I’d read wonderful things about the Periyar nature reserve in Kumily, and that’s how I chose it as a destination after Munnar. I was also used to the cooler temperatures at this point, and was reluctant to head back down to the coastline where I would have to deal with humidity again.
My homestay in Kumily was in this large house at the end of a dirt road, about a mile outside of the city center. My homestay host was a lovely guy who worked for the government tourism office, and he helped me organize the two days I was there.
Periyar ended up being a pretty uneventful wildlife reserve, but it was still nice to spend some quiet time in the woods.
After seeing the nature reserve during the day, I saw a Kathakali show and then a traditional sword fighting show. I’d wanted to see the two of these in Kochi, but being sick and all, I hadn’t been able to.
The sword fighting / dance / jumping through fire rings was really entertaining. I wouldn’t say I fully understood everything that went on during the Kathakali dance, but I’m glad I was able to see it. The dance involves heavy face and eye movements that look quite uncomfortable and require years of training.
At the tail end of Munnar, though, I started to get sick, and that sickness stayed with me throughout my stay in Varkala, a beach town a few hours south of Kochi along the coast. I woke up in the middle of the night with body aches, but ibuprofen gave some relief. On the bus ride to Varkala, though, the fever starting climbing and I could feel my body fighting some sort of virus.
The next two days I was stuck in bed battling the fever. My homestay in Varkala also didn’t have air conditioning, and trying to regulate my body’s temperature proved extremely difficult. I went to the hospital on the second day which was an experience in and of itself. I was hoping not to find myself in a hospital in India, but it didn’t end up being too bad, and nurses escorted me around, knowing I would be helpless if left on my own.
A doctor prescribed a host of medications to deal with the symptoms, and they tested me for Dengue fever, a common monsoon-season illness, but those results came back negative. I had been on antimalarials so malaria was an unlikely cause. Whatever it was, my body wasn’t liking it.
I sweated it out for the next two nights and by the time I was leaving Varkala for Bangkok I was, thankfully, over the worst of it. Three nights in a nice Airbnb in Bangkok were the final steps in getting over the fever.
By the time I boarded the train north from Varkala to Kochi, and then on the flight to Bangkok, I was happy for the month I’d spent in India, but ready to travel somewhere a little more comfortable for a foreigner. The variety and scope of India make it unlike anywhere I’ve been before, and I’ll have to return for the delicious food, kind people, and numerous sights I didn’t have a chance this time around.
