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Published: February 5th 2009
The Backwaters
27th-31st Jan
Firstly we arrived in Kollam which is the southerly approach to the Backwaters. Here we went on a canoe trip to Murroe island. This was a punting canoe which is pushed along by a guy with a bamboo pole. Was probably the most humid place I've every been in my life, however was very beautiful. We saw lots of plant life including Cashew trees, Pineapples, Nutmeg trees, Peppercorn trees and more. Greg attempted the punting but this is obviously harder than it looks as we crashed into the side within 2 seconds.
This trip gaves us a taste for the backwaters so we set off to Alleppey which is the main place to hire house boats.
We hired a really great boat from the Jetty, which was the best of many boats we looked at. On board we had 3 crew; Siju (Cook), Shaiju (Captain) and Sathesh (Mechanic). This definitely has to be one of the best experiences so far and worth every darn Rupee (at 100 pounds for 2 days). All food is included which to be honest is a little overwhelming as you get treated like Maharaja's, we had to tell
Siju to stop cooking more snacks.
The scenery and wildlife is amazing, including kingfishers, humming birds, fireflies. Evenings are spent watching the stars on the balcony of the houseboat. This is totally recommended for anyone who fancy a great holiday. We arrived in Kumarakom at 8.30am to disembark and take a 5 hour bus journey to Kumily for Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary, Largest sanctuary in the Western Ghants.
Periyar
1st Feb - 2nd Feb
7am start of 3 hour trek into the forest at Periyar, we were lucky enough to see a herd of elephants having breakfast. Then we had our breakfast but had to compete with the cheeky monkeys who tried their best to snatch our food.
One point to note about Kerala is that every evening each town has a power cut for about an hour, so you need to make sure you have candles for these events.
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JOHN + MAGGIE
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backwaters
This looks ab fab. You look to be having a great time. Love the pic of Greg punting and you with coconut. Bet the sunset looks tons better in real time - photos never do it justice. We are enjoying Lanz weather not too bad sunny days rainy nights sometimes bit breezy but better than the snow at home. Josh is enjoying his holiday and his food! he is eating carrots,pears and bananas now with relish and sends aunty Jo and uncle Greg big hugs and kisses.