Epic 8 hour journey from Palolem to Cochin due to one cab ride, two flights and a hotel transfer that took longer than the flight to get to the hotel, we arrived in Cochin, only to be told that we had missed the first day of our tour. Thanks Intrepid!!!! Again, having been told the meeting was at 6pm and the activities would start the next day, we were of course disappointed to find out that the meeting was at 1pm and the group had already been out and seen the sights in Cochin and we were leaving first thing the next morning. Even though one of the girls on the trip said that it was pretty underwhelming, the fact of the matter is that we missed the whole town and it was a place where Tash was particularly keen to see and explore. So we can't tell you anything about Cochin, except that the hotel was nice - however beware the forceful shower if wanting to keep tender bits intact.
What to say about our second trip. To be honest, both Tash and I were not feeling spectacularly interested in getting to know new people - they had big shoes to fill after our first group and we were not in the social mood. I think that the word would be "Stand-offish". But we sat at the back of the bus and kept to ourselves and, over time, grew to like the people on the trip and formed some good friendships However, I digress too far in the story.
Our first stop was a tea plantation in Munnar, which involved a movie in which Tash and I couldn't stop laughing and an explanation of the tea process, which neither of us understood more than seven words of. However, there were lots of funny photo opportunities and we had a good time. It was very picturesque in the mountains with all of the tea plantations and was a radical change from the scenery we had become accustomed to in the North, but was welcomed. Our stay that night was at a lovely hill top hotel which was at the bottom of the highest mountain in India, which we had a bit of a climb of in the late afternoon and started to forge the foundations of our friendship with a couple of the girls.
The next stop was Periyar where we had a free afternoon, before a spice walk with Abraham, who has featured on the BBC and in many books and sports some seriously bushy ear hair. The next day we were jammed packed with a walk in the National Park and saw Squirrels and monkeys and birds. We ran through the jungle at one point to try to catch some elephants that had passed through not long before, but we missed them and only found thier dung. In the afternoon we had an elephant ride and then only Tash and I went to see a martial arts demonstration - which was bloody great. There was hand to hand combat, stick fighting, swords and knives and jumping through flaming rings left right and center. We "oohhed" and "awwed" and were generally impressed by the skill of the fighters and the show in general. We even were allowed down into the pit (it was set up rather Roman style) to pose with the fighters and were deemed honorary warriors, sealed with a mark on the forehead. Sadly this fun time was marred by the worst meal I have had so far in India. Yuck - even describing it will make me feel unhappy again, so I won't - just know it was bad!!!!
Next stop - Alleppy for the famous Kerla Backwaters in which I got eaten by mozzies, but loved the feel of the place. Its kind of like an Indian Venice. The first night the hotel was fully booked so Tash and I and a couple of others had to sleep on a house boat, which we though was awesome, although others did not. However, our showers did not work, so we went without but it was still fun and our boat hosted an Uno night, which was the pulse of the hotel and where we sealed out friendships. Alleppy can summed by relaxing on a boat cruising through the backwaters enjoying seeing local life in harmony with the river system, which is the life blood of the people.
Next - onto Varkalla, which is a hill top town over looking the sea. We couldn't go into the temple due to road closure, so we enjoyed a free afternoon doing some last minute shopping (after the LONGEST wait for lunch - almost 2 hours - thankfully the fish curry was to die for!) and had a girly cocktail night before sinking to the softest beds in the world. The next day we visited a temple and an Ashram, which was actually nothing like we expected - however was an interesting outing. We also went to a temple where we weren't allowed to take photos, which was a shame cause there was a tree that was totally adorned with little plastic dolls hanging from the branches to signify thanks to the gods for couples who had successfully had a child. Weird and a little creepy. We liked Varkalla - it was a pretty little town.
