Some of our party took the early morning boat trip on the lake. There was mist but no gorillas, apparently. For the rest of us, there's a lie-in followed by breakfast, before we board our bus again at 9.30 for the journey downhill. This time we're heading west towards the Kerala coast, through some very wealthy parts of the state. The wealth seems to come mainly from the many rubber plantations, and we can see numerous grand houses along the route.

The bus journey is a very long one. It seems we've spent a good deal of the time since we met up with the tour group travelling on the bus, and it isn't really our style. The countryside is interesting but nevertheless we're getting fidgety. To relieve the boredom, the bus thoughtfully breaks its fanbelt just outside a small dusty town which is notable for its smallness and dustiness. While we're waiting for the mechanic to arrive, we wander around saying hello to the locals who are all very friendly. The strange and interesting thing about this small dusty place is that every other shop appears to be a motorcycle repair business. The reason for this is unclear, but what is fascinating are the rudimentry conditons in which the repairs take place. It makes you realise why the Royal Enfield is the perfect bike for India, because most repairs can be undertaken with the minimum of tools, and in fact that is exactly what these places have - a minimum of tools.

We're quickly on our way and arrive in Kottayam at 2.45, from where we're to take a short trip on the backwaters. We've already aready done this on our own of course, although not this particular route. We get lunch in a particularly grand hotel called the Windsor Castle, which has it's own backwater branch where our boat is waiting. We're running quite late now, so we inelegantly scoff down food from a buffet and board the boat for a 3.15 departure.

The boat is is a double decker with plastic chairs on the top deck beneath a hessian cover. After about an hour we stop at a waterside eatery. Fried lobster and fish are available, whole and served on a banana leaf just like the locals eat it. Conditions are rudimentary, and a number of our party are concerned about hygiene, or don't know what to do with a lobster, so decline the offer. But Sarah gets stuck in and breaks up the lobsters to remove the meat before handing it round - several people were game enough to try it (and delicious it was too).

After sitting on the bus for five hours then on the boat Clive's looking for some exercise, so asks whether he can walk along the canal bank. The skipper is obviously not keen on this as he thinks it will slow the boat's progress, but he agrees to let Clive walk to the next ferry jetty, about 1km ahead. Clive sets off about two minutes before the boat. The boat's moving at about 10kph for most of the time, and the path is not the best, so it's not long before the boat is catching Clive up. Not wanting to be the reason for less-than-optimal progress, Clive jogs along the bank, hopping over obstacles and around trees to keep ahead of the boat. After getting back on at the next ferry jetty it's clear that Clive's reputation as Action Man has been sealed, and for the rest of the trip comments like "Are you going to get out and run alongside this train?" or "We'll get Clive to run down the road and find so-and-so..." are regularly heard.

The boat ride ends at Alleppey, and it's back on the bus for the last leg of the journey to Cochin and the rather swish Casino Hotel on Willingdon Island. (Note - Willingdon Island may sound like a tropical paradise, but it is in fact a man-made island on which is one of India's largest container terminals and a naval base!).

In the restaurant that evening is playing the best Indian band we've come across in our travels to date. Unfortunately, although the music is eminently Cerocable, there's no-where in the restaurant to dance, so we make do with tapping our feet and singing along, like everyone else.