Kerala is famed for its varied, beautiful nature. We’d already been lucky enough to experience the palm tree fringed train tracks, cliff lined beaches and vivid sunsets, and we were excited to venture deeper into the backwaters of this special state. ‘God’s Own Country’ is the motto of Kerala, and as our train got closer to Munroe Island it was easy to see why. The Kerala backwaters are a network of canals, rivers, lakes and lagoons that stretch for over 900 kilometres through the coastal areas of the state. Lots of visitors experience these on a houseboat, but that was slightly out of the budget for this trip. Instead, we were heading to a quiet place called Munroe Island, at the top of Lake Ashtamudi. From Varkala, it was a short 45 minute train journey to a local station where we hopped in an auto rickshaw to get to our home stay. The first special touch of this island (and there were a few!) was finding the father of the family we were staying with waiting at the roadside with his canoe, ready to take us over the river to the accommodation. The place was accessible by road, but it was so nice of them to make sure we had a shorter and much more scenic arrival! The home stay was a small family affair with a few rooms above the main house. The place was run by the wonderful Vijeesh, with boat trips by his father and cooking by his mother. 

On our first night we had a shared dinner with the other guests, before being asked if we wanted to attend a concert at a local school. Of course we all said yes! We walked as a group down the road to the local school where we could hear the music blaring through the speakers from a few hundred meters away. It was very cute watching the primary aged students all dressed up doing their versions of traditional dances. Everyone was involved and it was very special to be included in the local village community this way. When we got back, Vijeesh very proudly told us that it was his niece who had been front and center, definitely one of the stars of the show!

The main attraction on the island is a tour of the backwaters and at 5 AM the next morning we were up and into the canoe with Vijeesh’s Dad. Vijeesh had the genius idea of putting thin mattresses into the canoe so people can sit sideways (perpendicular to the boat) and relax, as opposed to having to sit up on the raised seats with no back support the entire time. This worked a treat and we were both totally relaxed, just enjoying watching the world go by. Rumour has it that I may have fallen asleep, but I will deny that one… I was just resting my eyes! We rode through small canals and waterways out to Ashtamudi Lake, where of course we went through the compulsory mangrove tunnel. It was interesting to hear how the area used to be primarily used for rice production, but due to climate change and increased salinization, they can no longer grow rice here. We saw a lot of prawn farms on our boat trip, which is now the primary export of the area. The boat trip was very scenic and beautiful and it's clear to see why this part of the state is so world famous. Spending a few days on these canals in a house boat would be pretty special, but it was equally cool to get to travel through some of the tiny waterways that went through local villages. 

That evening we decided we should really see a little more of the island, so we borrowed the push bikes from the home stay to head to a dinner spot Josh had found on google maps. On the way we could see that sunset was fast approaching, and we saw a sign that said “view point”. So of course, we grabbed a warm 7 Up from the small store we were next to, and ventured to find the view point and hopefully catch the sunset! We biked down a series of big hills which seemed a little counter productive, and didn’t find a viewpoint. We had enjoyed the ride though, and the 7 Up was appreciated on the bike back up! It added a few extra kilometers to our ride, and with darkness basically upon us, we found a different spot for dinner. We got our bikes under cover, and then it absolutely started bucketing down. Some of the heaviest rain I have ever seen in my life! The restaurant kindly obliged our request to sit in a covered area outside, so we could really take in the storm. The rain came and went, and there was some incredibly impressive thunder and lightning! Now we are into March we are experiencing the summer rains, which occur in the months before monsoon. It stays hot, and the rain usually passes in half an hour or so. Once we had finished eating we took a break in the rain to bike home, and somehow made it back to our accommodation dry! 

The next day we hopped on the local train for the three and a half hour ride down to the coastal city of Kochi, which cost us all of 70 rupee, or $1.41 NZD!! Munroe Island was a great antidote to the development and intense tourism of Varkala, and it was nice to have a quiet day enjoying this beautiful corner of the state. 

