Making cheese at Beecher’s

A version of this piece is in the July issue of National Geographic Traveller India.

My gloved hands feel a trifle wobbly. The large crumbly cream-ish loaf I’m cradling weighs only a couple of kilos, but the thought of flipping it over makes it feel like a tonne. It looks easy, but I’m worried I’ll make a hash of it. I take a deep breath and flip. The loaf emerges unscathed; I flip another and another.  
I’m in the glass-walled cheesemaking kitchen of Beecher’s Handmade Cheese in Seattle’s Pike Place Market. And I’ve been helping to cheddar cheese — cutting curds into loaves, then stacking and flipping the loaves multiple times to drain out all the whey.

For as long as I can remember, cheese has been an integral part of my life. The first cheese I tasted as a child was probably a cheddar from the now shut Koshy’s department store in Bangalore. Since then, I’ve discovered and enjoyed cheeses from around the world, developing a special fondness for Roquefort and Mimolette from France and Kikorangi from New Zealand.

And then, in 2013, I nibbled on a sliver of Beecher’s Flagship Raw Milk and fell in love. It tasted like no cheese I’d sampled before. Creamy and nutty, with a sprinkling of magic, there was something comfortingly elemental about it. It was heaven in a wedge — the taste of home. It was also the beginning of a quest to learn more about this artisanal cheesemaker, visit its cheesemaking facility and, of course, sample more of its award-winning cheese. 

On a hot summer morning, two years and many emails after my first bite of Beecher’s, I’m in the heart of Seattle’s Pike Place Market all set to spend a day at Beecher’s Handmade Cheese. My wife and I are early for our 9 am appointment so we wander through the market, famous for its fresh produce and interesting handcrafted goods. We dawdle in front of the fishmongers’ stalls with their eye-catching displays and the flower sellers’ tables. Framed in a window between two stalls is a swatch of the cerulean waters of Elliott Bay.  

The Beecher's cheesemaking kitchen in Seattle.

As we watch, people line up in front of the Beecher’s store-café eager to breakfast on its Mac and cheese or grilled sandwiches. Others peer through the glass walls of the adjoining cheesemaking kitchen.  

We enter the store and luxuriate in the heavenly burnt-butter aroma of sandwiches on the grill and tangy vapours of tomato soup bubbling in a pot. While we wait for Sharif Ball, then the company’s head cheesemaker and production manager in Seattle, I think about the Beecher’s story. It begins in 2002, with food entrepreneur Kurt Beecher Dammeier leasing space in Pike Place Market and deciding to make great cheese, fuelled by childhood memories of local cheeses and a passion for pure, fresh, wholesome and flavourful food.

Today, the Beecher’s store, café and cheesemaking kitchen in Seattle is a Pike Place institution that draws tourists and turophiles or cheese lovers alike. The company also has a second facility in New York’s Flatiron District and cafes at Seattle-Tacoma airport and in Bellevue near Seattle.

Escorting us into a cramped office next to the long, rectangular kitchen, Ball points us towards lockers where we stow our bags and change into smocks and trousers, pull on boots, arm guards, masks and caps, and wash our hands with warm water and soap. Just inside the kitchen, there’s a further cleansing ritual as we pull on gloves. I feel like I’m entering an operation theatre, but understandably, hygiene is an obsession here.

The kitchen itself is all gleaming steel — vats, pipes, trays, shelves — broken by swathes of white of the milk and curds. Cheesemaking in Beecher’s is an almost 24-hour operation, beginning with the milk being tested and pumped into the large vats very early in the morning. The store in Seattle processes about 18,000 litres of cow’s milk, free of additives, hormones and antibiotics, sourced from dairy farms near the city, every day. So it comes in fresh, says Michael Staley, one of the company’s expert cheesemakers.

Beecher’s pasteurises the milk that goes into most of its cheese. The pasteurised milk is then pumped into an open vat where microbial cultures and rennet are added causing curds and whey to form. This mixture is repeatedly cut, ‘cooked’ ­ — stirred and heated — and pumped into another vat where the whey is drained and cheddaring by hand begins. Salt is added and the salted curds are packed into moulds called ‘hoops’ and loaded into a cheese press for 8-12 hours to drain out more whey. The cheese is then cut, vacuum-sealed and aged for several months or years depending on the type of cheese being made. Of course, not all cheese made by Beecher’s is a cheddar and the process varies accordingly.

Even as Staley takes us through the process, I’m struck by how physical cheesemaking is, with the effort involved in cheddaring and the hours spent on your feet. One of the other cheesemakers quips that it’s a good way to stay fit.

I also notice how involved in the process Staley and the other cheesemakers are, working with an effortless expertise, cutting the curds one minute, washing the equipment the next, all the while checking on the temperature, acidity and moisture levels of the milk and the curds and keeping track of the time each process takes.

