Reality Bites....ouch  

Homecoming Malayalis

The Visitors help section – does it really help?

Malayalis returning to Kerala after a lot of hard work in the Gulf are often welcomed by harassing officials. It starts at the point of Re-entry at the Airport. Gifts bought for loved ones with hard earned money is frowned upon and sometimes even confiscated by the customs officials. Passports are scrutinized minutely for errors made by other civil servants to catch out the "Culprits" to belittle them in front of other passengers. But the hassles don't just end at the airport. Once out of the airport, the poor NRI (Non Resident Indian) again falls into unscrupulous taxis and Auto rikshaws who prey on tourists and NRI's.

The NRI’s and Tourists are usually over charged for any facilities they use in Kerala regardless of whether it is in a private hospital or for an Ayurvedic treatment. Seems as though you are being penalized for your hard earned money. With the idea of helping the NRI’s the government decided to create a help section, under an IAS officer. Apparently this section was set up to help tackle the problems faced by the NRI’s. Unfortunately this help section is renowned for extremely slow movement of paperwork. That is, if you submit your paper work this year, you may or may not hear from them in a year or two !

Auto rickshaws - This three wheeler is a popular method of transport for many local commuters. It is cheap and convenient, especially to get in and out of town while shopping. As there are no doors you get plenty of fresh air and a good view is guaranteed.

But it only becomes a problem, when you are confronted by an unethical auto rickshaw driver, especially if you are a tourist. Julie Campbell was visiting Kerala as part of an exchange program. She had just spent an exciting evening shopping for antiques and was quite happy with her purchase. She got into an auto and gave the auto driver the address of her host family. She talked to the auto driver and they agreed on a fare of Rs. 10/-. On reaching her destination she gave the driver a Rs 50/- note, but he refused to give her the balance. Julie was quite upset by this and started arguing with the driver. Hearing the commotion Mr. Thomas (Her host) came out and threatened to report the Auto driver to the Traffic Police. Only then the auto driver gave her the correct balance. Unfortunately such experiences are not uncommon for tourists in Kerala.

The plane trip - Indians by nature are very hospitable people. But somehow the Air India crew's service standards are not at par with international standards. Air India is actually India's national airline. Passengers, especially, Indians returning from abroad are often unhappy with the cabin staff. Simply because the cabin staff exhibit very low service standards.

The train journeys in Kerala are usually quite pleasant. But getting a train ticket can be quite a confusing procedure for a tourist. Reservations start at least two months in advance and one effective way to get a ticket is to have a significant 'inside contact'.  Also it is easier to get a ticket through the tourist quota. The amenities in the trains are reasonable but the toilets could do with a lot of improvement.

Public toilets - Public toilets in the cities are very poorly maintained. That's probably why travel books always advise the tourists to take toilet rolls with them when they travel in India.

Bus journeys are faster, but they can be a quite a surprise to the inexperienced traveler. You see, the drivers consider the pot hole - filled, uneven roads their race tracks! So, such a bus journey can be quite uncomfortable for a first timer. Another difficulty is getting into the right bus. Most of the destinations signs are displayed in Malayalam, making it quite difficult for tourists to make any sense of them. But you can always ask someone about getting into the right bus. Local people are usually very helpful in this regard.