Thursday, 4 Jan 2007: Toddy time at Thirumullavaram

Got to Ernakulam Junction Railway Station around 5 in the morning. Got a ticket for Kollam in the 6303 Ernakulam – Trivandrum Vanchinad Express. The train was pretty crowded. I stood at the footboard and got some snaps of villages and paddy fields between Kottayam and Ernakulam covered in morning fog and dew. Got to Kollam around 9.30am. It was my much cherished dream on this trip to visit a toddy (kallu) shop and have lunch (oonu) from there. In Kerala, most standard toddy shops serve lunch with delicious seafood. I and my friend decided to visit Thirumullavaram, which has one of the best toddy shops serving lunch in Kerala. We got to Thirumullavaram beach, and checked out the shop by the sea nestled among lush coconut groves. I managed to drink only a glass of the frothy, sweet toddy as my friend downed a full pot over fried fish and prawns. He promptly declared it to be the best toddy he had ever had. Fresh toddy, extracted from the coconut tree and served instantly, is a rarity especially at toddy shops. Ours had some hint of fermentation, but still made a great drink. We then proceeded to the shack across the toddy shop for our much awaited lunch. It was a humble shack, with decrepit benches and tables, where food was prepared right in front of us. I soon settled into one of the yummiest lunches I have ever had. Steaming white rice, sizzling king-size kingfish with fish powder, prawns simmering in tangy coconut and mango curry, ground coconut paste with chilly (called chamanthi in local parlance), fried prawns, a vegetable dish called thoran, lime pickle and curd curry. I regretted having toddy before lunch as I felt fully loaded. The chef and his attendants ensured that we enjoyed their fare to the fullest. It was a heavenly experience! I went back home totally heady and promptly hit bed, only to be woken by a dream.

If you ever visit Kollam, don’t miss the kallu & oonu experience at Thirumullavaram. There is a small yet beautiful beach next to the toddy shop. For the less adventurous, there is a village pond overlooking the sea where you can take a dip, along with the local kids who are always practicing acrobatic diving moves. All in all, an afternoon spent at Thirumullavaram makes for a really fabulous experience. Decided to some rail-fanning at Paravur Lake, a scenic spot near Kollam next day.

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Friday, 5 Jan 2007: Finding solitude at Paravur Lake

Woke up early in the morning to catch the Kollam – Trivandrum Passenger at 6.45am. Got down two stations later at Paravur, which is 13km from Kollam. Walked along the tracks and got to the lake. Clicked snaps of 2 passing trains, especially one on the bridge, which is less than a km away from the station. Spent more than an hour sitting on the girder of the bridge listening to music, watching an occasional boat drift by and sun rise higher into the sky. Enjoyed the solitude that came with a cool breeze. Discovered the multi-faceted uses of the bridge – which is used by the locals to fish, perform morning exercises, or sit and chitchat. One cheeky individual seemed to derive immense pleasure by crapping under the bridge. On seeing me with the camera must have wondered if I was going to take his snap!

Walked back along the tracks for the 1082 Kanyakumari – Mumbai Jayanti Janatha Express that was to take me back to Kollam. Got back to Paravur, just as the Kanyakumari bound 1081 Mumbai Express thundered past, followed by the Madurai – Kollam passenger which pulled into Paravur and waited for the 1082 to cross it. This was followed by the 7229 Hyderabad bound Sabari Express overtaking a late running 1082. 1082 soon chugged in and hordes of college-goers and office workers from Paravur as well as the Madurai – Kollam passenger got into the train. Got into a jam-packed general compartment, the second from the engine. Couldn’t take snaps, but managed to record a sound clipping of the decked up, freshly painted Erode WDM2 beast with its double horns bleating incessantly and kicking up a storm on its ride. Got to Kollam around 9.30am. Ran into vava and her grand mum at the railway station, waiting for Nethravathi Express.

Had to go to Trivandrum in the afternoon to visit a friend’s family. Opted for the Kottayam – Nagercoil passenger than the KSRTC super fast bus. Clicked snaps like crazy. Watched this crazy dude dangle out of the train and try acrobatics like crazy. Got into Trivandrum Central around 5.30. Took off to Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple, Aatukal. Visited friend’s family, loved the ripe banana chips they got me. Headed off to Karalkada, a famous shop that sells traditional Kerala silk dhotis (mundu) and sarees. Ran into Shaji Kailas, a top Malayalam director and his actress wife Annie. Wondered how easy it is to spot celebs in Kerala. Just a few days ago, we had raced N.K Premachandran, Kerala’s water resources minister in Kollam on our bike. On 31st, the railway minister Laloo Prasad Yadav was in Trivandrum to commission the electrified Trivandrum – Ernakulam railway line. Wanted to go and click snaps, but got stuck in Ernakukam. Boarded the 6347 Trivandrum – Mangalore Express at 7.45pm to get back to Kollam. We were getting really late for our train so we jumped into a train that was just starting to move in an opposite direction so that we could get to platform 3 where Mangalore Express was waiting. Though we did that quite coolly then, now I wonder how the hell we could do something risky as that. Mangalore Express was jam-packed. Decided to get sleeper tickets up to Kollam. Paid 200 Rs which was swallowed entirely by the TTEs. No receipt, no ticket. Corruption rules? Got down at Kollam, where the train got delayed owing to the massive crowd that hung out of the general compartments. It got so crowded that a group of passengers wanted to travel in the guard’s cabin, sensing the weird situation the guard locked himself up in the cabin, before reporting to the station that it was impossible to start the train with such a huge crowd. An absolute nightmare!

