Home
Cycling the South of India. The ride, the road, the facts.
Indian
Road Carnage |
The South of India: Chennai to Goa around the coast. The
South: Background, culture, concepts etc. There is a constant stream of houses, shops, traffic and people the whole 90 km to Kovalam. On the whole it's not too bad, just slower going and higher attention than the last few day's runs through Tamil Nadu. On the scenic front, the Western Ghats sit in the distance for much of this leg. Just before you get to Kovalam you will also be leaving Tamil Nadu state and entering Kerala State. There's no passport check, just a sign, so keep on riding. Unless of course your endorphins have kicked in and you have a religious experience, in which case you may need to stop for a minute or two. Kovalam (90 km from Kanyakumari) is one of those fabled beach destinations that old hippies talk about. Unfortunately for them, and us, it aint quite what it used to be. These days its pretty much overcooked, with touts and packaged tourists, and has lost the magic it once apparently had. On the plus side, it has no traffic, and remains a sanitised haven from the the stark reality of normal of India. If you've come all the way down from Chennai, its a good spot to lay on the beach, unwind and have a grumble about cultural differences. (See The Lady Di Affair! on Leg 1 for a pic of the beach.) From Kovalam, it's 15 km to Trivandrum and a further 85 km up to Kollam (Quilon, pr. koy-lon). The road is built up and conditions remain the same except that some small hills begin to kick in. Kollam is the gateway to the backwaters of Kerala, a maze of lagoons, rivers and lakes that fringe the coast. Why not get off the bike, rest those saddle sors, and take a cruise? Mr Pumpy did! The Kollam-Alappuzha boat cruise (USD $5, 90 km, 8 hours, bike no problem), is an very pleasant trip through the backwaters of Kerala and provides a welcome change to the usual daily cycling slog. Sit back, relax and watch the tropical scenery pass by. Maybe make some new friends. Kochi (Cochin) is about 60 km from Alappuzha along a dual carriageway, double lane highway that is built up most of the way but has surprisingly little traffic. Unfortunately, although the road runs parallel to the coast, you can't see it, and the run is somewhat boring. Fort Cochin
is the most interesting part of Kochi to stay, with it's old Christian
churches and neighboring fishing communities. It's a quiet and pleasant
spot. Most
of the really cheap hotels and also the train station are across the
bay, so if you need to get over there, the best option is to take your
bike onto the ferry, rather than ride around by road.
|