of the Island). After a while of riding on the bus, we were searching out the window wondering where we were, when to our surprise we passed Eranaklum port again! Luckily the bus conductor did know where we were going and at the next stop he directed us to another bus that crossed back to the Island via a bridge further along. After the second bus ride and another rickshaw we finally made it to our destination by midday.

Access to the hotel is on a small tarmac road that runs parallel to the beach. The road is one lane wide and has hardly any traffic, just the occasional motorbike and the very rare rickshaw or car. Our hotel has five bedrooms and we are currently the only guests. It is very tranquil in contrast to our experience of the bustle of big Indian cities. It is relaxing to be able to walk out of the hotel without being hassled by rickshaw wallahs or street vendors, though occasionally I might admit to missing the convenience.

This morning we whiled away many hours writing blogs and reading on the quiet hotel deck in front of the crashing waves, with palm trees either side swaying in the sea breeze. There's no sand exposed on the piece of coast outside our hotel, but since we're not sun-bathers it's not a problem. Aaron commented that if he was planning to write a novel, this where he would stay.

In the afternoon I went for a walk around the Island. As I strolled down the quiet, palm shaded road I came across some silvery bunting, hanging above the road, sparkling in the sunlight. I soon discovered this adorned the entrance to a large church. The imposing church with it's symmetrical features and orderly, neat front contrasted greatly from the shacks surrounding it. A little further down the road I came to Golden Beach. It had a huge promenade and paths that looked as though they had been built for tourism. We're still at the tail end of the rainy season, but I got the impression that even in the high season the small beach only sees a handful of tourists. I saw several fishermen, a couple of local boys kicking a football, a few goats grazing and some litter strewn around. I watched some of the fishermen and wandered how their strange contraption worked. As I walked past a couple of men kindly gave me a demonstration of how they raised the net out of the water and collected the fish. It was interesting to see, but not something I should promote as a vegetarian! I was relieved they didn't try to sell me any fish.

When I got back to the hotel I found Aaron swimming in the sea. The water is a slightly murky brown, not quite so appealing as the beach in Greece. Huge waves crashed into shore, some taller than Aaron. They were a little too intimidating for me, but Aaron enjoyed throwing himself into them recklessly. After Aaron finished his antics in the sea, we went out for dinner.

Since the hotel was a distance from the beach the hotel owner let us use his scooter for free. When Aaron turned the scooter around in the drive, then went over the bump onto the road the bike lurched erratically. I've never been on a scooter before and it's been a while since Aaron has driven one. I could see Aaron cringe with embarrassment and the owners face was twisted nervously. With the empty road it was no problem once we got going. At dinner I enjoyed a delicious korma and Aaron some sea food while we watched the sun-setting over the sea. This began to feel like the idyllic palm tree paradise advertised on honeymoon brochures.