By Alan Mawer.
Alan and his wife travelled with India Untravelled to Bamboo Village, spending their time getting to know the local community, sampling the food, soaking in the natural beauty, and exploring the region's secrets. He sent us this heartwarming letter at the end of their travels!
We had a wonderful holiday in Kerala. Thrikkaipetta was the highlight of our trip. We enjoyed the bus journey into Wayanad but the arrival at Kochupurakkal Homestay was like arriving in paradise with butterflies on the flowers and birds in the trees. After the incessant noise of the road journey the homestay's location on a quiet lane in front of padi fields and a steep, misty, forested mountain was a complete contrast.
Eliyamma and 'Baby' and their son Varghese made us very welcome. Our room was comfortable and spotlessly clean. For four days we enjoyed learning about life in Kerala, and Thrikkaipetta in particular, through the many discussions we had with our hosts. To experience this was enormously enriching and gave us so many insights into how the village runs and more generally into family life in Kerala.
The food they cooked for us was outstanding. It all tasted wonderful and was perfectly cooked. The meals consisted of so many beautifully cooked Keralan dishes. Eliyamma uses many of her own ingredients, fruits, spices and vegetables, grown either in her garden around the house, in the plot across the lane, in the yam field up the hill or her padi some distance away. Curd came from the cows in the cowshed next to the house. Kate spent one evening with Eliyamma and Baby in the kitchen writing recipes for these excellent dishes.
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Raju who lives along the same lane was our guide for three days of walking around Thrikkaipetta. He has a great amount of detailed knowledge about the village. We chose to spend all of our time locally rather than travel to attractions further afield. This was because we valued so much learning in depth about Thrikkaipetta and because Raju is so good at guiding and explaining. He knows many people in the village so we regularly stopped and talked to other people. We loved the landscape that Thrikkaipetta is set in. We walked along footpaths and lanes through tea, rubber, coconut and areca plantations as well as forests and padis. We went to the GUP school, the workshops and shop at Uravu, Shiva temple and climbed to the viewpoint on Manikunnumala Mountain. Kate joined in with the children singing at Anganvadi. 2013 has been such a heavy monsoon that everywhere was lush and verdant and the streams bubbling with water. We enjoyed experiencing the downpours and went everywhere with umbrellas.
We reached Thrikkaipetta from Kochi by train to Nilambur and then by bus through the forest to Meppadi. After Thrikkaipetta we went by bus to Thirunelli where we enjoyed more excellent walks. We then left Wayanad by bus to Kannur which was another very scenic journey.Thank you for your part in enabling us to get so much out of our holiday in Kerala.
Alan
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Want to experience Bamboo Village for yourself? We've put down all the details here, do get in touch!
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