Blogs from Kochi, Kerala, India, Asia - page 2

I booked the Crowne Plaza Kochi hotel thinking I had picked free cancellation option - for 3 nights over the Christmas period - apparently I was sorely mistaken. Unfortunately I had to book 2 rooms as there are no family suites which is why I was looking for free cancellation option. Now that I have found something else that suits our needs better with young children, I have tried to cancel but am being hit with not 1 but 2 cancellation fees. Both rooms x1 night. I selected the waive option in booking.com to no avail. I have also contacted the hotel via booking.com explaining my mistake and offering to pay for 1 room for the first night. No dice. It's like as if it's not peak holiday season & they won't be able to re-sell ... read more

Day 13 & 14: Ooty & Cochin 30 September - 1 October 2017 After breakfast, we left Ooty, and drove to Cochin (a journey of about 300 km/ 7 hrs drive approx). The commercial capital of Kerala and the most cosmopolitan of the state’s cities, Cochin or Kochi have long been eulogized in tourist literature as the ‘Queen of the Arabian Sea’. Strategically located on the east–west sea route, Cochin is Kerala’s major port, boasting of one of the finest natural harbours in the world, which forms the hub around which the city revolves. With its wealth of historical associations and its setting on a cluster of islands and narrow peninsula, the city of Kochi perfectly reflects the eclecticism of Kerala. Apart from being a major commercial hub, Kochi is also a major tourist attraction in ... read more

The Secret Garden Heritage Hotel is aptly named as I find out on my twisting and turning tuktuk drive to find my final hotel of this amazing trip to southern India. I'd found the hotel by chance online and as soon as I saw the photos showing off their gorgeous antique Indian furniture, the elegant balconies, the wooden carvings, the four poster beds with beautiful Indian design coverings and the pool I just couldn't resist splashing out and treating myself to three extra days on my own at the end of my G-Adventures trip. I am welcomed with a freshly squeezed pineapple juice and then taken to my gorgeous room. The standard is quite a notch up from those I'd gotten used to on my adventure travel tour. So I'm blown away by the luxury and ... read more

When I was young, whenever I'd pull a silly face, fingers dragging my bottom eyelids down while at the same time shoving the tip of my nose up and my mouth wide (that was always the favourite) my mum used to warn me that if the wind changed direction my face would stay that way. Of course I didn't believe her and gurned away thinking I was hilarious, but still a tiny part of me wondered if maybe she was right making me stop pretty soon after. After all who wants to spend the rest of their life looking like a pig that's had a stroke? Tonight at the Cochin Cultural Centre Academy of Arts and Performing Theatre I am to get a lesson in extreme face pulling that no wind on earth could fix in ... read more

India! I'm back and a symphony of senses envelopes my soul. Noise, chaos, sounds, smells hit all at once. If like me you're used to more temporate climes nothing can prepare you for the tsunami wave of heat that hits you and seeps into every core of your being. It feels like there isn't enough air to breathe and instant beads of sweat form on my forehead and around the nape of my neck. Scorchio! My life is in the hands of the transfer guy I'd prearranged with G-Adventures as we weave in and out of constantly honking cars, trucks, buses, tuktuks and mopeds. Those from my native UK who tend towards road rage on what they think are our overcrowded roads would be in a constant state of eye popping, vein bursting, heart attack inducing ... read more