Peter and Children arrive in India

The arrival of Peter and the children coincided with the weekend crowds that swarmed to Cherai beach by the coach load.

Tiny kites filled the air, coloured saris clung to wet bodies or were spread out to dry.

The aroma of street food filled the air along side shrieks of laughter and blasting music.

Ippy had told Peter how quiet this place was yet when we walked to the beach that first afternoon, traffic raced past in a constant stream!

Even the Home stay became noisy and alive as people gathered to talk and play. 

With the arrival of Peter's children, new games were taught, common games were shared and the sound of children's laughter filled the hallways.

Peter, Ippy and myself walked the 2.5km into town to withdraw the days money, picking up a few bits and pieces as we went.

We returned to find the children relaxing in the room.

Lunch was had at La cafe, which had become my virtual second home during Ippys wait for news in Cherai Beach.

By now I had tried most of the food on the menu but it was lovely to share a meal with so many others, mixing the flavours and swapping dishes.

We even managed to find room for my favourite Banana fritters with chocolate sauce and ice-cream!!

By 3pm Ippy decided it was cool enough for the children to go out into the sun so we all piled into the sea to jump the waves along side the groups of Indian people, all smiling and waving.

Our evening was spent playing games with the children at the Homestay and well as chatting to the family and to say we all slept well that night is an understatement. 

Not only were Peter and the children still tired from their journey but we had managed to cram in so much play time in their adventure so far that a bed time of 9.30pm was happily welcomed!!

One of the things Ippy and Peter like to do when they are in India is hire motor bikes for a day or two to explore the surrounding area more fully, plus they both just like messing about on bikes!

On Peter's second day in Cherai Beach we wandered up to the Chill out Cafe for the day.

They not only had beach, sea and surf boards but also food, shade and drinks!

By late afternoon we had studied most of the travel books lying around the place,

we had talked to some of the locals plus Bernard behind the bar about bike hire,

Cian had completed a cheese overload of epic proportions

plus Peter and Ippy had worked out a budget for the trip!

Although money wasn't a problem, getting it from their Bank Accounts in the UK at £25 per day was!! 

We decided that one of the things we needed to do on our day of the bikes was to find a bigger bank!

We also decided to have another beach day now all the crowds had gone before our bike day and suddenly we had a plan!

The sky on the morning of our Bike day was dark and cloudy but dry.

(Having written all about this I now realise I also didn't take any photos so please accept the following random ones instead!)

We loaded up our bags, water, bank cards and cameras and headed out only to seek refuge five minutes later in an isolated bus stand 2 km away from the Homestay while a blackened sky emptied its contents onto the bikes parked outside!

A cooling breeze blew across the back waters and through the holes in the decorative tiles that made up the walls of our shelter.

The children put on their hoodies laughing that they hadn't imagined they would be wearing their winter clothes again until they returned to the UK!

The rain lasted a good half hour and then as suddenly as it had arrived it stopped.

The roads were thick with water. Mud and gravel slid into our pathway from the water logged embankments but were were out and about, exploring India and determined to have fun.

From the map Cherai Beach doesn't look so big and to be fair we reached the top of the island quite quickly.

14 rupees saw us all plus the bikes onto the ferry that linked us to the next piece of land. We piled aboard alongside vans, rickshaws, trucks people and many, many other bikes.

Patience, heightened spacial awareness and roadside observation mixed with a near constant 20% adrenaline rush as animals and people step into your path is probably the best way I can describe riding a motor bike in India.

Yet in all the time we were swerving in and out of oncoming traffic, edging across busy intersections not once did anyone shout abusively, raise a hand or show any form of annoyance. 

Acceptance of life and the way things are is a beautiful part of India.

Saying that I had also witnessed the near death discussions over coconut sales outside the La Cafe restaurant too!

We drove up the coast for about an hour, weaving our way along back streets and down narrow paths that led past hidden away homes sheltering amongst the trees. 

