Tim and I are sitting in our hotel called Hotel Excellency having spent the day wondering around a small island called Fort Cochin in the South of Kerela in India. We arrived last night at 2am after a 12 hour train journey through night - very stressful! - but an experience I will never forget. We left our paradise beach in Goa on Monday morning.

Our first week was amazing - we arrived early in the morning on the 7th of January only to find ourselves in a taxi feeling as though we could die any minute. The roads are manic in India, Tim even asked me what side of the road do they actually drive on?!! Its that hard to tell. The drive to Palolem Beach was also amazing as well as scary - the views of the paddy field were incredible and the old colonial portugese buildings are huge and totally unexpected.

On arrival at Palolem we were slightly shocked that our hut which we had booked was actually literally a hut! It didnt take long though to settle in to the Goan way of life - sunbathing, drinking, eating and chatting all day. We were staying at Alessandra resort - the people were lovely although Tim and I have difficulty remembering their names. We learnt alot about the locals from our trip to watch dolphins with the fisherman. We stayed much longer than we were supposed to as we loved it so much. ( I will try and upload photos asap!).

Arriving in Cochin which is where we are now is a serious shock to the system. Its very dirty and so manic. A big city in India I guess?! We intend to stay here until Monday when we are flying to Mumbai. Tomorrow we are going on a backwater cruise which is recommended as one the top 10 things to do before you die!

I will try and write more frequently but it is hard to find the time - I will also try and find somewhere to upload photos as soon as i can.

Lots of love to everyone xxx