Kumily to Kumarakon

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Thekkady to Kumarakon
We bid a fond farewell to Cardamom County Hotel, such a great hotel except no Internet, well they have it but it just didn't work. The staff were lovely. Another warm sunny day and we set off in our air conditioned car to drive to Kumarakon. Passing coffee plantations and more tea plantations, rubber plantations and so much rich lush vegetation. The houses are smart,and our driver tells us that we are passing through a mainly Christian area. One of the towns is settled mostly by people from Tamal, the people in neighbouring Sri Lanka who were unsuccessful in creating a separate state for themselves in that country. Stopped at a cattle market, it was hot and the cattle were being herded into trucks, it wasn't pleasant to watch so we continued on our way.there are so many huge churches and temples, about the same number that we have pubs if not more. We leave the countryside and pass through lots of towns and a major one that was really busy then a few side streets and we are travelling along a backwater. We arrived at the boat and there are 5 of us, three crew and us. It is a smart boat all mahogany and white and we are soon travelling across Kerala's largest inland lake. Our room is very smart but we are advised not to open the windows because of flies and mosquito's. they have a plug in in the room and it has a fan and is air conditioned, thank you Cox and Kings. We are shown upstairs to a private deck with day beds, wow! So a little reading and watching the birds and boats and a little sunbathing and lunch is served. A huge grilled fish and pineapple and coconut sauce and vegetable curry and dal and green beans and rice its just too much. We haven't written too much about the food but Kerala has spicy but not too hot food. Lots of vegetables are served everywhere in India. My favourite is Malai Kofta it's potato stuffed with cheese and nuts in a mild creamy curry sauce.After lunch we resumed our relaxation mode until we reached a bank where they were selling prawns. The prawns were quite expensive, more than we had paid for them served in a restaurant so we didn't buy any. We returned to the boat and moved on. We were then picked up by a motorised canoe and taken into the narrow canals. Here we saw life on the Kerala backwater, stunning houses and the not so glamorous, people washing, fishing, cleaning, swimming all in the same water. Either side of the canal were rice fields and lush vegetation and at the end of the canal was a pumping station either removing or adding water to the paddy fields. We returned to the boat and we continued on our journey across the lake being served tea and baked bananas. We eventually moored up and went for a short walk where all the boats were moored. We met an American couple and discussed where they and we had been and shared our experiences of India. We then spoke about going back and they said it was -40 in Minnesota so we think we can cope with 5 in the UK. It's about 35 here and steamy. We have a shower and dinner is served and it was yummy our chef is good! The difference between Indian food at home and here is that they cook more with vegetables here and when they do a meat curry there is hardly any meat in it. The only thing missing from the meal is a gin and tonic to start, would have made the beautiful sunset more beautiful, well maybe not. Also we have become addicted to sweet lime soda and they only had Adams ale. No tele or shops to wander about and the mosquito's and flies are all around so we retire to our air conditioned room for a read !? Can't believe it is all so quiet, the odd sound of a bird and cicadas and the gentle lapping of water as a fisherman goes by. Sweet dreams methinks!

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Photos

Cattle market
One cow did not want to go in to the truck