David M. Byrne
Well-Known Member
Hello once again,
It has been a rather quiet first week back in India. That’s unusual because in my experience quiet is a word that can rarely be used to describe this country (I did use the word ‘different’ to end last week’s entry when I tried to foresee what this week had in store). I've spent the bulk of the last seven days, days 189-195 of the trip, on a beach in southern Kerala, India’s most south-westerly of states & its so-called most laid-back state. It has been nice although I’m guilty of overindulging on laid-back Kerala a bit longer then I planned… & for not taking my camera out often enough. What all this means is that all but one picture from this week’s entry, covering week 28 of my on-going trip, was captured during my time on Lighthouse beach in Kovalam, southern Kerala.
Picture 124, Day 190 – Lighthouse Beach, Kovalam, Kerala, India. September 11th 2012
There wasn’t much to do for the five nights I spent here, Lighthouse beach in Kovalam, one of India’s most well-known - & thus overdeveloped - beach locations. It is low season now (the so-called monsoon season ends towards the end of this month when this place will start to get a lot busier) so things are quiet here, some places are closed altogether & what you order on the menu might not be available. This is a picture I took on my first afternoon in Kovalam. The lighthouse which gives the beach its English name can be seen one the palm tree-infested headland in the distance.
Picture 125, Day 192 – Kerala Fishing Boats, India. September 13th 2012
On my third day at the beach I got my camera out and took a stroll to a fishing village down the coast from Lighthouse beach. While it was only a few kilometres from the concrete-backed beach it offered a complete change of scenery – beachfront restaurants were replaced by rustic, reed fishing huts & touts offering tours & taxi rides were replaced by mute, inquisitive locals. I took this picture of a fisherman guiding unused fishing boats into position down by the water’s edge. For such a small village the boats just seems to go on forever, both in an out of the water. The repetition was amazing.
Picture 126, Day 192 – Lungi, Kerala, India. September 13th 2012
This is a picture I captured on a dusty village road of a local man wearing a traditional lungi, a traditional piece of fabric often sewn together to form a tube and knotted around the waist. It’s a common sight in Kerala, as well as Bangladesh & Myanmar (Burma). It’s normally worn like a dress but while working or in hot weather it’s commonly worn folded in half, as seen on the out-of-focus man in the distance.
Picture 127, Day 192 – Darga Sherief Mosque, Kerala, India. September 13th 2012
While walking around the village I’ll probably never know the name of pointing my camera at boats & people I also stumbled across a few mosques - in a predominantly Hindi country this was obviously a Muslim fishing village. The most picturesque mosque here was the massive green structure of the Darga Sherief mosque. I waited outside the main entrance taking picture of locals entering & exiting the main concourse and found it very photogenic.
Note: Click here to see a similar, portrait orientated picture as uploaded to my flickr photostream.
Picture 128, Day 192 – Kovalam Beach Sunset, Kerala, India. September 13th 2012
One final picture I took on the only real day I brought my camera out this week was this one of Indian men frolicking in the water as the sun set on day 192 of the trip. The setting was very picturesque but the experience of standing here, watching grown Indian men playing in the water like 5 or 6-years-olds, was an eye-opener.
Link: You can see all the pictures taken on my walkabout in the fishing village as uploaded to my 'Kovalam, India' entry of my photography blog.
Picture 129, Day 195 – Kollam, Kerala, India. September 16th 2012
After five nights on the beach in Kovalam I was ready to move on. My first stop was Kollam, a town some 80kms north of Kovalam and from where I was going to try to organise a trip into the famous Kerala backwaters, the spindly network of rivers, canals & lagoons that are the ‘emerald jewel in South India’s crown’ (so says Lonely Planet). So far it’s a task that has proven beyond me but there will, I assume/hope, be other opportunities further up the coast. But all wasn't totally lost in Kollam; while walking the streets earlier today I captured this picture that I like of a fruit stall.
What/Where Is Next?
Mel, my girlfriend & travel partner, is experiencing India for the first time. The reputation of India as a ‘testing but rewarding’ travel location is well known so Mel was savvy enough when by the beach in Kovalam to acknowledge that we were ‘hiding’ from ‘the real India.’ This is my third time here, having visited previously in late 2002 & again in early 2008. The country particularly scared me back in 2002 & although I’ve put plenty of miles on the clock since it kind of still does. The last time I was here in 2008, only months before buying my first dSLR, I managed, armed with a 4MP point-and-shoot, to get some of my very favourite travel pictures so I’ve been looking forward for quite a while to getting back here armed with a more capable camera. All going to plan I’ll be spending the next month here, heading south to north & north to west, all the while dealing with India’s madness & trying to photograph it as I go. I’m excited for the adventure & challenge that lies ahead.
dMb Travel
Don’t forget you can keep up to date with my trip on the dedicated travel page of my photography blog, a page I set up to specifically chronicle this trip & a page I’ve recently updated with more information and an update archive page listing day-to-day updates as filed from the road.