The Seattle facility makes about 1,800 kg of cheese every day, Ball says. Much of the cheese produced is the company’s immensely popular Flagship, though it makes several other types. There is, for instance, the buttery but spicy Marco Polo with lightly milled peppercorns blended in and the smoky No Woman, infused with Jamaican Jerk spices that pack a punch. The Raw Milk Flagship I fell in love with, though, is made just a couple of times a year, with special precautions since it involves unpasteurised milk.

The Beecher's store-cafe in Seattle's Pike Place Market.

While we talk, I look out through the kitchen’s glass walls. It does feel a little unnerving with the curious onlookers outside, their faces and cameras pressed-up against the glass. Yet the glass walls bring the market’s bustle and colour into the kitchen, giving it a shot of energy.

What is it that makes Beecher’s cheese special, I ask Ball. Pat comes the reply: “Attention to detail and quality.” He thinks for a bit and adds: “Everyone here wants to make delicious cheese. A lot of love goes into it.”

As we leave the cheesemaking kitchen and head to the café where a Beecher’s grilled cheese sandwich awaits, I think about that. Food made with love and joy. No wonder the cheese tastes like heaven. 

The vitals                                   

Visitors can watch all the action in the cheesemaking kitchens of the Beecher’s store-café in Seattle while enjoying a meal (1600 Pike Place; 9 a.m. -7 p.m. daily; mac and cheese from $5.02 and grilled cheese sandwiches from $5.94). Some Pike Place Market tours, including Savor Seattle, stop at Beecher’s for tastings. www.beechershandmadecheese.com

Museums of flight

The 'Great Gallery' of the Museum of Flight Seattle

A short version of this piece is part of my story in the October issue of National Geographic Traveller India.

What’s interesting about Seattle is that it is home to so many aviation-related attractions. Boeing is, of course, the most obvious of these, but there are several others too.

The oldest of these is the Museum of Flight and its aircraft restoration centre. Then, there’s the Flying Heritage Collection established by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, which focuses mostly on military aircraft from World War II. Finally, there’s the Historic Flight Foundation’s museum and restoration centre for aircraft manufactured between 1927 and 1957. 

Besides Boeing’s Everett factory and the Future of Flight Center, I really wanted to visit all three museums. But with just three-odd days in Seattle and so much to do, I had to choose — and the Museum of Flight it was on this trip. I found it especially attractive, not just for its collection of aircraft and aviation and space-related memorabilia, but also for its airpark that offers visitors an opportunity to tour the interiors of some pretty interesting aircraft.

Among the world’s largest private air and space museums, the Museum of Flight is in the town of Tukwila, just south of Seattle. It’s actually located in the southwest corner of Boeing Field, formally known as King County International Airport.

In fact, the Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower exhibit — on the museum’s upper floor — is a great place to watch aircraft movements at the airport. And in addition to learning about how air traffic controllers and towers work, the ATC mock-up allows you to listen to real-time conversations between the controllers at Boeing Field and pilots as they land at the airport.

The museum’s 'Great Gallery' is home to a diverse squadron of aircraft, ranging from deadly fighters such as the MiG-21 to unique craft such as the Wright 1903 Flyer Reproduction, a replica of the Flyer in which the Wright brothers made their first flight. It also has an M-21, a variant of the A-12 — the earliest type of Blackbird or SR-71 aircraft — that carried an unpiloted drone. Other attractions within the museum include a 30-minute tour of the Space Shuttle Trainer Crew Compartment.

However, I was more interested in what was outside the museum: in the airpark, where a disappointment awaited me. ‘City of Everett’, the first Boeing 747 or Jumbo Jet to be built, was not open for tours when I visited. I’d obviously goofed-up on my research! But there were several other equally interesting planes to explore.

Conference room on board SAM 970

First up, was a stroll through a gleaming British Airways Concorde. It was an illuminating experience, but more on that soon. 

Next, was a tour of ZA003, the third 787 Dreamliner to be built. While used mostly for flight tests, it was also a demonstration aircraft for Boeing’s ‘Dream Tour’ in 2011. What struck me most about the plane is how spacious it feels, even in coach! 

My final port of call in the airpark was SAM 970, the Boeing 707 that was the first jet to serve as Air Force One. Delivered in 1959, the aircraft was on a number of flights that played a role in shaping the history of the world. VIPs who’ve flown on it include US presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon, as well as others such as Russian leader Nikita Khrushchev and Henry Kissinger.

It was fascinating to walk through the plane’s plastic-shrouded interiors, taking in the communications room and the conference room, and thinking about the discussions that took place in this ‘oval office in the air’.

