Kumily - Kottyam - Allepey - Kollam - Varkala

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Blimey! what a lot of travelling we've done in the last 5-6 days! Left Munnar and caught the bus to Kumily to thte Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary. Sadly, having spent quite a lot of money to get in we were faced with India's answer to Windsor Safari Park! PAcked with school kids and squawking families perhapas we just chose the wrong time of year to visit, but it wasn't the experience we hoped it would be. WE went on a 2 hour boat ride with a bunch of very over excitable Indians who insistaed on shrieking and shouting at any wildlife we encountered. WE saw the grand total of 3 elephants from a very very long way away and 3 otters! Dan found lots of flies and mosquitoes, much to his irritation! (They love him and seem to follow him around!!)No sign of the lesser spotted Jimmy Five, or the giant grizzled squirrel Dan was so keen to see! So slightly disheartened we left the park after 2 hours and headed back to town for our spice tour, which was brilliant. HAd a lovely chap take us round a spice garden and show us all those things we thouhgt grew in jars with Schwartz on the front! Pepper plaNTS, cinnamon, cloves, curry leaves, cardamon, ginger, tumeric, all spice, Cocoa, nutmeg, vanilla and the amazing rubber tree!
Supper followed at a lovely place we'd found the night before, a little hut on the side of the road run by husband and wife who spoke no English but understood we were hungry and settled us down at their makeshift table and fed us dosa (wheat pancakes) and curry sauces... and omlettes, absolutely delicious and all for the grand sum of 30p.
Following morning, however, I woke up feeling very very sick! shame cos the food was so tasty. anyway, spent much of morning being ill and unfortunately due to a strike the following day we had to travel that morning so a 5 hour bus ride to Kottyam through the winding hills and a 3 hour boat ride to Allepey thoruhg the backwaters didn't really help matters!
Dan, however, had a thoroughly great time and tells me the scenery was wonderful! Spent that evening in Allepey, not much to tell really cos we headed off bright and early the next day for a 8.5 hour boatride to Kollam. Still not feeling great the prospect was a little daunting but by lunchtime as we coasted along the beautiful KeraLAN backwaters fringed by palml trees and cashew nut groves, I felt right as rain!
Arrived in Kollam that night and Dan had his first beer in 7 days!!! he's been feeling the thirst! Kerala has crazy alcohol license costs so very few restaurants sell beer. we left early the follwing day and took train to Varkala, which, quite frankly, we feel we deserve after a crazy few days of non stop moving. (you may disagree!) Varkala is beautiful, it's a kilometre long cliff top lined with resataurants and shops and bars with the beach a good 20 meteres below it. just beautiful. Spent last night watching the most extraordinary entertainment we've seen! Troops of teenagers performing Bollywood dance acts, some were brilliant and some not so brilliant. Then the highlight - 2 mid-twenty year old guys came on to the stage and performed their version of Backstreet's Back by the Backstreet Boys! with chairs as props. Absolutely hilarious and taken wholey seriously by all involved. Dan and I had to stifle our giggles! Although I secretly think Dan was really impressed and had his pride not got in the way would have been happy to get up on stage and join them!
So far the weather's been wonderful, not a cloud in a whole month but this morning we woke to grey skies! It would be just our luck to pick the only year to visit India that the monsoons arrive 3 months early! So we spent the days being slathered in hot oil and pummeled by burly masseurs! The Ayervedic health treatments reign here and we succombed to the advertising! we both had a full body massage that was lovely but there was no room for prudish behaviour!
Just off out to supper to eat some fish! the restaurants display the days catches in front of them and you saunter along and chose what you want! ahhhhhhhhh India!
As part of my new years resolution, Dan has convinced me to sign up to an Indian cookery class tomorrow! we've chosen the menu and hope to recreate it for some of you when we're back, if I haven't poisoned us both before then! not reknowned for my cooking skills!

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