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HOLIDAYS: Beauty and the beasts(Sunday Mercury Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)FOR a girl who hasn't yet reached 30, Babri's skin looked in pretty bad shape to me. Wrinkled and sagging, its parched texture felt coarsely tough and it was quite apparent that daily moisturising wasn't part of her cleansing routine. But then, I'd never met an elephant before. We encountered 29 year-old Babri on her home farm in Kerala. She was the first elephant we met on a two-week trip to southern India, which began touring the sites of God's Own Country and ended relaxing on the beaches of Goa. Meeting this impressive beast was just one of many experiences we had while exploring this diverse land of a billion people. My travelling companion and I visited Babri's home in Kallamballam on a trip by taxi to feed, ride and even wash her at the riverside farm where she lives. I admit I was intimidated at first. She was a bit on the large size and I'd read how fast they can run. But I soon managed to build up enough courage to feed her the water melons we'd brought along. Babri's home in Kerala is known as the land of coconuts and you don't need to spend too long there to realise why - coconut trees are everywhere. The state is even home to a coconut research centre, which is looking at more ways to develop products from this popular fruit. We stayed at the picturesque Robin's Nest guest house a few minutes away from Kovalam Lighthouse Beach. Coconut trees featured prominently along the beachfront, as did a range of restaurants and hotels offering plenty of food and drink, and places to relax. It also had a bustling collection of shops run by vendors anxious to sell their handicraft wares and specialist goods. India's 'Lands End', the southern tip of Kanyakumari in the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu, is within easy reach of Kovalam - and this was our next port of call. Here, the waters of the Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal meet and during full moon it is possible to watch the sun set and the moon rise at the same time. We travelled by taxi and hopped on a ferry to view a memorial in honour of spiritual leader Swami Vivekananda, who spent days in meditation on a rock off the coast. Next to his memorial is another in honour of Tiruvalluvar, the author of a philosophical treatise on the Indian way of life - and on land Mahatma Gandhi is commemorated. The Gandhi Mandapam has been constructed at the spot where the great man's ashes were kept for public view in an urn before a portion was immersed into the three seas. Every year on Gandhi's birthday, the sun's rays fall at the exact place where the urn was displayed before immersion. The sites are popular with local visitors as well as those trekking from overseas. En route to Kanyakumari, which the British named Cape Commorin, we stopped off at the wooden palace of Padmanabhapuram where the Maharajas of Travancore once lived. The aged building is reputed to be the largest wooden palace in India. And on the way back, we called in at the Thanumalayan temple in Suchindarm, which features inscriptions said to be from the 9th century, and musical pillars. Before we left Kovalam, another excursion took us to Varkala beach. This was a much quieter seafront and featured a dramatic clifftop setting which seemed an ideal place to relax. Or so we thought. That's when we encountered Kerala's world-famous backwaters, listed as one of the top 50 'must see' destinations of the world by National Geographic. 'Simply stunning' are the only words I can think of to describe the calm stillness of the peaceful waters. Drifting along the tree-lined rivers and canals, it is easy to forget the usual daily hustle and bustle. When you do encounter the villagers who live amid this beautiful scenery, you see a very different way of life. Picturesque communities line parts of the waters and their children race along the riverbanks to welcome the rice boats which daily transport visitors. We stayed overnight on a vessel before we made our way to Goa by train. The night on the peaceful backwaters was a welcome break before we made the almost 18-hour trek in a three-tier sleeper carriage. We left Kerala at 1pm and arrived in Goa, dazed, at 6.30am. From there, we travelled by taxi to our apartment at the Colonia de Braganza in Calangute. Some have described the area as India's Costa del Sol. It was the first beach to attract hippies travelling overland in the 1960s. The seafront was packed but the area is also home to a variety of sparkling market stalls, bustling restaurants and bars which make it an interesting place to stay. Calangute, however, wasn't the only former hippy haunt we checked out during our stay. We'd heard so much about Wednesday's Anjuna flea-market before arriving in Goa that we just had to pay a visit. This is where the hippies used to meet to sell their guitars, jeans and the like to enable them to stay in India longer. Clothes, jewellery, food and drinks are all on offer at stalls which back on to the beach, where cows roam freely. This is a popular meeting point for backpackers, European ravers and diehard hippies. Live music is still a feature, too, making this a relaxing setting after a fretful shop. Goa seemed a lot more geared up to tourists but, as a result, was more commercialised than Kerala. Bars and clubs were dotted around the state and Kingfisher beer was advertised almost everywhere you looked. While enjoying the party scene on offer, it is also pleasant to relax on some of the quieter beaches. We travelled south from Calangute to Coco Beach for a day's sunning on sands backed by the luscious greens of yet more coconut trees. We also headed north to visit Morjim beach, which was the most peaceful we encountered in Goa and featured not even one beach-seller. En route to Coco Beach, we stopped off to visit yet another elephant. This time it was 35 year-old Bashra, and I plucked up the courage to take a 10-minute ride on its back. It was another experience although, at pounds 1 a minute in a country where your money goes a long way, I might have been diddled! Never mind, elephants have long memories... [email protected] TRAVEL FILE Fionnuala Bourke took a two-week two-location trip to southern India with Goa Way and Czech It Out Holidays. The company organised flights through My Travel Lite, and accommodation and train tickets from their offices in London. Fionnuala flew from London Gatwick, but seats are also available for Midland holidaymakers from Manchester Airport. Goa Way and Czech It Out have a variety of hotels and guest houses for holidaymakers to choose from in Goa and Kerala, ranging from basic guest houses and four-star hotels. The company currently features a host of special offers from just pounds 199. For more information view website www.goaway.co.uk or call 0870 890 7800. |