Definitely less traveled and only by 4x4’s was the road our driver elected to take today, to cut short a potentially 9 hour journey from Madikeri to the coastal town of Tellicherry in the state of Kerala. We got a bit of a late start, as a political situation had rendered the road un-passable into town. So we forwent checking out the elephant farm, assuming we’ll see those at multiple other points during our trip, and Raj darted for the road that we’d kept hearing was “very bad” to take. It was only 25 kilometers, and his local contact said it was “no problem.” So off we went two hours to the start of the passage, paid the graft at the state border, and were granted entry onto what was supposed to be a road. It looked like an earthquake zone, and the only other vehicles we saw on the road for the first hour and a half were huge goods carrier trucks with tires bigger than our car. But Raj persevered onward. At points, Darrin was requested to get out of the car to remove the “sharp rocks” so our tires wouldn’t blow. We finally saw another small compact car half way through, and they said the rest of the road was the same, if not worse. They urged Raj to turn back. But we’d come so far… so long, and so uncomfortable, what’s another hour and a half? It was turn back and then have another 12 hours to drive, or push on… so forward we went, moving rocks, avoiding bottoming out the car, or rolling it off the steep cliffs. 25 kilometers, and three hours later we arrived at a little town called Iritty, which rarely sees westerners. We get out of the car, and big stares and smiles from everyone around. This was the most friendly and curious town we’ve come across.
We were pleasantly reminded how wonderful and friendly the state of Kerala is. We were here in 2004 when the tsunami had wreaked havoc on some of the backwater and beach towns on the southwest coast. The mood was somber, and there were communist government vehicles all around for the search and recovery efforts. Today, things are upbeat, and people are happy… life is back to usual. We made it to the coast before sunset to check into our special ‘guest house’ which we’ve been told is hard to get into but should only cost us around $25 USD. We are pleasantly surprised to find it behind the big gates of a mansion compound, perched upon a high cliff, overlooking the ocean. Paradise found, especially after having endured such an insane drive to get there. Our bodies were sore from the ride, and we were looking forward to a hot shower, nice bed, and home cooked meal. We are served local coffee in real china on the porch, and then shown to our room. The room was probably 1000 sq ft… it was the size of our downstairs living area at home. The 4 poster bed, antique furniture, and exquisite bathroom sent up a red flag for me, as did the framed articles on the wall of the entrance, of all the famous people who had stayed there before us. This was not in our price range… not possible. I caught our driver before he whisked away, and he placed a call to his head office, and then the head office to the big boss of the mansion guesthouse. Seems there’s been a mistake, a miscommunication of some sort. This place was not $25; but rather $125/night, and the compulsory food tab was an additional $225. We had booked two nights. At our $25 room/food budget for India, this was not going to work. Dejected and embarrassed, we loaded back into the Ambassador, and sped off to the only hotel in the area, right next to the hospital. Our hotel was a far cry from the posh mansion room… but after a couple of cool Kingfishers and fresh Keralan parota (fluffy rice tortilla type bread) and yummy curries, we were fat and happy again.
