Blogs from Kollam, Kerala, India, Asia - page 7

Enjoy the ambiance of a traditional Kerala house in the banks of the cool and calm Kumarakom backwaters. Tharavadu (means ancestoral house in Malayalam) Heritage Home is a 120 years old traditional Syrian Christian family house located near the river bank. The recently renovated house is surrounded with small canals and rich lush evergreen trees, flanked on the opposite river bank with a traditional Hindu temple. Kumarakom is a part of the Kuttanadu region on the Vembanadu Lake. The promoters are keen to provide eco friendly services and a big NO to plastics.The property Tharavadu Heritage Home is designed in unique Syrian Christian Architecture, consist of Main Heritage Block, Twin Cottages, Ayurveda Centre, Dining area, office building, Children play area etc. which surrounded by Greenery and Eco Friendly environment. Kumarakom : 13 Kms, from Kottayam lies ... read more

Houseboat Cruise through the backwaters of Kerla is an amazing experience for any Traveller. Backwaters are a network of lakes, canals and estuaries and deltas of forty-four rivers that drain into the Arabian Sea. The backwaters of Kerala are a self supporting eco-system teeming with life. The canals connect the villages together and are still used for local transport. Over 900 km of this labyrinthine water world is navigable. Kuttanadu is the one rare places in the world where farming is done below sea level (1.5 -2 meters below sea level). Inland waterways that flow above the land level is an amazing feature of this land. Kuttanad lies in heart of the backwaters of Kerala. This beautiful countryside with its waterways also is rich in crops like rice, banana, Cassava and yam. The most exciting aspect ... read more

We started our Kerala tour in South India by flying in from Dubai to Trivendrum. At the airport we were picked up by our driver Anthony and went to our hotel in Kovalam. We had a wonderful body massage the next morning (massage by hand and feet - believe it (yes it is true). The beaches in Kovalam are quite nice. We also spent a night on the houseboat in the backwaters of Allepy which was well worth it - with all our meals cooked on the houseboat. There was a guide, captain of the boat and a cook to serve us. It was excellent. We then visited Thekaddy & Munaar. Munaar was reached by travelling on narrow hilly roads and world's highest tea plantations are in Munaar. We also saw "Kurunji" flowers that bloom every ... read more

My moves this week have been mostly dictated by trying to escape from the rain and trying to ensure I find tv (and maybe even beer) to watch the footie. I've managed quite well, mostly thanks to a chance encounter with Katy and Ingvill - 2 MA students from Kings, who also took me to the only proper beach I've seen so far. Of course we couldn't swim in the sea - it was way too rough, but we did managed a couple of cocktails :o). I didn't come 6000 miles to be rained on so I left Kochi and headed South instead of to Goa as planned. I'm now in Trivandrum - Kerala's capital city, and it's surprising to be somewhere that really is a fully fledged city - with shops and highways and people ... read more

I know it's less than 24 hours since my last post, but the backwaters of Kerala are worth a separate entry! Phil and I had been planning to visit the backwaters by taking a public ferry from Kottayam to Alleppey which would have taken about 3 hours. The hiccup was however that we would have had to make our way to Kottayam and from Allepey respectively by train (1,5 hours each way). A lot of hassle it seemed, and we weren't even sure a) what times the ferry would leave b) whether we would get a seat and c) whether the route was of particular interest. So, when we arrived in our hotel in Kochi yesterday and were told that we could take a 7-hour tour from here to the backwaters, it didn't take us very ... read more