Blogs from Kannur, Kerala, India, Asia - page 3

Hi! I just wanted to tell you about our houseboat trip though the 900 kilometer backwaters. we went from Varkala to Alleppy, where the backwaters are. we took a train there that was at least 4 hours and finally arrived at our hotel room. the next day we set of on the houseboat. we had rented the boat for the 2 of feburaryand stayed there over night. The day was nice and we saw enough ducks to take at least 3 pictures, yeah, and I mean ducks. our cook was great, he serverd very nice food and we stopped at a nice village for the night. unfortunately, not nice enough! When nightfall came and while we waited for our dinner, we noticed all the millions and billions of bugs swarming the many lights on the ... read more

Beth's Article. Well, I am writing my first article (on a computer where half the letters are faded off the keys, so it is really hunt and peck) while Azim is away at an English school observing a class in session. We have taken over the internet cafe and out of the four of us, I am the least able to help anybody-we'll see if we can get this published! This first picture is of the kids in our Ambassador "Classic" that we rented for four days. We were supposed to get a brand new Indica car for six days and that turned into a different car for five days and more money. Then, this being India, Azim finally arrived at our hotel with "Junkie"-which we grew quite fond of - I think it was a ... read more

It's been so long! Well, there's a bit of a gap here between this and my last blog, and I'm sorry about that. I've decided it's probably for the best if I just carry on here as if there wasn't a gap. Anyone desperate to know about my adventures prior to this blog can take a look at Jen's blog here. My first impressions of Kumily, the hill station/service town or Periyar National Park weren't great. I staggered off the bus after a 5 hour journey from Madurai, the last hour or so of which was spent climbing mountain roads at breakneck pace. I'd been a bit cramped, so my legs were a bit stiff. As in many places in India we've been, the sidewalk doubles up as a public urinal, so my olfactory senses were ... read more

Beaches in Kerala, India are rapidly establishing as one of the most attrative and talked about in the world with its lovely stretches of clean sand, swaying palm trees and rippling waves embracing them. I recently visited "Muzuppilangad beach" in Kannore district in north Kerala. Mind you these ares are totally unexplored, magical and out of this world compared to the well known and commercial ´Kovalam´ beach in south Kerala near the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. The one thing I noticed about this beach is its cleanliness. It is stunningly clean and has almost a devine look to it.. Added to this is the fact that it is one of the longest stretch of beaches and the only drive in beach in India. Of the 7 kms of its length one can drive through almost 4 kms. ... read more

This is one place on the Arabian coast of India where history has stood still. Approximately 3 kms west of Kannur city is Fort St.Angelo,dramatically silhouetted against the sea, its massive laterite blocks give this fort, built by the Portuguese in 1505, a faintly menacing air. At one time nearly thousand people lived within Fort St. Angelo´s walls, from where one can enjoy commanding views of the sea and of the legendary ´Moplah Bay´. Here the Portuguese, followed by the Dutch, the French and finally the English have fought amoung themselves and against local rulers. We can still see the influence of the British in Thalassery and that of the French in Mahe. They established their supremacy in the region by exploiting the discord amoung local rulers. Portugeuse ruled supreme till 1663 when the Dutch captured ... read more