From North to South....Welcome to Kerala.

So we arrive in Kerala the next morning exhausted from the shenanigans from the night before. We book ourselves into the Old Harbour Hotel in Fort Cochin and head down in a taxi. I am exhausted and sleep most of the way, Gav is quite excited and manages to stay awake and take some pics. We get to our hotel and it is exactly what we need, nice and clean with super friendly staff. We get showered and head for a much needed breakfast...our first brekkie dosas in Kerala!! Sad I know but I am so excited to be having the staple south Indian brekkie in south India.

The heat in Kerala is totally different to the dry heat up north, down here is a dampness which makes for high humidity. The minute that Gav and I step out from the comfort of our ACed room we start feeling sticky and uncomfortable. Within 5 to 10 minutes we are covered in sweat and our clothes start sticking. The dampness along with daily thunderstorms means the mosquitoes are out in force.

We try to fight the urge but the tiredness takes us and we end up catching the Zzzz's until late afternoon. We have the harbour right across from our hotel and it reminds me of Flic en Flac in Mauritus with the locals going for strolls, children playing, the sound of the waves and the smell of food. We head onto the harbour when we wake up to see the Chinese fishing nets and meet the fishermen. These guys have a tough job - casting the nets about 300 times a day to catch enough fish to feed themselves and their families. They tell us about their families and how they have been affected by the tsunami and my immediate thought is why not move the nets to where the bigger bounty is? After speaking to a few more people, it turns out that the tsunami didn't affect Kerala at all and the story is to spin a yarn to get some extra money from the tourists. The reality is that the massive boats that now patrol the Harbour front have scared all the fish away. That I'm afraid is apart of India that makes me constantly suspicious of what I am being told and being taken advantage of.

Gav and I take a stroll, watching the folks do their thing on the waterfront. We spot this mad guy getting a tattoo, check out the DIY tattoo needle!!!!

We find a spot on the rocks to watch the sun set, for company we seem to have a million crows! The cows and dogs from north India seem to have been replaced by crows and goats in south India. It is beautiful - to see the colours changing in the sky and sea while ships and boats pass by.

The next few days in Fort Cochin are super chilled, we couldn't have picked a better place to stay it is just so relaxed and feels even more like home due to the similarities to Mauritus. We hire a rickshaw driver for one of the days to take us to the market and end up with him showing us a couple of sights (his idea) and then a load of shops where we presume he is being paid commission to take us there. This is what I mean when I say being taken advantage of. Our hotel has the old fashioned candlestick phones which we think are antiques and have taken quite a fancy to so decide that we may take one home. Our search for the phone starts and although we see a few we don't make a firm decison on any. We get back to the hotel and decide to check how much they cost on ebay and instead end up calling a dealer in the UK who advises us against buying anything as they are made very cheaply in China and imported to Kerala. This advice really makes us open our eyes as every shop we have been to has told us that the phones are "proper" restored antiques from the old forts, palaces and mansions in Kerala. And so ends our shopping urges in Kerala.

The next day Gav goes down early to the fishing nets and spends some time with James and his motley crew. They let Gav help to raise and lower the nets and he gets a first hand look at how difficult their job really is. Each time they lower and raise the nets they get about 1 or two tiny fish. They used to catch about 40kilos a day, now they are down to just 3-5 kilos. You can forgive them for trying it on with the tourists now...

The pace of life down south is totally different to the north, it is slow, and we fall right into step. Our days are spent pottering about, reading, catching up with family on the phone, eating lovely food and just all round chilling before our next stop which is Allepey.

We make arrangements for Allepey and since our first choice in accomodation is full we go by the hotel driver's recommendation to stay at the Keralayan backwaters at a place called Aqua Bliss. He seems to know what he is talking about and has a colourful brochure with beautiful pictures so we think why not? The journey to Aqua Bliss involves a two hour car ride and a dug out canoe. The backwaters are amazing - so calm and peaceful. Our host - Suresh is a really jolly guy, always similing and I imagine typically Keralyan. We get shown to our room and Gav and I are not sure whether it is the comfort of our digs at the Old Harbour or the places we've stayed in so far up north for the same price but it is super basic and a little too out into the wild. The location on the other hand cannot be beaten. You walk two steps and your facing the river Pampa and the endlessly stretching backwaters of Allepy. Suresh's team have prepared the most delicious lunch which we eat off a banana leaf. The afternoon is spent relaxing before our evening boat ride on the back waters.