After some busy days full of temple visits and trips down memory lane we were ready for some time relaxing by the beach. So we said our goodbyes to Tamil Nadu as we tucked up in bed on our first of many overnight trains in India (great experience by the way). Our destination? A beach town in Kerala called Varkala. Perched on large cliffs overlooking a slim stretch of golden sand beach, it is home to ayurvedic massage parlors, countless yoga studios, and shops selling elephant-stamped trousers, silver jewellery and cotton yoga-mat bags.

We spent three nights in Varkala, yet I struggle to think of what we actually did there. We were both quite exhausted from some busy days and not sleeping well, so we used our time here to rest and relax. Our accommodation was really nice and affordable. It was also only a few minutes walk from the beach and a really lush resort called Soul & Surf which was out of our budget. Fortunately, they had a delightful cafe overlooking the Indian ocean where we spent many hours reading our books and trip planning on the comfy couches. I tried looking for some waves, but they were tiny (apparently the monsoon season is best for surfing in India).

Moving from a few days of fast paced travel in busy cities to a laid back beach town where we could slow down and relax was a bit of a shock to our systems. For the first day we felt like we should be sightseeing and doing activities. We had to give ourselves permission to slow down and relax. It can be easy to feel guilty about not doing enough. There is a fine balance between fast paced travel and more slower paced travel and this is something we are still getting used to. Travelling for a year, it is simply not possible to go fast the whole time, so interspersing high octane travel with periods of rest in nice places seems to be a good strategy to ensure we don’t burn out our travel engines.

By the end of our time in Varkala, we were feeling well rested and excited to explore some more of Kerala. Our next stop would be another slower paced spot, a small town in the backwaters north of Varkala called Munroe Island. 

Now if you read the last blog, you’ll remember that we are picking up at breakfast, at our hotel in Madurai. I hope this makes sense!! Before we start, make yourself a coffee (or chai) because this is a long blog. I’ve tried to cap myself at 1,000 words throughout these posts so far, but today we’re revisiting a very special place, and it’s a memory I want to keep fresh for years to come. Please bear with me as I dabble in the details and reminisce on a journey through Tamil Nadu that actually started over 12 years ago. 

Some context to start… World Challenge is an organization that runs global trips for school groups, getting kids out of their comfort zone and into entirely different parts of the world. In 2012/2013 I was 15 years old, and with 14 other girls from Rangi Ruru we were embarking on a truly formative experience in India. During our trip we had three main sections - a trek in the Western Ghats, our project in rural Tamil Nadu, and some R&R time exploring Kerala and Rajasthan. The highlight of the trip in retrospect was that we organized most of the trip ourselves, deciding where we were going to stay, how we would get around, managing our budget… our teachers and leader were just supervising and we were making the decisions. I think this really gave me confidence in travelling right from the beginning that has continued today. 

It was my NZM colleague and fellow trip member Emma Subtil who asked if I was going to try and visit the school we worked at during our project; it hadn’t hugely been on my radar until that point. During our time in India, we spent 10 days living in a very rural town called Sempatty, from which every day we were driven to an even more rural village called Surukaipatti. Here, we built a new kitchen for the local government primary school. We employed a local bricklayer who spoke no English to help us - he got our attention by throwing balls of cement at us. Hilarious in retrospect! We also repainted the outside of some of the classrooms, and spent time playing with the children. Some of my strongest memories from this time are the rooms we stayed in (very, very average with squat toilets, cockroaches and buckets for showers), the lunches we ate every day that were exactly the same and very spicy for 15 year old me, and the cute kids who were always so excited to see us arrive. Emma actually has a much better memory of the trip, and countless reminiscent conversations over the last few years have bought back a slew of memories. 