Note: It seems the 787 Dreamliner is currently not open for tours as it’s been moved to a new aviation pavilion scheduled to open in summer 2016.

Where Dreamliners are born

From the deck of the Future of Flight Center; Boeing's Everett factory is the structure to the left.

Did a version of this story for the October issue of National Geographic Traveller India.

Spread out far below me is a fascinating and intricate puzzle, one I’m glad I won’t have to solve. For these pieces of metal, rubber and a hundred other things will soon come together to become a brand new Boeing 747-8 passenger jet.

I’m no aviation geek, but I often find that something aviation-related worms its way on to my itinerary whenever I travel. Sometimes, it can even be a little intense — like spending one day of a two-day trip to Washington DC at the SmithsonianNational Air and Space Museum in the city and the Udvar-Hazy Center, its companion facility in Virginia.

So while planning a long weekend in Seattle, I almost found myself saying, “If there’s no Boeing, I’m not going.” For Seattle is Boeing territory. The company, which celebrates its centenary next year, was founded in the city by William E. Boeing. And its factory in Everett, about 40 km north of Seattle, was built in 1967 to produce the iconic 747 or Jumbo Jet, which for almost 40 years was the world’s biggest airliner. Today, the factory hosts the company’s 747, 767, 777 and 787 Dreamliner production lines.

More exciting, particularly for an aviation buff, is that Boeing offers public tours of its Everett factory. The 90-minute, guided tour gives visitors a behind-the-scenes glimpse of how some of the company’s airliners are made. The tour’s hub is the Future of Flight Aviation Center, an aviation museum and education facility located in the neighbouring town of Mukilteo. Theory, process and product in one package: I was sold.

My Boeing experience begins with a bonus. From the Future of Flight Center’s observation deck I spot a Dreamlifter. This converted 747-400, which looks like a lumbering humpback whale, is one of four freighters that ferry chunks of the Dreamliner from factories around the world for final assembly in the US.

I’m tempted to linger, gawking at the Dreamlifter and at the aircraft parked across from the factory, visible in the distance, but it’s almost time for the tour to begin. As the queue for the tour forms, Boeing personnel circulate, reminding us that no personal belongings are allowed — not even a pencil and a notebook.

A Dreamlifter on the tarmac at Paine Field.

The tour begins with 10,071 hours: How Everett Changed the World, a short film about the company and its aircraft. What stays with me is the segment on the 787 Dreamliner and how most of those who will use this plane probably aren’t even born yet.

Film done, we board buses and drive across Paine Field/Snohomish County Airport towards the factory. As we pass scores of parked aircraft awaiting final touches or delivery, Simon, our guide, starts rattling off some overwhelming statistics. At 13.3 million cubic meters or 98.3 acres, Boeing’s Everett factory is the world’s largest building by volume. Translation: Disneyland and 12 acres of parking can fit inside it, with a bit of space to spare. So could 911 basketball courts.

Another Everett story is that when built, the facility was so large that it had its own weather system inside till a ventilation system was installed. “So did it actually rain inside the factory,” someone jokes.

Since it’s a Saturday, there’s a hush, with little activity on the floor except for the occasional worker pedalling by on a tricycle; one of 1,000-plus bicycles and tricycles that employees can use to get around the factory. On weekdays, there can be a bit more visible activity on the floor, Simon says. What’s really noticeable though is that the factory gets very noisy because of all the machines being used, he adds.

We’re not on the factory floor though, but several floors up on balconies that overlook the floor. At each production line, Simon explains how it works — how the various pieces come together to make an entire aircraft. The galleries also have aircraft models, videos, posters and aeroplane parts.

Our first stop is a balcony overlooking the 747 production line where several 747-8s, the latest variant, are in various stages of completion. At one end I spot sections of a wing, while right in front of me are almost complete fuselages and in the distance, several complete aircraft, all covered in a metallic-green temporary protective coating. 

I’ve always known that a 747 is enormous, but I realise just how large it is only when I stand before the cross-section of an early Jumbo, which presides over the balcony. As I run my fingers across its cool, smooth metal — you’re encouraged to touch some of the stuff — I marvel that the outer skin is only about as thick as a five-rupee coin!

A little later, at the 777 line there are a few employees around, working on a green-coated fuselage. More fascinating though is the U-shaped moving production line used to make these planes. Aircraft sections come on to large crawlers at one end and finished planes come off at the other.

In a bit, we move on to the last part of the tour, the 787 Dreamliner line. Unlike Boeing’s other production lines, the Dreamliner’s is more of an assembly line; sections of the aircraft are flown in from suppliers around the world and put together in Everett. 

The Dreamliner is beautiful, with its sweeping, seagull-like wings and clean lines. Meanwhile, Simon talks with visible pride about how the plane is changing air travel. For one, it’s made mostly of carbon fibre-reinforced plastic and other composites, which means it’s lighter than aircraft of a similar size. It’s also been designed to consume less fuel, produce fewer emissions and create less noise.