Along the coast road, which a times was more of a track than a road, we rode beneath trees and vines before we headed inland again, returning once more to the heat and noise of the main road.

We stopped to pick up a few crisps and drinks at one place, ate our picnic at another.

We had planned to ride all the way up the coast to a famous Bollywood film beach but, as dark clouds gathered once more above our heads, we turned the bikes around deciding it was probably a wiser option to return to the safety of the Homestay!

That evening as the children dined again on pizza and I recovered from yet another tummy overload, we asked if we could keep the bikes for another day to explore the south!! 

At £5 a day we were having too much fun to give them back yet.

The next day the sky was dry and overcast, perfect bike weather! We consulted the maps again, drew up our planed route to the south and set off.

We passed the huge imposing monument 1km down the road marvelling at the beauty that had been made in such a quiet area. 

The road was good, trees lined the way protecting us from the sun and we were having fun.

Suddenly, about 4 km further on, the road we were following disappeared under a mountain of sand washed in from the beach totally covering the area as far as we could see!

The children dismounted as Peter and Ippy slid their way through the sand and water trying to get to the next corner to see if the 'road' would improve. They were just about to give up and turn around when a local waved them on.

“Go, go!” he encouraged waving his hands and nodding enthusiastically. 

True to his word the sand became slightly more level just around the corner with odd patched of tarmac showing through. 

Encouraged the children raced to catch up but 100m further on we were once again confronted by three to four foot of sand with lakes of water trapped in between. Having come this far Ippy and Peter asked the children to dismount once more and again they slid and wobbled their way through the sandy obstacle course.

For just over 2km we intermittently walked, laughed, slid, churned and generally pitted ourselves against the sandy beach that covered the tarmac road, hidden deep below us, until at last, with a huge sigh of relief, the road magically emerged from the sand in a clear straight line.

Both bikes were in serious need of washing, sand filled spaces where sand should never have been seen and the foot rests resembled beach flotsam! But we had had fun!!!

We stopped at the next town to try to work out where we were. 

A vast majority of people in India speak English but in the smaller towns and villages there can still be a language barrier. 

Through sign language, mime and smiles Ippy finally found a shop that sold maps of the area and with more fun and signing got them to show her where we were. 

We had some how managed to travelled most of the way down the island, yet it had also taken us most of the day!

We decided we would head south for another half hour before turning back and set off once more along the main road that eventually leads to the ferry to Fort Kochin. 

After half an hour of riding through small towns and villages with both children waving and smiling at everyone we passed, we headed back towards the coast for a final adventure only to find a huge, wide yet seemingly abandoned road that looked more like an airstrip than a road. 

Construction work of some description was happening but as we rode along the wide roads we realised the place was deserted!

Drag racers, if they had ever found this place would have been in heaven!

We parked up to eat the last of our supplies as the sea washed across a deserted beach that stretched away into the distance in both directions. 

Ippy found a scarf half buried in the sand, the children searched the shore line for anything useful. You never know what can be done with half a ball and some string.

By 5pm we were heading back up the coast but this time we stuck to the main road that runs from one end of Vypen Island to the other. 

We passed through village after village, each different yet all the same.

We also stopped by no fewer than 5 ATM's all of which had queues but all were out of money! 

Despite our efforts the 2,000 rupees limit the Government had imposed during the new money transition was all we were going to get and Cherai Junctions ATM seemed to be our best bet at getting any funds in the area.

It took us less than an hour of riding along the main road to get back to near where we started but the bikes still looked a mess. 

We turned left onto the back roads, stopping by one of the road side taps to fill out water bottles and wash the bikes down.

By 7pm we were back at the Chill Out Cafe, tired, sun and wind blasted but so, so happy. 

We checked the bikes over for any remaining sand and returned the keys. 

Exploring the area by bike had been exhilarating but my buttocks were now in serious need of a rest!!