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Hi all
Time for another blog, this one wrapping up our time spent in South India.
From Cochin we traveled for a week inland through Kerala, and have now today just got back to Cochin - tomorrow we fly onto Delhi for 3 weeks in the north… am expecting it will be a very different experience. The South while in typically frustrating and rough round the edges style has been beautiful, relaxing and a wonderfully friendly place to be. So safe, so many smiles, good times.
So first stop on our little loop of Kerala was Munnar - tea plantation central! Gorgeous lush green countryside filled with tea plantations.All the typical stuff of seeing the ladies picking the tea and carrying it on their heads.Interesting too as we found out that the tea plantations were entirely owned by Tata (big Indian company with fingers in many different industrial pies) but is now owned and run as a cooperative with the employees. Enjoyed some good walks in Munnar, an old cottage built by the colonialists (quite sure it hasn't been modernized since they left!) run by an energetic and proudly Munnar born 80 year old dude, and a trip to Top Station which is located on the state border of Kerala and Tamil Nadu - again stunning views.
From Munnar we jumped on board the pink fun bus - see facebook photos - to get to Kumily, a cute little town located next to Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary. We went out on an 1 day jeep safari to spot wildlife and were lucky enough to see giant grizzled squirrels (really big!) & black monkeys, but weren't lucky enough to spot any elephants.Shame, we heard them and saw lots of their poo but none of the animals themselves. It was a beautiful place so good to enjoy being in an area where you know they live happily in the wild, rather than see them in captivity. Shall have to wait for a future safari experience to see them….. ha ha!
To end our time in Kerala we headed to Kumarakom we were boarded a houseboat for the day and 1 overnight which journeyed through the backwaters, with just the 2 of us and 3 crew onboard, to Allepey.What a fantastic experience and one of the highlights of our trip. When you get a quiet, relaxing moment in India it is all the more enjoyable and appreciated thanks to the noise and chaos that sits either side of it. The 1 day and night on the boat was total serenity… gliding down the backwaters, enjoying the views of the palms, calm waters, other boats, waves and smiles, and kicking back doing nothing - brilliant. We had a yummy lunch and dinner on board, all mod cons, i-pod chill out tunes and beautiful scenery. The only thing missing was a G&T to watch the sun go down with.
So we sadly disembarked and jumped a bus back to Cochin. And would you believe what we saw on the way back…. An elephant on the back of a truck.Incredible.Photo on facebook.
Well, until the next update, lots of love and see you soon! We're home 3 weeks tomorrow.
Much love
L&P xxx
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