Inside the Future of Flight Center.

As a traveller, I’m most captivated by the physical changes in the cabin: Wider aisles, higher ceilings and an air circulation system that removes odours, bacteria and viruses, and is supposed to reduce jet lag. Equally fascinating are its large, shutter-less windows that use electrochromism-based smart glass to offer several settings to adjust visibility and lighting. Which means you can dim the windows and still see what’s happening outside. I can’t wait to fly on one.

On the bus back to the Future of Flight Center, I reflect on the tour. It was a great way to dip my toes in the ocean that is Boeing, though it felt a trifle rushed at times.

Back at the Center though, it’s time to explore various aspects of aviation, from aircraft engines and landing gear to simulators, mock-ups and experiments. It’s a bit like entering an aviation-themed candy store — everyone seems to be having a great time.

Wandering through the ‘family zone’, I spot adults and children clustering around activity carts, building aircraft models and designing jets. There are a bunch of experiments on nanotechnology, and I watch a girl build a giant carbon nanotube using blocks. Across from the nanotube, some boys are enjoying themselves at the Bernoulli Table, an interactive game that illustrates the relationship between the velocity of air and the pressure it exerts, thus explaining how aircraft are able to fly.

In the ‘flight systems zone’, I play pilot in the cockpit of a Boeing 727, yanking levers and flipping switches. A few minutes later, I actually try to fly a plane in a simulator; I keep it in the air, but spend most of my time trying to pull out of a dive!

I could easily spend another hour or two exploring the Center, but I head back to the observation deck. As I gaze at the factory in the distance, I’m content. For it’s been an illuminating morning at a company that has transformed transportation and through it changed the world. 

Vitals 

The Future of Flight Aviation Center & Boeing Tour is in Mukilteo, 40km north of Seattle. Hours: 8:30am-5:30pm daily, with factory tours on the hour 9am-3pm, except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. Timings could change, so confirm before visiting. Tickets, including factory tour, start at $16 for adults and $9 for 15 and under, but prices vary depending on season and whether the ticket has been reserved ahead. Limited public transportation to the Center is available from Seattle and surrounding communities. I chose a package from Viator that included to-and-fro transportation from my hotel in downtown Seattle. Tour involves some amount of walking and climbing stairs. Children must be at least 122 cm tall to take the tour. Personal items including cameras, cell phones, purses and so on are not allowed on the factory tour and can be stowed in lockers in the Future of Flight Aviation Center, though demand can often exceed supply. Restrooms are not accessible during the tour, so visitors are encouraged to use the facilities in the Center before the tour. There is a café and store with Boeing memorabilia in the Center. For more: http://www.futureofflight.org

On a Sunday in Trivandrum

The Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple

Did a version of this story for the July issue of National Geographic Traveller India.

Rise early on a Sunday and join one of several free walking tours conducted in Thiruvananthapuram (also known as Trivandrum). While Tree Walk explores the city’s tree wealth, Heritage Walk delves into its social, cultural, and architectural history. I’ve found these freewheeling walks to be a great way to discover facets and stories of the city that would otherwise pass right by us. Both tours usually start at 7 a.m. on Sunday mornings and, over a couple of hours, cover one of the city’s neighbourhoods. Though both walks typically happen at least once a month, they tend to be more frequent from December to April. (Details on future walks on Facebook pages: Tree Walk www.facebook.com/groups/115646138581706; Heritage Walk www.facebook.com/groups/heritagewalktvm)

No visit to Thiruvananthapuram is complete without admiring the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple, possibly the world’s wealthiest religious institution, and exploring the busy Fort neighbourhood around it. (Only Hindus allowed in the temple, which also has a dress code: men go bare chested wearing dhotis while women wear saris or dhotis wrapped over salwars. Dhotis are available on rent; footwear, cameras, mobile phones, bags, etc. not allowed inside the temple; )

A few hundred metres from the temple’s main entrance is the Kuthira Malika Palace, also called the Puthen Malika, which houses a museum of artefacts belonging to Travancore’s former royals. (No footwear allowed inside)

A Tree Walk at the Model School

For a further dose of history, art, and greenery, head to the tree-filled government museum complex that contains a couple of museums, a zoo, and an art gallery. At the very least, visit the eye-catching Napier Museum with its mélange of architectural styles and collection of archaeological and historical artefacts. (Open 10 a.m.-4.45 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursday-Sunday; 1-4.45 p.m. on Wednesdays; closed Mondays; entry adults Rs 10; children Rs 5; no cameras allowed.)

