All four of us decided we couldn’t handle another night in
that hotel. The rooms had had a distinctly unpleasant stench, although I’m not
sure I can describe it with words. Later, the smell of cigarette smoke mingled
with the already obnoxious odor – creating a truly horrific concoction of
dizzying sensations in my nostrils. Even though a sign was posted “non-smoking”
there was a cigarette smell on both of our floors. I even personally saw 2 men
smoking at the end of our hall way last night. Furthermore, none of us received
a good night’s rest – I think the beds were terribly uncomfortable.
OH MY GOSH. The Holiday Inn, the moment we walked in, was
amazing.
The Roma restaurant we ended up at (Italian Food), was delicious!
We also had a frightening experience on the elevator
err….lift, (since the British ruled over India from 1600 - 1957, British English words such as lift can be found sprinkled in the multiple languages of India) while going to our rooms the night before that didn’t help
induce any particular affection for the hotel. The lift was terribly small and
claustrophobic to start, with five of us (including a hotel employee) stuffed
inside. I understand now why so many lifts have mirrors –they really amplify
non-existent space to prevent people like me from having heart attacks. Anyway,
we were on the elevator slowly going up, passing each floor - 1…2…..3…..4. Dear Jessica then decides to
throw out the question no one should ever ask on an elevator, “what if we got
stuck in here?” Floors 5…6….6…6…6….?!?!?!? And the doors remained shut. And
still they were shut. The hotel employee reached for the handy phone. You know,
the one ominously nestled inside every elevator for just such a situation.
“The lift has
problem.” The English words were enumerated in a choppy, thick Indian accent.
He seemed to be attempting a quiet tone, but that was impossible in such close
quarters. “It isn’t moving.”
So we decided to pack our bags and check out. There was
another option – a Holiday Inn. It was about $30.00 per night more expensive,
so we were hoping to avoid it. However, it seemed like our best option given
the circumstances.
However, before we headed to the Holiday Inn, we had to
visit Ammachi (the Malayalam word for Grandmother) first. At 93, she is still sharp and beautiful. The average
lifespan of an Indian woman is only 65, compared to an American woman at 80,
(according to the United Nations)[1] –
so for Ammachi to be still kicking at 93 is no small feat. She is quite a
wonderful charming lady. Even though she doesn't speak any English, we always seem to communicate somehow.
We took some funny pictures on the drive over to Ammachi's:
And this is wonderful Joy, our driver, and family friend:
Here is a picture of Ammachi's son's house (where she is staying right now) and all the lushness that surrounds it:
(Bananas)
The first kitty spotted in India! Kitty!
Note - that is a guy brushing his teeth in the background
Note - guy is still brushing his teeth in the background
Kerala is a quite different from Maharashtra (the state that Chandrapur and Nagpur are located in). There are several resorts and wealthy Indians and foreigners occupying the area. The air is fresher and much less polluted, and flowers and bushes are more prevalent. Kerala is really my favorite state in India.
Me, Ammachi, and Vinay:
After Ammachi's house, we did a little shopping in Cochin. I still had not had any luck finding a Salwar that fit properly or one that I liked. (I prefer more simple designs and less patterns swirling around. They look beautiful on Indian women - but its just not me. )
Here are pictures and videos of us shopping, driving, and walking through the streets of Cochin:
This is a picture of the Silver Palace - where all things are made of silver. I bought a ring with my birthstone. There is also a Gold Palace - but since none of us American girls wear gold....we skipped it.
We stopped and drank from a coconut (which, as you can tell from my face expression, I clearly did not like):
The man who sold us the coconuts
We also took a walk along the coast of Kerala and the Arabian Sea. Here are some pictures:
a little girl was selling things near the sea coast
man selling corn near the water
This is our room!
This is Jess and Jackie's room!
finally - recycling bins!
It was a little bit of American heaven! It was posh and expensive –
but oh so welcome a sight. I really wanted a nice bed to sink into and clean
restrooms. I felt a little guilty about spending the money – but all four of us
decided it was worth it for a few days. They had a gym (which we girls really
were aching to use), and a sauna, and wonderful customer service. They did have
a sale for 30% off our rooms with free Internet and breakfast, so the price
really wasn’t too bad. We took all the luggage to our rooms, took a hot shower (I had missed hot water!) and decided to eat dinner in one of the hotel restaurants. The Roma restaurant we ended up at (Italian Food), was delicious!
Vinay's Meal - he insisted on adding this photo
At the end of the meal, there was this embarassing moment when I decided to order 3 scoops of icecream (one strawberry, one vanilla, one chocolate). To my dismay (and secret delight), the waiter intrepreted my order as 3 seperate orders of ice cream.
Our sleep that night was wonderful.
[1] http://www.gapminder.org/world/#$majorMode=chart$is;shi=t;ly=2003;lb=f;il=t;fs=11;al=30;stl=t;st=t;nsl=t;se=t$wst;tts=C$ts;sp=6;ti=2007$zpv;v=0$inc_x;mmid=XCOORDS;iid=phAwcNAVuyj1jiMAkmq1iMg;by=ind$inc_y;mmid=YCOORDS;iid=phAwcNAVuyj2tPLxKvvnNPA;by=ind$inc_s;uniValue=8.21;iid=phAwcNAVuyj0XOoBL%5Fn5tAQ;by=ind$inc_c;uniValue=255;gid=CATID0;by=grp$map_x;scale=log;dataMin=194;dataMax=96846$map_y;scale=lin;dataMin=23;dataMax=86$map_s;sma=49;smi=2.65$cd;bd=0$inds=i170_t002007,,,,
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