Struggling to decide where to go on my next stop, I was on the phone to my cousin Naman, who had mentioned Wayanad as another potential spot. I hadn’t even heard of it but after a quick google I was sold. Wayanad is a hill station in the north of Kerala with tea plantations and nearby access to wildlife sanctuaries. This time through the help of another cousin Dhwani, and after countless failed attempts, I managed to book a sleeper night bus which would take me on the 7h journey without needing to miss a day of exploring. Usually I'm a light sleeper but this night bus was the best sleep that I can remember having. Something to do with the rocking motion of the bus, I felt like a child who didn’t want their parents to wake them after a night time drive back home.
Arriving at 5am I got to the hostel and was pleasantly surprised at being offered a bed. After sleeping for a couple of hours I woke up, officially checked in and finally managed to do laundry! Doing laundry is one of the greatest feelings. When you travel, it's like pressing a reset button, preventing your descent into dirt in the human form. Couple it with a proper hair wash, cutting nails and a thorough foot scrub and it's like starting from Day 1 again all fresh faced (and bodied), wide eyed and excited. I was ready for the day!
With no plan and still in awe of the hike I did in Munnar, I decided to open google find a few landmarks and continue to just walk. I headed off for a lake around 10km away, which the hostel owners found bizarre and thought I was crazy (few walk as a hobby in India). It did not disappoint at all, the Kerala hill stations have such beauty that the scenery during the walk was the highlight compared with the intended destination lake.
The round trip ended up being 25km in total so with my legs tired, I decided to have a chilled night back at the hostel where I ended up chatting to my roommate, Sam, who worked as a civil servant in the Indian tax department.
The main themes were around salaries and politics in India. I learnt that the average salary for someone with an undergraduate degree is 12-15 lakh (£12-15k and very liveable if you're not in a big city). There has been increased investment in the online / tech space since COVID with private sector salaries reaching up to 40 lakh in some of the smaller cities. When you factor in purchasing power given restaurant meals average 150 rupees (£1.50) that's a seriously high salary for here, but walking around it's blatantly obvious to see the other side in rural parts and on the streets of India. While it's great that Modi is widely regarded as a crusader against poverty and has implemented several schemes to tackle it, there is certainly a lot more work to be done to bridge the income equality gap.
We also got more into Modi and the upcoming election which seems like it will be a landslide victory to the BJP given no credible opposition. He told me a few stories which I hadn't heard before, giving the impression of Modi as a tyrannical autocrat than a leader of democracy. These included more in-depth knowledge about the tax raids on the BBC and his quest to limit free press in India. Sam mentioned rumours of clashes with Bollywood superstars, where Shah Rukh Khan's son was imprisoned for almost a month on minor drug charges (recreational use), and Deepika Padukone was questioned about her involvement in a drugs scandal that lead to a death, supposedly after they both spoke out against the lynchings against muslims by Hindu mobs. While there obviously remains much animosity since the partition and what followed, the young Indians I have met on the trip do not carry the same trauma and religious hatred that the older generations do. Hopefully with enough time, some form of harmony is possible.
The next day I booked on to a safari tour through Malabar wildlife sanctuary which turned out to be rather disappointing. I saw the backside of an elephant, most of the tour was on normal drivable roads and sadly no tiger sighting. I did however learn that Tiger numbers have been increasing (great!) although there had recently been a few incidents of Tigers coming out to towns and attacking people (no so great!), amazingly one where a young child had managed to escape and get away. Feeling brave and short changed I decided to go on another hike but sadly no tigers spotted.
That evening it finally happened. Delhi Belly Count: 1. Cause: Unknown
Feeling sick and with a 3h taxi to Mysore and it was a massive blow when I got in the car and smelt the epitome of BO, which unfortunately is not uncommon here. Curious I researched more around BO to understand why this may be and discovered that the following things can contribute to it:
Existence → Sweat not drying quick enough allowing bacteria to break down protein molecules in sweat. Causes: humidity, presence of body hair
Flavour → Sulphur containing foods. Examples: garlic, onions, cauliflower
Strength → Sweat encouraging foods. Examples: chillies, cumin, curry powder, caffeine
The brain will stop you being able to smell something after a period of time if it is consistently there (evolutionary advantage to detect changes in environment better.. learnt that in my senses book) so the oblivious perpetrators continue to secrete their aromas unwittingly. I realise as I write this, I fit the classic culprit's description and so I will make a point to find something to clear my nasal palette before sniffing myself to avoid any more casualties.
Sadly with the BO not helping and the nausea getting worse, the majority of Mysore was spent in bed but I did find some strength to see Karanji Nature Park and Mysore palace. The palace had amazing architecture, justifying it being the 2nd most visited building in the country with 6 million visitors every year. The Taj Mahal is first.
I took another night bus to Hampi, which was not quite as relaxing as the first but still managed a good night's sleep and set out to explore during the day. Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site which has well preserved ruins of the ancient Vijayanagara empire and lots of surrounding rock/boulder formations making it look like something out of Jurassic
Park.
It was also one of the largest cities in the world in the 16th century with a population nearing 500,000 and the size and scale of it was amazing. I also loved how you could wander through many of the ruins and be the only person in your line of sight, allowing you to fully escape and imagine what life might have been like during the empire (or in the Jurassic era), no present distractions. After a few sweet and salty lemon sodas (great for energy and the stomach) I found the energy to climb up Matanga Hill which had incredible views but was a little bit of a sketchy climb.
Drained, I then spent another day in bed recovering and binged a new show (The Brothers Sun.. all Asian cast, gore and martial arts) before catching my night bus to Goa.
Wayanad Tea Plantations
Kids playing rock, papers, scissors in a tree
Fyi there are laundry spots in most hotels in NZ for a small fee! They usually provide powder/soap as well