Next, stop at the nearby Sree Chitra Art Gallery to see paintings by Raja Ravi Varma and Nicholas and Svetoslav Roerich. (Open 10 a.m.-4.45 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursday-Sunday; 1-4.45 p.m. on Wednesdays; closed Mondays; entry adults Rs 20; children Rs 10; no cameras allowed.)

For a booster shot of history, head to the Keralam Museum of History and Heritage located opposite the main museum complex. The museum, which opened a few years ago, traces the region’s history and global connections across the ages. Its collection includes Neolithic stone axes, a jar and bowl used in Iron Age burials, Roman coins, and sculptures of bronze, wood, and stone. (Open 10 a.m.-5.30 p.m.; closed Mondays. and public holidays; entry adults Rs 20; children Rs 10; foreigners Rs 200.)

Round off a heritage-filled day with a mesmerising Kathakali or Koodiyattom performance at Margi, a cultural organisation that promotes Kerala’s classical performing art forms. Margi conducts regular Kathakali and Koodiyattom performances through the year, but when planning a visit, it’s best to give them a call to find out what’s on. (Tel: 0471-2478806/2473349/98470-99941.

Kovalam calls

Hawah and Lighthouse beaches from the deck of the lighthouse

Did a version of this story for the June issue of National Geographic Traveller India. 

Some of my earliest memories of family vacations in Thiruvananthapuram involve Kovalam. The seemingly never-ending drive zigzagging along twisty roads, the gradual descent between palm groves, the tanginess in the air and the sudden expanse of the beach, with the sea stretching off into the yonder.  

Back then, Kovalam was little more than a fishing village, with few visitors and fewer buildings on its three main beaches—the Ashok or Grove beach, Hawah or Eve’s beach, and the southernmost Lighthouse beach. Today, it’s a small town, the beaches lined by rows of shops, restaurants, and hotels. 

Kovalam’s beaches and its warm, shallow waters ideal for swimming are its biggest draw, which is why it can get pretty crowded with visitors on weekends and holidays. But there are also other ways to explore this laid-back town. 

Deck with a view  

The best place to get a fix on Kovalam’s topography is the observation deck of the candy-striped lighthouse that commands the southern end of the eponymous Lighthouse beach. It’s an approximately 157-step barefoot climb (footwear is not allowed inside the lighthouse), including a final stretch up an almost vertical metal ladder, to the deck. You’ll probably arrive breathless, but the climb is worth it for the view. And if you go up as soon as the lighthouse opens for the day, there’s a good chance you’ll have the deck to yourself for a few minutes (daily 10 a.m.-12.30 p.m. and 2-5 p.m.; tickets Rs 3 to Rs 25; camera passes Rs 20 and Rs 25). 

Surf for a cause 

Kovalam has a small, but growing surfing scene thanks to the Kovalam Surf Club, which opened here in 2005. The club offers surfing lessons to people with varying levels of expertise. The only requirement is that learners have some basic swimming skills, says Mani Sreekumar, the club’s director. It runs classes through the year, except during the monsoon months from June to August. The club also has a shop that sells and rents out surfing gear. And the club’s profits go to Sebastian Indian Social Projects, a non-profit that supports women’s empowerment and education programmes for school dropouts in the area (kovalamsurfclub.com; classes Rs 1,000 for 1.5 hours). 

On the water 

For the mildly adventurous, there are snorkelling expeditions on a catamaran and speedboat rides (prices start at Rs 3,000 for 2.5 hours and Rs 300/person respectively). The speedboats usually head a few kilometers out to sea and zip along the coast, giving those on board a view of Kovalam and its adjoining beaches. Kovalam’s best snorkelling spots are off the rocky headlands that separate its main beaches, but the sea can get rough during the monsoon. So the best time to go snorkelling here is from December to March, when the sea is relatively calm. The region’s marine life includes mussels, plants and a dazzling array of fishes including bat fish, parrot fish, angel fish, groupers, moray eels and so on.  And in May 2015, the Kerala Adventure Tourism Promotion Society launched scuba diving in Kovalam (Rs 3,000/person for 30 minutes and Rs 1,500/person for 15 minutes).  

The sessions, which include 30 minutes of familiarisation in a swimming pool, are best booked ahead. (For more call  +471-2320777/+91-94460-74020 or email: adventuretourismkerala.gov@gmail.com)

Sundowner  

The best way to recover from all this activity is to end the day the Kovalam way — with a sundowner (now mostly non-alcoholic thanks to Kerala’s new liquor laws) and a meal at one of the restaurants that line the Hawah and Lighthouse beaches. 

While the best bet on Hawah beach is the multi-cuisine restaurant at the Sea Face hotel, Lighthouse beach has many options, ranging from Lonely Planet (known for its vegetarian-only menu) to Beatles and Malabar Café. My personal favourite, though, is the German Bakery on Lighthouse beach with its terrace with a view, relaxed ambience and eclectic menu. 

