Blogs from Kumily, Kerala, India, Asia - page 3

We started the morning hot, at sea-level and on a houseboat. One ferry, some walking, two rickshaws and an extreme bus trip later and we were monsoonally wet, refreshingly cold and in a treehouse in the mountainous Kumily. Kumily is a lovely little town which is the gateway to Periyar Tiger Reserve - you heard me - tigers! It's also a town where many Indian families come as tourists as well, and our visit cooincided with school holidays and everyone heading into the hills to avoid the heat, so there were quite a few people about. We wanted to do a 2 day trek through the park, but our timing was off. the day we tried to plan our adventures there was a strike - something to do with the maoists we think - and the ... read more

While we were ready to leave the coast and do a bit of travelling, we realized that we had got too know so many people while we were in and around Varkala and Odayam. We left Varkala by train to Kottayam (sp) for an overnight stay in a 14 storey modern hotel which we booked because it had a rooftop pool. The pool was fine. Swim Swim Swim. The acoustics at dinnertime, however left a lot to be desired. We ate early in the indoor A/C dining room, purely on the basis that the tables were glass and we saw a waiter with a cloth and spray cleaning one. That my friends , was a luxury we longed for. We had been in beach huts and shacks and surf side restaurants for three weeks. There is ... read more

In search of tigers... sadly there were none to be seen but we did have a great day out in a jeep in the jungle! Met a fun French couple and we went trekking into the jungle with Ramesh who was kind enough to keep peeling the leechess off our shoes and putting more salt on them to keep them away! It was hard to look anywhere other than down at the writhing mass of leeches on my shoes! We saw lots of monkeys, frogs and giant squirrels too which was cool. Oh and Bison on the hill (like tiny dots in the distance!!)... read more

From Cochin we have travelled up into the mountains to a town called Kumily approximately 3,200 feet above sea level. The air is cooler here and we almost felt cold last night for a minute or two! It is a spectacular location with steep wooded hillsides and dense green vegetation everywhere you look. The last 110 kilometres of our journey were an unrelenting climb around hairpin after hairpin past many rubber plantations (the rubber tree is not native here but grows well in the tropical climate and was introduced by the British). As we got higher they eventually gave way to tea plantations. On our arrival in Kumily we immediately signed up for a tea and spice plantation visit. To my surprise and delight we visited the Connemara tea plantation named by it's British owner more ... read more

We went to Kumily and planned on staying no more than 2 days...we ended up staying one week and it was one of our favorite place. The people are amazingly sweet, there is so much to do and see. We've made friends with a family, they are renting a hut close to the Thekady park that's called "french bakery restaurant", Subha makes amzing food with fresh vegetables and makes it to your taste. Their son Hemant is a lovely boy of 5 that speaks a little english and is full of joy and smiles. Their hut has only 2 rooms, the kitchen in wich they sleep at night and the other room with 2 tables, a fridge and a tv. So it is their home and restaurant at the same place. It#s a great place and ... read more