As we got closer to our time in Tamil Nadu on this trip, I scoured google maps trying to find the right town and school. I read our old assembly speech (thankfully still on our Facebook group), looked at old photos, and tried to navigate google maps street view to try and locate the school. I emailed the education department of the local government and messaged a few random people on Facebook and WhatsApp from nearby towns that seemed like they might be able to help me. At this point we were only a few days away from arriving in Madurai, and I was getting more and more convinced it wasn’t going to happen. Finally, I got a reply from a man named Rajesh, who I had reached out to after seeing his recent activity on a Facebook page about schools in the area. After a few broken phone calls and a couple days of WhatsApp messages, Rajesh assured me that he had found the location of the school and managed to contact them. He said he was going to meet us at our hotel at 8:30 AM the following morning. I was tentatively excited - but still not 100% percent convinced we were going to end up at the right place. For better or for worse, my excitement to visit the school had drowned out any skepticism of connecting with a random man on Facebook and agreeing to go on a day trip to a rural village with him. 

We were at reception at 8:30 AM ready to go and waiting for Rajesh. We weren’t sure of any details really, but I was confident that if we waited he would show up. I got a couple texts letting me know he was actually catching the bus from two hours away to meet us, and he was actually still an hour or so from our hotel! We got some writing done while lamenting the extra sleep we could have gotten, but I was too excited and nervous to really relax. Eventually at about 11:30 AM Rajesh arrived. He was a really friendly, welcoming man and we quickly felt at ease, despite the language barrier. He ordered us a car and we first headed into central Madurai to get some stationary and sports gear to give to the school. It was so helpful to have someone with us for this, as Rajesh could point us in the direction of the best stores, and also what would be most helpful to the kids. We ended up getting a selection of exercise books, pens, pencils, teaching charts, colouring pencils and sports equipment, thanks to some additional donations from a few of the girls who joined me on the trip all those years ago. We actually did a similar thing last time, I have clear memories of us all in a department store trying to work out what was in budget and what would be most appreciated by the school. 

Finally all the jobs were done and we were on our way out to the school. The small town near the school is called Sempatty, and this was about two hours north of Madurai. With a compulsory Southern Indian coffee stop (their pulled filter coffee is just fabulous), we drove down a highway getting further and further into rural Tamil Nadu. It was fascinating to watch the landscape change around us, watching the towns turn into fields with bigger hills in the background. We still didn’t know exactly where the school was, but as we got closer to Sempatty I was a puddle of nerves. What if it was awkward? What if we got the wrong school? What if there was no one there? As we got into the town I was furiously messaging Emma and seeing if I could spot anything out the windows that I remembered. Then, as we left the town and turned the corner into the tiny village, it all started to come back to me. After asking a few locals for directions, I knew we were on the right road and could remember turning down here every morning and pulling up at the school. 

Arriving was a surreal experience. In 12 years so much has changed, but it definitely felt like the right place. I wanted to go and see the kitchen straight away, see if it was still standing and if our handprints were there, but first we politely started by going into the classroom and meeting the teacher and the kids. It was explained to us that the school is much smaller these days, with only 30 students and one teacher currently. They were only using one of the classrooms at the moment, which coincidentally had been where we sat everyday on our trip to have lunch! The kids at this school ranged from grade one to five, and they were all being taught together in this one room. Every student stood up and filed past me, while politely shaking my hand saying nice to meet you, and telling me their name. It was very sweet and I felt totally overwhelmed. After the procession, Rajesh explained to them why we had come (I think), and then asked if I had anything I wanted to say to the group of kids about New Zealand or about school. I spoke about how far away we are in New Zealand from India, yet how in all countries education is so important and encouraged these kids to keep working hard. It’s very tricky to know what to say when you are talking to a group ranging from age 5 to 10, in a school system that is so far removed from how we grew up. We had a few halting conversations with the older kids about their favorite subjects and what they wanted to do when they grow up, including a nurse, bank manager, police woman and teacher. All the kids learn English, Tamil, maths, science and social studies but from what I could understand it was a very route learning type method, especially with English. They could do things like name all the body parts or colours very easily, but were shy to try and have a conversation. I don’t imagine they have many opportunities to practise with native speakers.