Kovalam also offers upper-end beachside dining options at the Vivanta by Taj-Kovalam and The Leela Kovalam. Dinner at either hotel comes with distinctive views of Thiruvananthapuram’s coastline and fishing vessels twinkling like a thousand fireflies on the sea.

Meeting the Blackbird

Did a version of this story for the March issue of National Geographic Traveller India magazine. 

My heart begins to race, even as my breath slows. Roosting on the polished floor, almost within arm’s reach, is something that has fascinated me for years: a ‘Blackbird’. Officially known as the Lockheed SR-71, the Blackbird is the world's fastest jet-propelled aircraft and flew reconnaissance missions for the US during the Cold War, before being pulled from service in the mid 1990s.
Aircraft have always interested me, possibly because of childhood exposure to military aircraft courtesy my aeronautical engineer father. My fascination with the Blackbird, though, began when I encountered it in Frederick Forsyth’s The Devil’s Alternative: “On a single thin nose wheel assembly, the bullet-like nose cone thrust upward at a shallow angle. Far down the fuselage, wafer-thin wings sprouted, delta shaped, being both wings and tail controls all in one… Body and engines resembled three hypodermic syringes, linked only by the wing. Small white U.S. stars in their white circles indicated its nationality; otherwise the SR-71 was black from nose to tail.”

The Udvar-Hazy Center's F-14 'Tomcat'

But that wasn’t quite the real deal. So when a trip to Washington DC came my way, on my ‘must visit’ list was the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia. Described as a companion facility to the better known Air and Space Museum in downtown Washington DC, the Udvar-Hazy Center is aircraft heaven for an aviation buff. Its two cavernous hangars, adjoining the Dulles International Airport, house several hundred aviation and space-related artefacts including stars like the space shuttle ‘Discovery’, a Concorde and, of course, a Blackbird.
As I enter, the Blackbird is virtually the first aircraft I see, with the bulk of the Discovery looming in the distance. I learn that on its last flight on 6 March 1990 this particular SR-71 set a speed record, flying from Los Angeles to DC in 1 hour, 4 minutes and 20 seconds — an average speed of about 3,418 kilometers an hour!
Wandering through the Boeing Aviation Hangar, it strikes me that many of the aircraft on display have played a part in events that shaped the history of the world. The Boeing B-29 ‘Superfortress’ ‘Enola Gay’ changed the course of World War II when it dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Others, like Bell’s UH-1H ‘Iroquois’ or ‘Huey’ helicopter were, literally, the face of the Vietnam War.

Some of the Udvar-Hazy Center's aircraft, including the Concorde

Aircraft in the museum’s collection have also played less muscular roles in history. The pencil-thin Air France Concorde that straddles one wing of the aviation hangar was the first supersonic airliner to fly from Paris to Rio de Janeiro, Washington DC and New York. And high up, almost near the hangar’s roof is the ‘Spirit of Columbus’, a Cessna 180, that Geraldine ‘Jerrie’ Mock flew in her record-creating feat to become the first woman to pilot an aircraft around the world.
I spend so much time with the aircraft that there’s little time left for the James S. McDonnell Space Hangar’s collection of rockets, missiles, satellites and other objects used in human spaceflight. Besides the Discovery, I make obligatory stops at the Mars Pathfinder Lander and a Mobile Quarantine Facility for astronauts returning from the Moon.
From a catwalk on the upper level I get a birds-eye view of the museum’s restoration hangar with several plastic-shrouded aircraft. My time is almost up, so I dash back to the aviation hangar for a rendezvous with the F-14 ‘Tomcat’, a fighter I first discovered thanks to the film Top Gun. There’s also just enough time for one last circumambulation of the Blackbird to end an aviation-fuelled morning.

As I leave the Udvar-Hazy Center, I realise that I’ve not sampled its other pleasures — the observation tower with its views of Dulles airport, the simulator rides and the Imax theatre. But then, there’s always next time I tell myself. 
The Vitals

Another view of the Blackbird

The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center is at 14390 Air and Space Museum Parkway, Chantilly, Virginia, close to Dulles International Airport. The museum is open 10 am to 5.30 pm on all days except December 25, with free conducted tours at 10.30 am and 1 pm. While entry is free, the simulator rides and Imax shows are ticketed. Public transport options to the museum include the Metro Sliver Line from DC to the Wiehle-Reston East station, transferring to the FairfaxConnector Route 983 bus to the museum. Alternatively, take Metrobus 5A from L’Enfant Plaza in DC to Dulles airport and a taxi or the Fairfax Connector Route 983 bus to the museum. For more: http://airandspace.si.edu/visit/udvar-hazy-center/

By the lake

A version of this story is in the February issue of National Geographic Traveller India

As we drive through the gates of Anantya, my mobile phone buzzes indicating that it has no signal. And it stays signal-less for most of our three days at the resort. I wasn’t complaining though, for the holiday at Anantya was about getting some real downtime. 

