Category: Travel

Yesterday, a 7.30am start and a six hour bus journey took me from Fort Kochi to Munnar, a hill station at 1500m; it’s also known for being South India’s largest tea-growing region, the plantations mostly being owned by Tata. There were some spectacular views on the final ascent to Munnar. The bus, alas, didn’t stop, … Continue reading / view photos Fort Kochi to Munnar

The parade on New Year’s Day is traditionally the culmination of the ten-day Kochi festival. I thought I’d see a rather conservative parade, somewhat conventional. Instead, there were some of the most bizarre floats and costumes I’ve ever seen! Keraleans like to dress up. The buildup started about 3.30pm. The crowds appeared and, by 5.30, … Continue reading / view photos Kochi’s New Year’s Day parade

How do people in Kerala celebrate the New Year? Pretty much like other people around the world: house parties, street parties, and gathering en masse in public places. I went to the big public event with a few thousand others. There were people selling food, drink, toys, devil’s horns and masks. On stage, an Indian … Continue reading / view photos Celebrating on New Year’s Eve

After yesterday’s backwaters trip, I returned to yoga this morning. You’ll be pleased to hear that there was no reappearance of the Crown Jewels 😅. After yoga and breakfast, I went for a haircut at the corner barbershop. The barber asked whether I wanted a medium length cut and I said short for the back … Continue reading Tomorrow we can be different, better

To continue my touristy day – I went in the evening for a double bill of Indian dance and drama. The dance was enjoyable and different from the Indian dance I’ve seen before. You can see two snippets below. The drama, however was out of this world. I didn’t know whether to be serious or … Continue reading / view photos Kerala Kathakali Centre – drama and dance

After the urban crawl in the shopping mall yesterday, today was a contrast. It was a welcome return to nature: the calm, soothing backwaters of Kochi. This is probably the most touristy thing I’ve done on the trip going by the number of Western tourists. It was helpful to talk to other travellers to hear … Continue reading / view photos Kochi’s backwaters

My day started like yesterday: with yoga. I found it a bit easier today with more help from the teacher. He also gave me a face massage, which was a treat. It almost made up for a disturbing episode earlier. Whilst I was lying down, the teacher came to help me. He stood, legs apart, … Continue reading / view photos The biggest shopping mall in India

Yesterday, I took the bus from Kochi airport to Fort Kochi. It ended up taking about two hours through rush-hour traffic. Whilst waiting for the bus I met a fellow Gujarati, who kindly paid my bus fair. He had flown back to India having worked in Australia for three years and was impatient to get … Continue reading / view photos Hello Kerala

After a full day of travelling yesterday, I fancied a bit of exercise. I asked the guesthouse owner to recommend a place for yoga. He said he’d take me there on his motorbike in the morning. So I was up early for a 7.30 class. When I got there, everyone seemed pretty flexible! At the … Continue reading / view photos Fort Kochi

Now that I’m safely ensconced in Kochi, I thought I’d close the Mysore chapter with one last reflection about it. Being full, my first hotel in Mysore couldn’t further extend my stay. So I checked into The Mansion 1907, a hostel full of charm and character. During the peak days, the dorm beds cost a … Continue reading / view photos Reflections on Mysore