We then toured the school grounds, and I got to see the kitchen we built! It was no longer in use, but it was great to see our stone masonry still standing after all those years. You could very faintly see our handprints and writing on the wall, which was the final proof I needed to know I was in the right place. We snapped a few obligatory pictures of course which I straight away sent to Emma who was following along at home. 

It all brought back many memories - seeing the kids, the classroom walls we had painted and the kitchen itself. I felt overwhelmingly grateful for the education I got in New Zealand with amazing facilities and funding, nothing like a significant disparity to show you how lucky you are. It was amazing to see the children here so happy, enthusiastic about their studies and grateful to be at school. 

After our short tour we gave out the gifts we had brought (much more ceremoniously than I would have liked), but it was nice to see how happy the teacher and students were. I think they were most excited about the soccer ball and badminton set, but they patiently said thank you for all the books and pencils too! It never feels like enough - I would have loved to have given each of those kids access to the learning environment I had growing up, but hopefully a small touch like this can still be a meaningful contribution. They sang us a few songs and rhymes they use to practise their English, and we got some group photos outside. It was nearly the end of the school day so we took our leave with final thank you's and goodbyes. The drive back to Madurai was very quiet with lots of contemplation about the day that had been. It had been so special to be back, and honestly I was in shock that we even found the right place!!

Before I end this, I want to take a moment to touch on “voluntourism”, which can be super problematic in less developed parts of the world and largely self serving for the visiting volunteers. Examples include (primarily) white people flying in and out of countries to volunteer for short periods of time, performative volunteer work taking jobs away from local communities, organizations providing funding or supplies as a one off without continued support or positions going to temporary foreign workers instead of upskilling locals providing education and empowerment. Looking back now on our trip all those years ago I don’t know if it was totally the right or ethical thing to do (mum and dad I am still so grateful obviously). The money would have probably been much better spent employing locals to build a new kitchen!! I do know that the trip definitely changed 14 young, privileged girls for the better and opened our eyes to a part of the world so different to our own. I also know that there were some amazing connections made between us and the young children there at the time, and everyone had fun and took away some amazing memories. Wrong or right, it was definitely formative and a once in a lifetime experience for a young teenager. I don’t have a real point or conclusion to draw here, but I wanted to acknowledge it as part of the conversation. 

Getting to visit again was a real privilege, and a timely reminder of how lucky we are to be doing this trip and the importance of contributing positively on the way. In the car ride home Josh and I both commented on how pleased we were to have made the effort to go. 

If you made it to the end of this, thank you for staying with me! As always please let us know what you think in the comments, we love hearing from you. 

It was late when we finally reached Madurai, after 10:30 PM. We found some dinner and had our first experience of Kari Dosa - a much thicker, meat filled variant of a dosa that was more like a pancake. We turned up at our hotel to be promptly shown a list of rules, one of which being “Indian Nationals Only”. Ah. That would be a problem! We talked to the manager on the phone and there was no way they were going to let us stay there so we had to find a new hotel at nearly midnight. They recommended somewhere nearby and we showed up to a lovely security guy and receptionist who could fortunately get us a room. Unfortunately, it was nearly three times the price of what we usually like to pay, especially for a night which was only going to be about eight hours before we checked out!!! We enjoyed our short sleep in our overpriced bed, and were woken up to a phone call informing us of the complimentary breakfast, what a treat!

Our main reason for coming to Madurai was to try and visit the school that I worked at in 2012 when I visited India on a World Challenge trip. I’ve actually kept that visit as a separate blog, to ensure the location of the school is marked on our map, and to allow for all the things I have to say about that day (which is lots). So, that blog (which I'll post tomorrow) picks up here, after breakfast when we met Rajesh, and this blog is going to now skip to the end of that day, when we get back to the hotel. Suitably confused? Once you’ve read both I’m sure it will make sense. 