The resort, which opened in 2013, is only a 90-minute drive from Thiruvananthapuram, but feels like it’s a world away. Situated in the midst of hundreds of acres of rubber plantations, Anantya is built on a patch of land that juts into the lake created by the Chittar dam, at the foothills of the Western Ghats. Once part of the erstwhile princely state of Travancore, the region is now in Tamil Nadu’s Kanyakumari district. It’s a charming amalgam of Tamil and Kerala influences, some of which are reflected in the resort’s mud-plastered walls, tiled roofs and woodwork.

Anantya’s heart is its open-plan restaurant and the adjoining infinity pool, both with spectacular views of the lake and the hills. Mealtimes were, in fact, one of the high points of our stay thanks to the very welcoming restaurant team and an eclectic menu that featured dishes like the sinfully rich, fiery Chicken Ghee Roast.

Patchy mobile phone signals and a few other quirks notwithstanding, the resort has many of the essentials of modern living; Wi-Fi and satellite television, for instance. And its spa has a range of ayurvedic therapies.

Activities on offer at the resort include a visit to a rubber plantation; bicycles to explore the resort’s winding pathways; facilities to play a bunch of sports; and a ‘games veranda’ with a view, an assortment of board games and a small library. The resort is also a good base for treks to the nearby hills and for day trips to the Padmanabhapuram Palace, Thirparappu waterfalls, Kanyakumari, the temples at Suchindram and Thiruvattar and the Chitharal Jain monuments.

We however, chose the easy life.  Our days were spent in our villa’s gazebo soaking up the view — the lake framed by the green of the rubber plantations and the hills beyond, a breeze ruffling the lake’s placid waters, darters fishing, dragonflies skittering across lily ponds, butterflies weaving through the lush vegetation. And luxuriating in the silence that we could almost touch, amplified by the thwack of an axe tearing through wood, the mewling of a prowling Brahminy kite and the distant drone of a vehicle engine. We just didn’t realise that time was passing by.

The Vitals

Anantya Travancore is in Kaliyal village, about 50km southeast of Thiruvananthapuram, in Tamil Nadu’s Kanyakumari district. The nearest airport is the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport (60km) and the nearest railway station is Marthandam (30km).

The resort has 21 villas across four categories — Chakra, Siddhi, Veda and Sadhana — varying in price from Rs 7,000 to Rs 15,000 (excluding taxes) from October to March. While all villas have views of the lake, the Siddhi villas, with an outdoor shower and gazebo (especially villas 6,7 and 8), and the Sadhana villas, with private plunge pools, have stunning views of the lake and the mountains beyond.

Ferry notes

A shorter version is in this month’s Second Anniversary issue of National Geographic Traveller India. The published piece is not on the Nat Geo website, so there’s no link to it. So pick up the issue. 

“The boat service is dying out, you know,” says Raju, the driver of the autorickshaw I am in. We’re careening through the pre-dawn darkness of Kottayam in his auto, heading towards the “boat station” at Kanjiram. I’ve just told him that I plan to take a public ferry from Kanjiram to Alappuzha on Kerala’s coast.

“With more roads and bridges, there aren’t many takers for the ferry. It’s quite slow, you know,” he explains, perhaps perplexed by my interest in the ferry. But when I tell him that I’m a writer, he exhales in understanding as though all is revealed.

As dawn breaks, Raju drops me off at the Kanjiram jetty, an asbestos-roof shed with a small concrete pier. It is the terminus for the Kerala State Water Transport Department’s daily Kottayam-Alappuzha boat service.

The first departure of the day is at 7.15 a.m., although timings can change if a boat has been sent for repairs. I’m rather early, so I sit on a ledge and study the ferry. This is no elegant creation of wood, glass and metal, but a squat, wooden workhorse that looks like it’s been around for a while. Noticing me on the pier, the ferry’s crew invites me on board and tells me to make myself at home. I pick a seat in the prow and wait.

A cat anticipating breakfast

Today, houseboats prowl Kerala’s backwaters, that intricate, interconnected maze of rivers, lakes, and canals that spread across Kottayam, Alappuzha, Kochi, and Kollam. A while ago though, these waterways were the liquid highways connecting large parts of Kerala and ferries were the region’s mass rapid transit systems, linking inland trading centres like Kottayam with Alappuzha on the coast. In A History of Travancore published in 1878, P. Shangoonny Menon, scholar and official in the government of Travancore, writes how in the 1750s: “Several canals were opened to facilitate and extended communication from the back-water to the new town of Alleppey (Alappuzha).”

