Kerala

Right, it's been ages since we did one of these and we're home in a couple of weeks so not sure it's worth it anymore. That said, Chrissie's got a bad head and is snoozing and I'm bored, so here goes.

Kerala is the state at the very south of India and despite it getting even hotter (we read that it got to 120F!!!) we had a lovely time there. We headed straight for Kochi, the capital, which is largely a big port, but has a sweet colonial district which is superbly looked after and preserved. It was colonised by the Dutch and the influence is still strong. Due to difficulty booking an onward train we ended up having about 5 days in the town. We didn't need so long, but we fluked a beautiful superior room at a cheap price as the hotel was empty other than us and this meant we easily dossed for a couple of days. Given the oppressive heat, we happily hid in the room and read in the air-con. Come evening time, it was just about cool enough to go out, so we'd wander to the small town beach and watch the sunset and the Indian families splashing in the water. With a selection of sweet restaurants and a nice bar with lots of fans we whiled away the evenings playing cards and meeting strange drunk travellers.

The one thing you "must do" while in Kerala, according to the guidebooks, is go on a houseboat, so we did. We headed out to the backwaters and onto a houseboat made of bamboo, that was punted by two people. The day is spent slowly drifting up and down palm lined canals while lazing in comfy chairs, only having to move to eat the enormous lunch that is cooked and served for you. Come evening, it's the same again, washed down with plenty of Kingfisher beer. It is a thoroughly relaxing experience, although we both felt a little guilty seeing these poor guys punting us along all day in such heat. I don't know if it's a British in India guilt thing or not, but we felt a bit awkward being waited on hand and foot all day. Come night time, we slept on the boat and then had a huge breakfast served before heading back to Kochi.

Quick one that! Onto Tamil Nadu next.

Love

Chrissie and Matt
x x x

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