Our last move for the trip was to Kovalam, which we got to after a visit to a palace (in which we were again not allowed to take photos in case we duplicated paintings for knockoffs. Another temple in which we had to sardine push our way into the front of to see the worshiping going on inside. It was full of women in lovely sarees and children in their Sunday best - given that it was Sunday. After we made it to the hotel in Kovalm, we settled in for some relaxing before heading home. Sadly for me, the sun is also on vacation and it has rained a bit, even though the weather is warm and perfect for swimming, the cloud laden sky has given me no smiles. Again, we have done some last, last minute shopping and are down to our final rupees which we intend on spending on a lavish lunch before showering and heading to the airport.
What to say about our second trip. To be honest, both Tash and I were not feeling spectacularly interested in getting to know new people - they had big shoes to fill after our first group and we were not in the social mood. I think that the word would be "Stand-offish". But we sat at the back of the bus and kept to ourselves and, over time, grew to like the people on the trip and formed some good friendships However, I digress too far in the story.
Our first stop was a tea plantation in Munnar, which involved a movie in which Tash and I couldn't stop laughing and an explanation of the tea process, which neither of us understood more than seven words of. However, there were lots of funny photo opportunities and we had a good time. It was very picturesque in the mountains with all of the tea plantations and was a radical change from the scenery we had become accustomed to in the North, but was welcomed. Our stay that night was at a lovely hill top hotel which was at the bottom of the highest mountain in India, which we had a bit of a climb of in the late afternoon and started to forge the foundations of our friendship with a couple of the girls.
The next stop was Periyar where we had a free afternoon, before a spice walk with Abraham, who has featured on the BBC and in many books and sports some seriously bushy ear hair. The next day we were jammed packed with a walk in the National Park and saw Squirrels and monkeys and birds. We ran through the jungle at one point to try to catch some elephants that had passed through not long before, but we missed them and only found thier dung. In the afternoon we had an elephant ride and then only Tash and I went to see a martial arts demonstration - which was bloody great. There was hand to hand combat, stick fighting, swords and knives and jumping through flaming rings left right and center. We "oohhed" and "awwed" and were generally impressed by the skill of the fighters and the show in general. We even were allowed down into the pit (it was set up rather Roman style) to pose with the fighters and were deemed honorary warriors, sealed with a mark on the forehead. Sadly this fun time was marred by the worst meal I have had so far in India. Yuck - even describing it will make me feel unhappy again, so I won't - just know it was bad!!!!
Next stop - Alleppy for the famous Kerla Backwaters in which I got eaten by mozzies, but loved the feel of the place. Its kind of like an Indian Venice. The first night the hotel was fully booked so Tash and I and a couple of others had to sleep on a house boat, which we though was awesome, although others did not. However, our showers did not work, so we went without but it was still fun and our boat hosted an Uno night, which was the pulse of the hotel and where we sealed out friendships. Alleppy can summed by relaxing on a boat cruising through the backwaters enjoying seeing local life in harmony with the river system, which is the life blood of the people.
Next - onto Varkalla, which is a hill top town over looking the sea. We couldn't go into the temple due to road closure, so we enjoyed a free afternoon doing some last minute shopping (after the LONGEST wait for lunch - almost 2 hours - thankfully the fish curry was to die for!) and had a girly cocktail night before sinking to the softest beds in the world. The next day we visited a temple and an Ashram, which was actually nothing like we expected - however was an interesting outing. We also went to a temple where we weren't allowed to take photos, which was a shame cause there was a tree that was totally adorned with little plastic dolls hanging from the branches to signify thanks to the gods for couples who had successfully had a child. Weird and a little creepy. We liked Varkalla - it was a pretty little town.
Our last move for the trip was to Kovalam, which we got to after a visit to a palace (in which we were again not allowed to take photos in case we duplicated paintings for knockoffs. Another temple in which we had to sardine push our way into the front of to see the worshiping going on inside. It was full of women in lovely sarees and children in their Sunday best - given that it was Sunday. After we made it to the hotel in Kovalm, we settled in for some relaxing before heading home. Sadly for me, the sun is also on vacation and it has rained a bit, even though the weather is warm and perfect for swimming, the cloud laden sky has given me no smiles. Again, we have done some last, last minute shopping and are down to our final rupees which we intend on spending on a lavish lunch before showering and heading to the airport.