After we said goodbye to Rajesh, we only had six hours to fill before our overnight train to Varkala, which wasn’t nearly enough to explore the city known as the “heart of Tamil Nadu”. We got into an auto rickshaw with our bags and headed into the centre of the city, enjoying the most beautiful city sunset on the way. I love the feeling of whizzing through rush hour traffic, scarf covering your mouth and nose from the fumes, light slowly fading, horns blaring, sights and sounds and smells everywhere and the ever present feeling that your driver is cutting everything a little too close for comfort. It’s just a total sensory overload and every time I feel like I’m in a movie and I just can’t believe this is actually my life! 

First stop was the train station to drop our bags at the cloak room - realizing most stations have these is going to be so helpful for overnight travel, filling that gap between check out and the evening train. We also wanted to confirm we had booked our tickets correctly as it was our first time… and turns out we were actually on a wait list! So that’s what the WL stood for… Once the “chart” is prepared two hours before departure you find out if you get a seat (or a bed) in the class you booked, and thankfully the people we talked to seemed pretty confident we would with our waitlist position. 

The rest of the evening involved dinner - more Kari Dosa, biriyani and soup - all mutton! We had found a place on google maps, and had walked through an absolute rabbit warren of alleyways to find it. On the way we got a glimpse into the (very spiritual) life of Madurai, with every house having small shrines out the front and house sized temples on nearly every corner. India’s second most popular religion was also being celebrated in the streets. Cricket, or course! A group of boys were practising in the street and wanted to show off their skills forcing scooters, auto rickshaws and bicycles to stop and wait while they finished their play. After they found out we were from New Zealand, they were very excited to talk to us, asking our favorite Indian players. Rahul or Varun were the two we could remember (thankfully). Next we were off to find the (actual) temple the city is so well known for. 

The Meenaksi Amman temple is another special hindu temple, dedicated to the goddess Meenaksi (a form of Parvati) as the principal deity, and her consort (a form of Shiva) and her brother (a form of Vishnu). This makes the temple pretty significant as it forms a confluence between three main branches of Hinduism that celebrate different deities as their supreme deity (Shiva, Vishnu or, a woman/feminine energy). Entering this temple was a mission, you had to leave your shoes, bags and any technology (phones included) at the entrance, and we really had to have faith in the system as we had all our tech with us due to the train!! You’re not allowed to take any photos inside, but we thoroughly enjoyed wandering the ornate halls and admiring the carvings and different shrines throughout. The ceilings and pillars were a real highlight, wherever you looked it was decorated in so much detail. Unfortunately the massive gopurams or entrance towers there were covered up for painting while we were there, but you could still see the size and imagine the detail underneath the shade cloth. 

We couldn’t actually perform darshun (the act of viewing the deity) at this temple as it was reserved for practising Hindus only, but seeing the size of the line we weren’t mad about that. We were pretty happy to spend an hour or so wandering the halls and admiring this historic and spiritual place. Originally built in 1190 CE, the temple has been in use ever since, apart from a  60 year stint for rebuilding after destruction in the 14th century. You could feel the history in this place, and we felt very privileged to observe such an ancient worship experience.

After we left the temple (and successfully got all our belongings back), we enjoyed a cup of street side chai before heading to the railway station. Here we spent an hour or so in an AC lounge ($2.41 NZD well spent) getting ready for our first overnight train journey. We had booked 3rd class AC, and as it was our first experience we were a little nervous. It was a bit hectic finding the right platform and coach number, but the system is actually very well organized and easy to follow if you know where to look. It’s just navigating the different webpages and texts and tickets to find the information that can be a little bit confusing!! Once we got onboard we were excited to find all the bunks had a pillow, sheets and a blanket that all were (seemingly) freshly washed. Josh took the top bunk and I used a scarf/shawl to give a little extra privacy to me on the bottom, and it all worked a treat. We were getting ourselves all sorted when we both realized we were moving already - neither of us had even noticed the train had started!! We got tucked up and both fell asleep easily, only wishing it was a longer ride to enjoy our comfortable bunks. We woke about six hours later as it was starting to get light to views of the trackside palm trees of Kerala.

