South India

---

So after lazing around for a month in Goa we were well and truly refreshed, and decided to blitz around Southern India for the 6 weeks leading up to xmas.

First stop was a town called Hampi, which looks like a cross between the Flintstones and an Indiana Jones movie set. It was so beautiful and the people really friendly. The main attractions in Hampi are a load of temples built into the rock and the town has the slogan "where stones tell history in silence". We spent a good couple of days exploring but, of course, being tight we decided that we didn't need a guide or tuk-tuk driver. No, we thought we were more than capable of seeing the sights ourselves. Big mistake. According to the Lonely Planet book there's a footpath linking the main sights. Well, we certainly couldn't find that. 2 hours later we were hopelessly lost, wandering through banana plantations, jumping over rivers and swampland. We finally admitted we had a problem when we started walking through enormous spiders webs with creatures as big as your fist...we got out of there sharpish. The actual temples were brilliant (think elephants offering blessings...), and the scenery unbelievable. Still way too many monkeys for our liking though.

An overnight bus took us to Banaglore which was by far the most westernized city we've visited in India to date. We did the standard tourist essentials, like eating KFC, checking out the new Harry Potter film and even finding some time for tenpin bowling! And, unbelievably, we found what could possibly be the only honest rickshaw driver in India - he gave us back 10 rupees because we paid too much!

Next we went to the east coast and, via Chennai (a smelly dump), to a place called Mamallapuram. We didn't really know what to expect here but it couldn't have been more different to Goa. There's no booze for a start, no meat, and virtually no Brits! It was cool to see the other side of beach life in India - what with all the fishing boats and a slow steady pace of life that was oh so different to Goa.

Then to Pondicherry which was an old French port that was the closest thing we've seen to home since we came away. There were cobbled streets, crepes and moules on offer in the restaurants and everyone yelled out bonjour! We stayed in an Ashram, which is a bit like an Indian version of a Tibetan monastery but with everyone doing yoga on the front lawn. This was probably the strictest place we've ever stayed in - not sure if we should take it personally but they wouldn't even let us sit in reception - there was also a 10pm curfew, no meat allowed through the gates, and signs everywhere proclaiming us to "be nice to those who smoke and drink - they will not be around much longer".

We now decided to leave the coast and head to our first hill station - a place called Ooty. While it was nice to leave the heat behind, we certainly weren't expecting drizzle, fog and weather that had us digging out our woolly hats and hoodies for the first time in months! Ooty was ok, but nothing like the place the guidebook raves about. Ok, the rain didn't help but we found it just like any other Indian town - dirty, polluted and not particularly pleasing on the eye. We also did a locals tour - 10 hours for 150 rupees - just over 2 quid. God, India's cheap! The only thing worth while seeing there is the toy train that the British built that goes up the mountain.

Because we weren't keen on Ooty, we decided to try another hill station called Kodai. The weather was similar but the place was much nicer - probably helps we splashed out on a pretty decent hotel overlooking the valley as well. One thing we've noticed in India is that if you talk to any local, it gives a green light to about another 100 who suddenly want pictures, email addresses and god knows what else. Luckily Paul can hold a cricket conversation (which the Indians are OBSESSED with) so there was always something to chat about. The kids are cool actually - very friendly and wanting to know your opinion on anything from the Commonwealth games to what animals we've seen on our Indian travels. They also love their Bollywood films and Hindi music - it's impossible to go anywhere without hearing it.

The continuous fog in Kodai meant the views weren't as good as we'd hoped, so we decided to go back to the West coast again and a place called Fort Kochin, which is famous for its Chinese fishing nets (see pictures). Kochin was great - very chilled out, cracking food and a few sights to see. We were now in the province of Kerala which has the slogan "Gods own country" You can see why - the area is lovely; so much untouched scenery and friendly people.

5 days in Kochi and then a bus to Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary which was our first hope of seeing a tiger in the wild so far. Periyar is described almost as a Disneyland experience and there were certainly a load of domestic tourists. The main thing we wanted to do here was trekking out into the park so we signed up for a nightime 3 hour, and then a full day trek.

The night one was....ok. We wondered just what was going on when we turned up and the other four on the trek (all Indians from Delhi) were dressed in going out outfits - fancy saris, open sandals, the works. Don't really think they knew what they were letting themselves in for - especially when we were given leech socks, a small torch and the walking began. We didn't see much apart from a few deer but the sounds were amazing. Of course, the others moaned about how far we walked, and they were absolutely incapable of keeping quiet. Still, it was good fun.

The next morning us, a few other westerners, guide and armed guard (massive shotgun!), went deeper into the park and we can honestly say this was one of our favourite days of the entire trip so far. The scenery was amazing, the trekking pretty tough, and we saw a fair bit of wildlife - the highlight being a herd of wild elephants. Also, we heard a tiger growling in the undergrowth but saw nothing - perhaps it was just a tape recording or something!

From Periyar we went to the backwaters, a large group of canals where everything seems so relaxed, and then to Alleppay, where we saw a festival that was trying to encompass Hindu, Muslim and Christian faiths and mix them together for Xmas goodwill.

The final stop was Kovalam, where we have been parked up for the past 12 days. We haven't done much here, just laze away the hours sleeping on the beach and playing in the waves. Xmas was spent being sick with food poisoning unfortunately, but New Year was a full-on party Indian style

This afternoon we begin a 48 hour journey up to Mumbai, and then the plan is to go to the north-west towards the Pakistan border. 6 weeks left in India!!

---

Comments

[SaajKerala]

tigers in kerala
In Periyar WildLife Sanctuary its very difficult to see Tigers.Tiger is a very elusive animal and also in the thick rain forest its very difficult to see one.