My interest in the ferry though is personal: I’ve heard older friends and family talk about running errands, or commuting to work on it. As one friend put it, “The ferry was my physical link to the outside world.” With the evolution of faster modes of transport, public ferries may no longer be very popular, but they’re still a window into the region; a window I wanted to open.

I’m woken from my reverie by the voices of people trickling on board. Several carry plastic sacks bulging at the seams; others are armed with fishing rods and nets or farm implements. Almost everyone seems to have a newspaper. Most passengers seem to be regulars; greetings are offered and gossip exchanged. A few choose a seat and dive into their newspapers, while others swap tales about farm workers playing truant. And then, with a toot or two, we’re off.

The glistening 'blackwaters' against the sun

It’s a beautiful early summer morning, the sun is still a baby and there’s a cool breeze. Along the waterways people are beginning their day: brushing teeth, washing clothes and utensils; cleaning fish, and mending nets. We pull up by a makeshift pier for the crew to fix a mechanical issue. A fishmonger’s boat is docked nearby and a passenger makes use of this unscheduled stop to inspect his catch. She returns to the ferry triumphant, a handful of fish wrapped in newspaper.

As the canal opens out into the Vembanad Lake it’s easy to see why Kerala’s backwaters lure people from across the world. I feel like I’m in the middle of the perfect postcard, with green fields that stretch to the horizon, flocks of birds wheeling overhead, battalions of coconut trees guarding the banks, and lotuses blooming in water tinged gold by the rising sun. It’s all rather intoxicating.

We pass churches, mosques, temples, and houses in almost every colour of the rainbow — bright hues of violet, indigo, green, and orange. There are “cool bars” and “fish centres” and more mundane tea shops, hotels and Ayurveda centres that promise “relaxing” massages. For a while, we’re escorted by a squadron of ducks. Like an elephant, the bulk of a houseboat emerges from the mist, a film song booming from an extra-large telly on its deck.

The boat putters along, zigzagging across the water to pick up or drop off passengers. Some jetties are crumbling concrete slabs that seem to be in the middle of nowhere; at one, a dog greets a man as he steps off the boat and they head off into the distance.

A cheerful 'cool bar' and 'fish centre' 

I observe the people on board. There aren’t too many of us, only about 30. In the row of seats right behind me a tourist from Germany and a commuter talk about cameras and lenses; the conversation then veers to toddy tapping. The aroma of sambar and warm idlis wrapped in banana leaves wafts across the boat. My stomach lets out a low growl in response: A family has just opened its breakfast pack.

As we get closer to Alappuzha, the action picks up. The waterways get busier and more people are waiting to board the ferry at each stop. At one jetty a small gaggle of scrubbed, giggling schoolboys gets on. They head to the prow, prop themselves on the sills, and watch me scribble in my notebook. They begin a discussion about why this saipu or “foreigner” is writing notes. When I join the conversation in Malayalam, there are half-embarrassed smiles around.

Soon, the boat is as crowded as the Metro at rush hour. And suddenly, we’re in Alappuzha town inching through water hyacinth and trash towards the main boat station. It’s a little after 9.30 a.m. and there’s a small crowd waiting to board the ferry on it’s return trip.

I’ve had a lovely morning on the backwaters for just Rs 16. As I head away from the crowded jetty, it strikes me that the ferry’s days of glory may perhaps be over, but it still matters to many people in the region.  And that’s just the way it should be.

The Vitals

• A one-way Kottayam-Alappuzha trip on the Kerala State Water Transport Department’s ferry usually takes a little over two hours and costs about Rs 16 depending on the route.
• The ferry terminus in Kottayam is currently at Kanjiram, about 9 km from the town centre. In Alappuzha, the terminus is in the heart of the town.
• There are several trips a day: The first scheduled Kanjiram (Kottayam)-Alappuzha trip is at 7.15 am, the last at 5.45 pm. The first Alappuzha-Kanjiram boat is at 7.30 am, the last at 5.15 pm.
• Timings can change so it’s best to check with either the station master at Kottayam (+91-94000-50371) or Alappuzha (+91-94000-50324 / +91-477-2252510)
• There are mobile phones on the Kottayam-Alappuzha ferries (+91-94000-50372/+91-94000-50373), though the crew may not answer while the boats are running.
• There are no restrooms on the ferries and you’ll have to carry your own refreshments.
• The Water Transport Department also operates ferries from Alappuzha to other destinations in the region. It also runs the ‘See Kuttanad’ service from Alappuzha for commuters and tourists. The first boat usually leaves at 5.30 am and a round trip takes about three hours. A one-way ticket for an adult on the upper deck costs Rs 80 and the lower deck Rs 30.