Snippets: some notes (and thoughts) on Kerala...

Pakdokter had done some reading on Kerala prior to the trip. And pakdokter was already aware of some of the basic facts about it like the high literacy rate, the communist ruling party and also about some of the outstanding sons and daughters of Kerala who have made a name for themselves in the international arena in their respective fields. With India now being recognised as one of the new economic engines of the globe, pakdokter was curious to see what developments were taking place in Kerala.

Economic development.

The brand new airport was the first testimony of the new Kerala/India. Of course this cannot be compared to the many flashy airports in Chinese cities. Chinese population size and economy are several times bigger than India. And China took off much earlier than India.But the signs of economic activities are there, obvious to the eye. The highway linking the new airport to Fort Kochi is under construction, but the pace seemed somewhat slow - pakdokter was reminded of the pace of the construction of our own East Coast highway during one of pakdokter's trip to Trengganu 2 years ago. The construction seemed patchy and not many tractors/machinery/workers seemed to be at work unlike the feverish activities pakdokter saw during trips to China.

Along the highway to the city, many new highrise apartments as well as shopping malls were under construction. Some projects looked like they have been abandoned (? a victim of the current global economic meltdown). But the developments in Kochi looks rather 'kelam kabut' - disorganised-haphazard, scattered all over the place with poor access to each of the development project.

Developments In Zhuhai and Shenzen, the two Chinese cities pakdokter visited last year were more well planned with wide highways serving the massive traffic volume.

Kerala ( Fort Kochi to be exact) requires massive development of roads and highways to cater to its increasing traffic volume.

And hopefully the city and municipal administrators will also pay serious attention to clear the city of garbage, litter and debris.

Cabs and taxi drivers

As pakdokter has earlier reported, pakdokter spent almost a whole day walking the streets of Fort Kochi. For comparison, pakdokter estimated that the distance covered must have been equal to the length of the whole of Batu Road in downtown KL then up to the business and entertainment districts of KLCC and Bukit Bintang!

Almost at every 5 minutes interval pakdokter would be approached by a 'bajaj' driver offerring to take pakdokter on a tour of the town, covering the whole of Fort Kochi, up to the Jewish Quarter and the spice centers as well - all for not more than 50 rupees ( RM 3?). Pakdokter had to turn them down politely as pakdokter was more keen to walk and take the scenery at pakdokter's leisure.

After being approached for more than 10 times plus the 'heat' from the temperature not much different from KL, pakdokter became slightly irritated and told the next 'bajaj' driver who approached pakdokter rather " firmly" ( hopefully not rudely) that pakdokter was getting tired of being harassed by them ( sometimes the same guy for 2 or 3 times at different parts of the town! The poor driver apologised - " Sorry Sir, but this is my job....I have to try to make a living."....in a tone which tugged at pakdokter's conscience. Pakdokter politely turned him down and said pakdokter actually still preferred to walk ( after all pakdokter walked 18 holes of the golf course sometimes 4 days in a row - no problem...)

Later in the afternoon, a bajaj driver who had approached pakdokter at least 3 times came over to pakdokter when pakdokter was about to reach back at the Malabar House. " Sir, can I drive you to that Emporium across the field, Sir, No charge, Sir! If you agree to let me drop you off at their door-step, then at least they will give me 1 litre of diesel for my taxi, Sir!" Pakdokter was honestly moved by his pleading but by then pakdokter was already too tired and was no more in any mood to look-see at any shop. What pakdokter wanted was a bottle of ice-cold Kingfisher and the bed! So pakdokter had to politely turn him down.

How different and how persistent these guys were from our taxi drivers at home!. Try asking any of the taxis waiting in queue at KLCC back at home.

" How much to KLSentral?"

" 25 ringgit! "

"Using metre how much"

" Mana ada pakai metre sini?"

KL oh KL....

Despite of the above Kerala and Kochi have many charms that made it a worthwhile trip. Perhaps, god willing, pakdokter may visit it again in 10 years time and see what came out of these developments!

But for now, pakdokter is looking forward to revisit the Golden Triangle of India in March 2010, having visited this region twice about 15 years ago. Maybe the development in that part of India matches what is happening in China......