We moved on today. Leaving behind our gorgeous views and rooms at the Olive Brook Hotel and moving to Shola. So, it was back into the A team van for a couple of hours, and after a short pit stop for a breathtaking view of the blue mountains, we arrived at Camp Kalypso - a Glamping Site built by our tour guide's company which they use as a trekking base camp. After a very welcome snack and delicious tea (cinnamon, cardomom, pepper and ginger), we headed out on our next trek to a village called Pacidpulkudi. The trek was through heavy undergrowth with lots of cardomom plants and endless Eucalyptus trees (brought over from Australia and slowly taking over). Heavy going up hill but our guides kept us entertained spotting black eagles, snake eagles, snakes and ... read more

A bit of a lie in this morning after a rather disturbed night. Olivia and I decided that an adult should be in each bedroom rather late. So, I picked Chloe up from the kids room and Olivia slept in there. Phoebe then had an upset stomach into the early hours of the morning and so not a great deal of sleep was had. After a light breakfast we packed up and left Whispering Waters for our new destination in Munnar. We stopped after a few minutes for Anoop to show us how rubber is collected. He gave us a couple of interesting facts about it too: rubber was discovered in Brazil and was first used as a pencil eraser! It was a 3 hour journey to Munnar and everyone was fairly quiet as the roads ... read more

It was an 8.30 start as Anoop didnt want us to get into town too late and then get caught by the sun. Today we were shown round Fort Kochi - which includes the Fort (built by the Portugese, then destroyed and re-built by the Dutch). We started with the a rather curious trip round the laundry of Fort Kochi which used to wash all of the military clothing. We've still no idea why we wnt round it but it was quite interesting to see a traditional laundry still in working order - no washing machines and irons heated by coal! Our guide tried to make friends with Chloe by teasing her which she was not impressed by and made her cry!! After the laundry we went to the Roman Catholic Church that Vasco De Gama ... read more

This is it. We're off! Its an early start with a 6am pick up from home. We managed to pack everything last night and the bags are ready to go by the front door. As ever some last minute charging of phones, headphones and power packs overnight and then we are ready. Chloe was ready to roll at wake up time, as ever, Lucas and then finally Phoebe emerged. We got to the airport in good time and had a Pret A Manger breakfast of croissants, apple juice and coffee (me) before heading over to get our treats from WH Smiths. Laden with crisps, sweets, sandwiches and drinks we headed to the gate. Olivia was a bit worried about our visa pictures but we got through the gate in the UK without any trouble. The first ... read more