David Waumsley Travels

What could be more Indian than the sight of “Horn OK Please” signs hand painted on the backs of (usually heavy) vehicles. For me, this double politener of Ok and Please is as endearing as the Indian misplacement of “isn’t it” (innit). Should you ever, as a visitor, find yourself driving in India (and good luck if you do) the sign means sound your horn before overtaking.

Horn OK Please is also the title of a fantastic multi-awarding short film from flickerpix animations which follows the day of an Indian taxi driver. I have added a few subtitles for extra detail. Surely, a “must watch” for anyone travelling to India.

Click here for the You Tube version without subtitles

If anyone knows the make of these Indian taxis please do comment below.

A tour of Kerala is likely to include a stay in Thekkady which is the home of the Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary and Tiger Reserve, situated on the banks of the Periyar lake. The main attraction is in the hope that by taking an early morning boat cruise one might get to see herds of elephants, sambars, tigers, gaurs, and Nilgiri langurs coming to the water’s edge to drink. The reality can be somewhat different as these boats (filled with around 50 passengers) will to set off 3 or 4 at a time and few animals can be seen – at least not at close range. We saw bison, wild pigs, birds and I’m sure I spotted a chicken. A couple of our photos in our Kerala gallery. Those really passionate about wild life should probably research the limited accomodation that is in the reserve itself.

As Thekkady is a small town, and like any in Kerala, our driver suggested seeing the Martial Arts show at the Kelara Kalari Centre for Rs. 200 per person (Rs. 250 for video cameras). There’s does not seem to be too much on the web about this particular show so here is quick video of what you can expect. I’ve excluded the show finale which involves a couple of guys jumping through flaming hoops. The show bills its self as:

“an hour of fantasy, excitement with breathtaking performance of the oldest Martial Art”

In truth the only breathtaking moments are from pungent fumes produced by the fire stunts. However, I think even for those who have no interest in Martial Arts it is a pleasant and inexpensive way to spend an hour.

Not the usual travel post, but we could not resist including our own photos of one of the national news events during our stay in India. Seemingly, most of the press were supporting the helmet awareness rally organised by the Mumbai police and led by a team of senior state ministers on motorbikes.

There’s no doubting that wearing helmets saves lives and that (although illegal) a good proportion of motorcylist don’t. The main dissincentivite for both riders and their passengers (aside from cost and religious headwear) is the discomfort of wearing a helmet in the Indian heat. Fortunately, those involved in this demonstration at Nariman Point were sensible enough to block off the road, wait till the sun was setting and to ride only 10 mins next to the cool breeze of the Arabian sea.

The best part of the event for us was the sight of two policemen riding pillion (5 minutes behind the main procession) without their helmets. I’m guessing with all of Mumbai’s Senior Police ahead of them these two escaped a fine this time! Apologies, we were laughing too hard to get to the camera in time.

Here are some photos of our 5 day trip to Kerala (God’s own country) This is just a temporary post. When we have better internet connection we will post on all the individual places we visited. There is lots to tell.

This video is for Alan who I know would have been disappointed by the absence of an Elephant on the wedding video.