Last night was a fantastic (and late) night in the company of our good friends at RTI and Marvel Tours. Aside from an endless supply of great stories about the area, RTI was also buying the drinks so pretty much everyone was up until about 3am. Everyone was more than grateful for the later start time of 9.30 am this morning, but there was a mixed response of early and late-comers, naming no names!
The early folk could not be restrained, and took off to scout out the area and the route ahead. The attraction of the idyllic of Marari Fishermen Village Beach Resort was strong, and even the most bleary eyed teams didn’t take much persuasion to get going.
The roads today were just about perfect with precious few of the dreaded pot-holes to be seen, but unfortunately the traffic was just wicked in the built-up areas, with complete gridlock lasting up to two hours at a time. The heat in stationary traffic is bad enough for the human participants, but for the little air-cooled rickshaws it was just too much, requiring the teams to shut the engine down at the end of every short movement. Stop-start traffic is a nuisance at the best of time, but keep in mind that the teams have to yank-start the tuk-tuk engine every single time!
It turns out that Marari Fishermen Village Beach Resort was absolutely worth the few difficulties in getting here. Pristine, abandoned stretches of golden sand and coastline overlooking a picturesque fishing village, and no other guests at all in the restaurant or bar which means the service is amazing too. The Malabar Rampage looks like it’s got its own private resort for the next couple of days!
Tomorrow, adventures on a houseboat!
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