Until next time. Regards from a manic India.
David M
It has been a rather quiet first week back in India. That’s unusual because in my experience quiet is a word that can rarely be used to describe this country (I did use the word ‘different’ to end last week’s entry when I tried to foresee what this week had in store). I've spent the bulk of the last seven days, days 189-195 of the trip, on a beach in southern Kerala, India’s most south-westerly of states & its so-called most laid-back state. It has been nice although I’m guilty of overindulging on laid-back Kerala a bit longer then I planned… & for not taking my camera out often enough. What all this means is that all but one picture from this week’s entry, covering week 28 of my on-going trip, was captured during my time on Lighthouse beach in Kovalam, southern Kerala.
Picture 124, Day 190 – Lighthouse Beach, Kovalam, Kerala, India. September 11th 2012
There wasn’t much to do for the five nights I spent here, Lighthouse beach in Kovalam, one of India’s most well-known - & thus overdeveloped - beach locations. It is low season now (the so-called monsoon season ends towards the end of this month when this place will start to get a lot busier) so things are quiet here, some places are closed altogether & what you order on the menu might not be available. This is a picture I took on my first afternoon in Kovalam. The lighthouse which gives the beach its English name can be seen one the palm tree-infested headland in the distance.
Picture 125, Day 192 – Kerala Fishing Boats, India. September 13th 2012
On my third day at the beach I got my camera out and took a stroll to a fishing village down the coast from Lighthouse beach. While it was only a few kilometres from the concrete-backed beach it offered a complete change of scenery – beachfront restaurants were replaced by rustic, reed fishing huts & touts offering tours & taxi rides were replaced by mute, inquisitive locals. I took this picture of a fisherman guiding unused fishing boats into position down by the water’s edge. For such a small village the boats just seems to go on forever, both in an out of the water. The repetition was amazing.
Picture 126, Day 192 – Lungi, Kerala, India. September 13th 2012
This is a picture I captured on a dusty village road of a local man wearing a traditional lungi, a traditional piece of fabric often sewn together to form a tube and knotted around the waist. It’s a common sight in Kerala, as well as Bangladesh & Myanmar (Burma). It’s normally worn like a dress but while working or in hot weather it’s commonly worn folded in half, as seen on the out-of-focus man in the distance.
Picture 127, Day 192 – Darga Sherief Mosque, Kerala, India. September 13th 2012
While walking around the village I’ll probably never know the name of pointing my camera at boats & people I also stumbled across a few mosques - in a predominantly Hindi country this was obviously a Muslim fishing village. The most picturesque mosque here was the massive green structure of the Darga Sherief mosque. I waited outside the main entrance taking picture of locals entering & exiting the main concourse and found it very photogenic.
Note: Click here to see a similar, portrait orientated picture as uploaded to my flickr photostream.
Picture 128, Day 192 – Kovalam Beach Sunset, Kerala, India. September 13th 2012
One final picture I took on the only real day I brought my camera out this week was this one of Indian men frolicking in the water as the sun set on day 192 of the trip. The setting was very picturesque but the experience of standing here, watching grown Indian men playing in the water like 5 or 6-years-olds, was an eye-opener.
Link: You can see all the pictures taken on my walkabout in the fishing village as uploaded to my 'Kovalam, India' entry of my photography blog.
Picture 129, Day 195 – Kollam, Kerala, India. September 16th 2012
After five nights on the beach in Kovalam I was ready to move on. My first stop was Kollam, a town some 80kms north of Kovalam and from where I was going to try to organise a trip into the famous Kerala backwaters, the spindly network of rivers, canals & lagoons that are the ‘emerald jewel in South India’s crown’ (so says Lonely Planet). So far it’s a task that has proven beyond me but there will, I assume/hope, be other opportunities further up the coast. But all wasn't totally lost in Kollam; while walking the streets earlier today I captured this picture that I like of a fruit stall.
What/Where Is Next?
Mel, my girlfriend & travel partner, is experiencing India for the first time. The reputation of India as a ‘testing but rewarding’ travel location is well known so Mel was savvy enough when by the beach in Kovalam to acknowledge that we were ‘hiding’ from ‘the real India.’ This is my third time here, having visited previously in late 2002 & again in early 2008. The country particularly scared me back in 2002 & although I’ve put plenty of miles on the clock since it kind of still does. The last time I was here in 2008, only months before buying my first dSLR, I managed, armed with a 4MP point-and-shoot, to get some of my very favourite travel pictures so I’ve been looking forward for quite a while to getting back here armed with a more capable camera. All going to plan I’ll be spending the next month here, heading south to north & north to west, all the while dealing with India’s madness & trying to photograph it as I go. I’m excited for the adventure & challenge that lies ahead.
dMb Travel
Don’t forget you can keep up to date with my trip on the dedicated travel page of my photography blog, a page I set up to specifically chronicle this trip & a page I’ve recently updated with more information and an update archive page listing day-to-day updates as filed from the road.
Until next time. Regards from a manic India.
David M