Day-break on the backwaters... just stunning. The light is like nothing else in this world...

Backwaters at night...

Some local Allepey critters - Mr Toad...

...and the biggest flock of ducks I have ever seen!!!!

Now we don't want to sound ungrateful but the place we are staying at is very quiet, a little too quiet maybe. Well actually there is a church opposite which seems to be having some kind of festival so it is rather loud with the singing and fireworks (which are super scary!). So apart from church for company there really is nothing for us to do, we have to rely on someone getting us a boat to get us anywhere and this seems to take ages as it is the weekend and most of the people are involved in their religious practices. Also, Suresh's staff don't speak much english making it difficult to communicate. Gav and I decide the isolation is too much and we'll leave the next day.

The next day being a sunday means that everything is so slow that Suresh ends up taking us to the train station himself. We grab an autorickshaw and find alternative accomodation, ending up at a place called Keraleeyam which is decent if not a little overpriced. There is a real problem in communication here which makes us feel isolated, which is further exacberated by not meeting other travellers. It seems that the north Indians come down south to escape the heat and as most Indians keeps themselves to themselves we somehow end up doing the same.

Now this Sunday is not like any other...it is the 20/20 final between Mumbai and Chennai. Having never seen a game of cricket before I decide to watch the match by myself as Gavin is not feeling well. There is one TV in our hotel so I go and join one of the staff watching the game. As soon as I sit down, he gets up and leaves. I think nothing of it until some time later when I turn around and see that I have the whole room to myself and there are 6-7 men sitting on chairs around the doorway watching, and no amount of persistence would get them into the room!

(Hiya! Gav's on the mic now... )

After the match Neet and I decided that we should try and book a houseboat so we call our mate Madhu, a guy who owns a hotel in Allepey, and he arranges for it to pick us up from the jetty outside our hotel (it's weird having no road access but plenty of boat access!).

The houseboat arrives at 11.30am and my first thoughts are... THIS THING IS FOR TWO PEOPLE?!!!!! IT'S HUGE!!!!

The boat is lovely though, in a traditional thatched roof Keralan design, it's got a nice lounge, TV (with SKY!!!) and a half decent bedroom. The bathroom however is Nightmare on Elmstreet-esque... The boat leaves and we settle down for what must me the most abjectly peaceful, serene and unperturbed day of our lives. It is silent on these backwaters. The only sounds are of the motorboats humming away and the gentle sounds of riverside life.

The heavens open at one point but its actually a really nice experience. The storm brewing was an epic sight though... I feel it in me' bones...

At 6 am the next morning we are taken off the boat onto a small dug-out canoe for a tour of the true backwater village life. This is a real eye-opener for me, the way the locals use this network of rivers for absolutely everything. We sail past people brushing their teeth, washing themselves and their cookware, fishing, swimming. The nature is bursting everywhere around us and we spot river snakes slithering past us, kingfishers perched atop electricity cables, herons and storks as well as cashew trees, bannanas, Mangos and coconuts. It was so interesting just to sit in silence watching the villagers go about their daily routine. Loved it!

When we return to the drop off point we are informed that there is a national strike so no taxis, rickshaws, nothing! This means we are restricted to the scooter and motorbike that Madhu has sent to pick us up on. My trip to the hotel is fine but Neet burns her leg on the exhaust pipe of the bike, ruining any chance of her going in the ocean tomorrow when we reach Kovalam. I have previously purchased a rail ticket from Allepey to Trivandrum for 1.30 this afternoon but, a sudden wave of fear pulses through me as I realise, I have no idea what the date or day is! I check the ticket and lo and behold, the train left yesterday! DOH! We rush to the station and luckily there is a train leaving at about 4pm so I book tickets for that.

Look at this nutter!

The train journey (3hrs) whizzes by as we chat the whole way to Umi, a local tamil businessman. He's a jolly fellow, as many of these southies are!

Stay tuned, our next post will be about Kovalam, one of my absolute favourite places in the world! See ya !!!