Blogs from Alleppey, Kerala, India, Asia - page 4

We started the day trying to find bikes. They were supposed to be on the next street but that was closed. A cab driver saw us walking around lost and we told he what we wanted. He drove us to several places before we found a place to rent them. I cost us about $2 us to rent them. Off we went to go see the Chinese Fishing nets. We get there and see the boats and the fish. One of the nets groups invited us on board and let us work the net. You pull on the ropes and the counter balance helps raise the nets. It was fun. We continued on biking. Man am I out of shape, the bike is hard to ride and bumpy too. We go a little farther and the ... read more

We left the Periya Hotel at about 0700 loading ourselves, and having our gear loaded into 7 seater Chevs. We climbed for a while in Eastern Kerala and apparently we reached something like 700 m. The landscape became lush again and opened out into tea plantations. Quite steep mountains and ravines with the high points often occupied by a church or church school - sounds a bit like Brisbane! We saw Fraciscans, Jesuits, Lutherans and Adventists. At the top of our climb we stopped at a large church that had been built by the locals, apparently more or less under conditions of slavery during the English time. Quite a simply decorated church with the symbols we have come to recognise in Southern India, for example a metal cross on top of the steeple incorporating a large ... read more

Review of Panaromic Sea Resort, Alappuzha This hotel is located just across the road from Alappuzha beach. It was a pleasant and relaxing stay at this property. It was our honeymoon and we found it very comfortable. Rooms are spacious and clean. Inclusive buffet breakfast was good. Tea maker and fridge in the room was useful. I took a garden view room & it was great. We spent a night over there. The food was fine. Staff is courteous and well behaved. It is located exactly beside the beach and you can go on the beach at night after dinner as well. But I’d suggest people to better go for an overnight stay at a lake resort as sea in alappuzha is not great & very calm. It doesn’t give you the feel of a beach ... read more

As our month in India draws to an end we cannot believe how quickly the time has passed but we are looking forward to the antipodean leg of our journey. On the 10th we fly from Kochi to Singapore via Chennai (Madras) and we are looking forward to staying with friends from Much Wenlock, Bill and Astrid, for two days until we carry on to Adelaide. Our Indian road trip around Rajastan was followed by a short visit to Amritsar before we flew south to Kerala. At Fort Cochin we found a small town with aspects that appeal to travellers like internet cafe, bookshops, rooftop restaurants and giftshops for me to browse! There we discovered India's first Biennale, a modern art exhibition and a cultural centre where we watched the traditional theatrical dance called Kathikalli. We ... read more

Alleppy, I’ve found and lost my heart here, I’ve experienced extreme pleasure and extreme pain, yet unlike returning to paradice which I learnt a few years ago was not a good idea, returning home is. Sujit was waiting at the train station to collect us and take us to Mandala, they had kept aside my favourite room for me, the bamboo hut, that first night, I had a beer on the beautiful lonely beach and slept on the comphyest mattress i'd experienced in India. Absolute bliss. So I first rocked up here in 2010 when a really kind smiling boy approached Daniela and I at the train station, I then returned a few days later with Matthias, then after my first stay in the Ashram I took Fiona and her 3 American girlfriends, I then met ... read more