Kerala
south west India
Fort kochi
Kochi is a great introduction to India with its bustling and intensely colourful street markets, delicious food and beautiful waterfront setting. It is a fabulous mixture of characterful old warehouses and stunning colonial buildings (some in much need of repair!), with more modern high rise buildings visible in the distance across the water. Small rowing boats share the incredibly busy waterways with enormous cruise and container ships. It was possible to sit and watch the boats pass by whilst eating the most delicious authentic Keralan breakfast before setting off for the day, and later on we enjoyed a much needed refreshing drink after the hours spent in the heat of the bustling market during an early evening boat ride to watch the sun set over the horizon. Tourism is a saviour here providing an essential income for the locals who are incredibly attentive, our guide was always popping up ready to offer us a tuk tuk ride to our next destination! As a group of girls we also felt totally comfortable wandering around the markets together and walking back to our hotel after supper.
There was a fabulous smell of fresh ginger and spices in this open yard and warehouse in the middle of Kochi where the ginger roots had been laid out to dry during the heat of the day.
St Francis Church, where the infamous Portugese explorer Vasco da Gama is buried
Santa Cruz Basilica built in 1505
Chinese fishing nets
Munnar - Western ghats mountains
After a long slow 110km drive east from Fort Kochi into the hills, we reached the lovely family run Rose Gardens 'Homestay' (similar to a UK B&B) situated close to the roadside about 10km from Munnar with the most beautiful garden, where every available space had been used to grow tropical flowers, useful food and spices.
We visited this little tea museum in Munnar set in the midst of the immaculately tended tea plantations. The perfectly manicured rows of evergreen tea plants make a really striking spectacle, and the exceptionally hardworking ladies carrying massive bags of tea leaves were happy to pose for our photos for a few rupees.
The scenery on the journey to Munnar and on our walk from the Homestay was spectacular, the tropical climate providing a lush wild vegetation, interspersed with massive tea plantations and smallholders maximising every available acre to grow their own crops and spices
Kottayam, The Kerala Backwaters
Our130km journey South West from Munnar to Kottayam was again slow, but our friendly driver was happy to recommend a local roadside cafe for lunch on the way which was not only fun, but also delicious. Once we arrived at the Backwaters we were collected by boat for a short punt across the water to the beautiful Philipkutty Farm, run by the exceptionally efficient Anu, who has an keen eye for detail, the rooms were lovely, the food exceptional, and nothing was too much trouble. We were given a tour of the farm, and also a cookery lesson using as many home grown products as possible from the reclaimed island, much of which was below water level protected only by recently reconstructed walls. The island had flooded a few years previously due to the excessive floods, causing massive damage to the property, but Anu was hopeful the newly built flood defences would now protect this from happening again.
These flat bottomed punts traditionally made from jackfruit trees are used as taxis in the back waters in Kerala
We went on a couple of boat trips, one in the early morning and the other as the sun was setting, there is always something rather special about watching the sun set over water...
The canals are really interesting with many families living close to the banks using the canal to bathe in and wash their clothes, there were also fields of beautiful waterlilies and birds, but sadly these are interspersed with areas full of floating rubbish which was rather sad to see.
The backwaters are filled with 'Kettuvallam', or house boats, originally constructed as barges to move cargos of rice and spices, but now they have been converted to transport the many tourists around the maze of interconnecting waterways.
varkala - south west kerala
We spent our final couple of days in Varkala, relaxing by the beach and browsing in the numerous stalls along the clifftop path in Varkala, in the south west of Kerala.
View of the beach from the cliff top path in Varkala.
Early one morning I watched this local fisherman putting out the fishing nets that were then pulled in containing the days catch.