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Saturday, 6 Jan 2007: Rail-fanning in Kollam, Kerala

Went around Kollam, running errands, finishing up with last minute shopping. In the afternoon, raced the 6323 Trivandrum – Howrah Express from the railway gate / level cross at SN College, Kollam to the over bridge at Chinnakada, Kollam. Almost crashed into a bus. We won!!! Did my last rail-fanning in this trip… went to the passenger bridge at Kollam Junction Railway Station and snapped up the 6323 Trivandrum – Howrah Express, the 6345 Lokmanya Tilak - Trivandrum Nethravathi Express, a metre gauge train bound to Tenkasi and the Nagercoil – Kottyam Passenger. Decided to celebrate the last night in Kerala with a movie. Enjoyed watching the Malayalam flick ‘ Classmates’ for the second time in Dhanya. Got back to packing. My flight back to Muscat was from Trivandrum at 7am. Had to catch a train from Kollam to Trivandrum in the wee hours of tomorrow morning.

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Sunday, 7 Jan 2007: Back to Muscat

Didn’t sleep the previous night. Ran to the station with bag, baggage and dhols, only to find that the train was running 30 minutes late. Finally, the 6128 Guruvayur – Chennai Egmore Koodal Express made a grand entry. I and my friend Subash who was going to drop me got into a Chair Car. Koodal Express is a train that gets crowded because people make themselves really comfortable by stretching out and sleeping on chairs meant to seat three or more people. You can witness scenes such as one’s feet going into the mouth of another (no not another fetish). And somehow passengers, people getting down at Nagercoil mostly, are too polite to wake up others for a seat. That train is a sleeping beauty, where people are sleeping on chairs, on the floor, in doorways, on luggage racks and even under chairs. I dozed off as I was too tired, till a fellow passenger who was feeling that the night was too dull turned on his transistor radio to kick up some action. We soon got to Trivandrum Central, and I didn’t even want to take a second glance at the train, fearing I would lose my interest to return. We took an auto rickshaw to Trivandrum Airport. Discovered that it must be the among the few airports on Earth without an ATM. If you need to find one, you need to walk out of the international terminal and get to the domestic airport. Keep some cash with you (not to dole out to smarties without flight tickets!!!) but for essentials. The airport security won’t let you leave the airport once you enter, but then as I always learnt on this trip a smile can move more than mountains. Checked in, had to pay excess baggage for books, sweets, et al… loved the sunrise as I was boarding the aircraft. The sun was a bright brilliant red cusp… reminding me that the end of every journey always leads to the beginning of the next.

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National Day Holidays - Trip to Marmul

Last weekend, I went on a bus ride to Marmul . For those unaware of Oman’s oil production capabilities, Marmul is a major oil exploration outpost in the Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) concession area. Marmul is 880km from Muscat and a bus ride lasts around 11 hours. I travelled in Happy Line Transport, a leading luxury coach company offering daily services to Marmul and other PDO locations in the deserts of Oman such as Fahud, Yibal, Qarn Alam and Saih Rawl.
We took off from the Ruwi Bus Station at Muscat around 7am. We stopped at Firq Roundabout in Nizwa for breakfast, which is a major halting point for all luxury coaches operating on the Muscat – Salalah Highway. Before and after Adam, we ran into a huge convoy of military vehicles probably making a ‘base move’ which significantly slackened our pace.
14km from Haima, we turned left to get into the PDO concession area. The bus stopped at Rima, Nimr and Bahja on its way to Marmul (PDO outposts similar to Marmul). A rig move between Rima and Nimr had us trailing behind the trailers carrying heavy equipment at a speed of 50kph for over an hour. We finally reached Marmul at around 6pm, 1.5 hours late compared to the normal journey time.
The highlight of the down trip to Marmul was witnessing a beautiful sunset in the desert– a gigantic, resplendent orange fireball dropping down into the sands like a fireball from the heavens right ahead of the lonesome desert highway. Sorry, I have no pic… you just have to imagine the sight. J
I travelled back to Muscat the same evening by car. A journey on the Muscat – Salalah Highway which is just hitting the gas on a straight road in the middle of the desert for hundreds of kilometres can be a pretty boring experience, but do keep a wary eye for camels that can jump in front of your vehicle, especially in the night. I did encounter a herd in the middle of the night. As always, responsible driving and alertness on the road pays. I also happened to see the mangled wreckage of what was once a Lexus next to the highway – the aftermath of a deadly collision with a truck – it’s left there as a reminder to all motorists that speed thrills, but also kills!

On a parting note, meet Mittu, the affable kingfisher who is always hanging about my flat’s balcony.