The bus journey up to Munnar was epic but that’s another story. Today I’m not even going to tell much about the bus journey back down as this also needs time. I’ll start this story by saying that about an hour before I arrived at Alappuzha we were experiencing a journey of torrential rain. I was as dry as I could be in our windowless bus as the leatherette blinds had been whacked shut and were pretty much watertight. I’m not a fan of rain. I had the fortunate vantage point to be seated at the front of the bus and could see how much rainfall we were having. This is not the point of this tale however.
When I arrived intact off the bus there was still a few kilometres before I could relax in my destination at the Paloma Lakeside Resort. What to do? Setting down on the roadside with luggage we were immediately pounced on by auto rickshaw drivers offering us a lift. I’ve learned however to be mindful of who to choose. Some drivers say they know where you want to go, but once have set off, stop folk by the roadside for directions. If the driver doesn’t know much English that can also cause confusion and sometimes I finish up paying more for a ride than was first quoted. Having got off the bus there was a temporary pause in the rain thankfully and we also paused to make sure we selected the driver carefully. After the second rickshaw driver indicated he had no idea where we wanted to go, he smartly went to get a third with the hope he would know.
Inside the little carriage we set off. Our driver was a quiet and humble man but even so and after a while he realised he had indeed underestimated the length of the drive so he stopped to renegotiate the fare. We agreed on 400 instead of 100 rupees and got underway once more.
In this tale what I want to focus on is the rain. On my travels previously in Kerala, I haven’t encountered much rain, today however, it started again. On such a hot, sweaty and dry day, on the one hand, rain is welcome. It started to pour down outside and in a windowless, doorless vehicle, the rain also started to pour in. An auto rickshaw or Tuc Tuc is a small three wheeler tin box affair perfect for the hot weather in India. Usually I really enjoy travelling in these noisy, motor bike engine carts, without suspension. I’ve got used to relaxing my body as well as anticipating when I need to brace, as we go over the many potholes and speed bumps. It’s such an unusual mode of transport and I love the novelty as the breeze generated can be cooling on a hot and humid day.
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Random facts about auto rickshaws:
◦ An auto rickshaw’s maximum speed reaches only up to 30 km/h.
◦ Compared to modern cars, auto rickshaws are more environment-friendly and run on compressed natural gas (or CNG).
◦ A ride in an rickshaw costs half the price of a taxi.
◦ Due to their lower weight and slower speeds, auto-rickshaws cause less wear-and-tear of roads compared to cars and other heavy vehicles, thus lowering highway maintenance costs.
This day however I didn’t need the cooling system. As the little Tuc Tuc pootled along on our 9 kilometre journey the rain got heavier and before too long the insubstantial roads turned to rivers of mud. We weaved and wobbled and the puddles turned to ponds and the driver skilfully dodged the deeper ones. On my travels, along with a small case for clothes, I’ve been carrying my laptop and portable hard drives around. I was more scared my essential work equipment would get drenched on this journey, than myself, so I cuddled my bag close under my arm toward the centre of the bench seat.
Eventually lack of visibility caused by rain slashing in on his side, plus only one ineffective windscreen wiper, seemed to be troubling the driver, so he pulled over. Out of the back he produced and folded out a leatherette screen to fix down the drivers side. This protection installed we set off again; this was a determined driver who is probably used to these conditions. On the other hand I’m very unused to travelling in such wet weather, where I was also riding on the unprotected side and all I was concerned about was the safety of my work gear. Needless to say my backside was exposed to the elements and I was soaked through and not in a refreshing and novel way, which is often the way my travelling companion regards the rainy season. I’m hard pushed to enjoy the excitement if I’m honest and when we eventually arrived at the Paloma Resort, after raining gratitude on our Tuc Tuc driver all I wanted to do was find shelter of four walls and windows!