After our bus debacle we finally made it to Tiruvannamalai, one of Tamil Nadu’s holiest destinations nestled at the bottom of the sacred Arunachala hill. This is one of South India’s five ‘elemental’ cities of Shiva; here the god is worshipped in his fire incarnation. We had booked our accommodation right next to the renowned Annamalaiyar temple, a temple dedicated to the god Shiva and goddess Parvati. This temple is famous for its giant gopurams (gateway towers), one of which is 66m high and is visited by around 1 million pilgrims yearly!!

As we made the 20 minute walk from the bus stand to our accommodation near the temple, we noticed a constant stream of people. It seemed unusually busy for a relatively small city, and there was a buzz in the air. As we approached the temple we started to see Shaivite priests, sadhus (spiritual men) and devotees milling about. We were slightly confused by this point, and after asking the manager at our accommodation what was happening we found out we had arrived the night before a full moon day. At every full moon, Tiruvannamalai swells with thousands of pilgrims who visit the temple and circumnavigate Arunachala hill in a purifying ritual known as Girivalam. 

The manager at our accommodation told us there would be big queues the next day to enter the temple, and to try and beat the rush we woke up at 5am the next day and joined a line for the temple's opening at 5:30am. This temple dates back to the 7th century CE, and being one of the largest in India covers 10 hectares. We entered through one of the four gopurams as the sun was rising and casting blinding light over the tops of these giant gateways towers. It was a long line but we moved relatively quickly, and being there for sunrise on a busy full moon day definitely added to the experience.

This was my first Hindu temple experience and going into it I had no idea what to expect. Hinduism is a vast ancient religion comprising several varied systems of philosophy, belief, and ritual depending on what region of India you are in. I still understand very little about the religion, and I’m hoping to learn more throughout our time in India.

After our hectic morning temple experience and delicious breakfast at a south indian restaurant near our accommodation, we climbed back into bed for a much needed midmorning nap. We needed an energy boost, as our next plan was to hike up Arunachala hill for a birdseye view of the temple complex. This hike passes by a number of holy caves where a famous Hindu sage Ramana Maharshi resided for much of his life. He was one of the early Indian spiritual figures whose teachings made it to the west. We rocked up to this sacred hill in our hiking gear ready to climb up to the summit. As we marched up the cobblestone pathway, we felt rather out of place in our colourful lightweight merino tops and hiking shorts / yoga pants, and backpack with water bottles. Most people we passed were barefoot or wearing jandals, and carrying nothing with them. This was a bit naive of us, as hiking is not what this place was all about and we learnt that you don’t go to a sacred mountain to go hiking.

We reached an ashram perched on the side of the hill where there was a fabulous view of the temple and surrounding city. The ashram was very peaceful, phones and pictures were not allowed and silence was enforced. There were people meditating and resting. The only noises you could hear were the faint sound of horns from the traffic far below us in the busy city. We met some very friendly men outside the ashram who told us the hike to the top of the mountain is closed from here onwards, only opening once every year for a Hindu festival. This again reinforced to us that we were here to visit a sacred religious site, not to go for a hike.

Instead, we headed back down the hill with these friendly men giving us some basic lessons about Hinduism. Teaching us some of the basics about Shiva and various other deities as well as the rituals practiced in the temples. We passed another ashram on the way down with a cave area where we joined some pilgrims for a meditation. By the time we were back down in the noisy city, I felt much more relaxed and a little more knowledgeable about the Hindu religion. Tiruvannamalai was a great introduction to Hinduism, and the amazing temples that are visited by so many pilgrims every year. Next up we would be visiting Madurai, another ancient city famous for its Hindu temple to hopefully learn a little more about this amazing religion.