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To India and Beyond
Dear All
Just realised that I haven't updated the site in three weeks, so thought I'd better get typing!!
So, went from Kodaikanal in the hills down to the most southern tip of India (Kamyakumari). Stopped overnight there and took the train to Varkala in Kerala. Varkala was very pretty, but very touristy - very different from the Varkala my friend Sadie visited 5 years ago! Spent a fortune on clothes, the shops were amazing - full of beautiful clothes, tibetan goods and jewellery - shopper's heaven! So, you can imagine, I had a ball!
Spent a week in Varkala, then took the train north to Kochi, in order to find a one-day backwater cruise, which never happened because we were so tired with all the shopping! Spent only two days in Kochi because it was a dump and absolutely full of mosquitos (great for the mosquitos, bad for me). The people there were generally pretty miserable.
From Kochi we took a train up to Bangalore to catch another train to Mysore, where we spent a couple of days in a pretty posh hotel. Went to see Mysore Palace, which was gorgeous, beautiful colours, lots of stained glass - fantastic!
From Mysore, we took the bus back to the Keralan border and stopped near the Nagarhole National Park. Sadie and I stopped on a coffee plantation called Chilligeri 16km from a small town called Kutta. The place was really beautiful, but very expensive, Rs 750 a night each full board (approx 10 pounds). The lady running the b&b was lovely, but cooked so much food that we had to beg her not to feed us so much! We definitely each put on some weight.
We did two safaris. One in the afternoon in Waynad National Park, saw spotted deer, sambar, barking deer, black-faced langurs, wild elephants, bisson, snakes (making love - ahem!). The second day we did another safari in the afternoon and saw mostly deer, but also wild boar and common monkeys - not very exciting and an absolute rip-off, but you have to try these things. So, unfortunately we didn't get to see tigers or leopards, but we did see a lot of other animals.
From Kutta, we took a very early morning bus to Mangalore and from there a train up to Gokarna in the north of Karnataka. So, we met up with Russell and our German friend Karsten again and are back by the sea on Om Beach. So, I'm chilling out, swimming and working on the tan each day.
Sadie has brought forward her flight to the 14th February and leaves for Chennai on the 11th. Think things might get a bit lonely after that. I'm going over to Hampi to see ruins and temples and then down to Bangalore, from where I'll fly to Sri Lanka in order to renew my Indian visa.
Watch this space!!!
See you.
Kate x
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