Saj Earth Resort Kochi

... of the movements, which all have meanings. There is no talking, but there are drums and singing (in Malayalam), and it was quite easy to follow, as a lot of the movements of hands and face were very expressive of emotion and universal. We also attended the classical concert afterwards, which was flute and tabla, and then went to Mita for dinner of white snapper fillets.<br><br>On Tuesday we got up early again to make the 7.30 yoga class, after which all three students ...

... Wildlife Sanctuary for some tiger spotting. The closest we got to anything of excitement was 100 meters from a wild elephant before boarding a bamboo raft for a trip across the lake to see the remains of a dead buffalo. Ah well, you can't win them all. The highlight of Periyar for Tom was Liverpool's 4-1 annihilation of Man U. As we were in Kerala, it was only right that we spent a night on the backwaters in a houseboat so we did just that. We had a nice big boat all to ...

... quite as bad ass as we may have hoped. Having said that my bike was a red hercules with a bell and basket so I think I looked pretty awsome. The local joint near our hostel did the best masala dhosa Ive had so far, so breakfast was always a highlight of the day. Luke managed to find out about a tabla and vocals show at one of the local music halls, and after going along we were pleasantly and somewhat piognantly dunmbfounded by how good ...

... impressed to be heading into the eye of a thunder and lightening storm! Claire **** herself. But we made it you will be pleased to know. And we were about 8 stone heavier by the time we landed in Kochi as we had a full meal and snacks on each leg of the journey! Kochi is split in 2 parts, ernakulam which has nothing to see, and Fort Cochin which has loads to see....we were only there a night so managed to see the best bits in a whistle ...

... travellers can drink on its yummy milky juice! Gen and I then went up to Kannur in northern Kerala to watch 'theyamm'...an ancient practice of ritualistic dancing that the local villagers watch religiously (hardly any tourists so is REAL India!). Seriously different stuff....the 'dancer' fasts in the run-up to the performance, and dresses in a really extravagant and oversized outfit...all red and gold with a big tutu-cum-coffee table skirt (which makes his bum look HUGE ...

... in), 3 AC ( 3 beds on top of each other, bedding and air conditioning and sometimes food) 2AC (2 beds on top of each other and more space) and the most expensive - first class (one bed on it's own). So 3AC was 1050 rupees for 12 hours and just over 1000km. This is about 12 pounds 50p. We got breakfast in the morning and had an okish sleep - so we were over the moon. Unfortunately we arrived at a town 50km north of where we wanted to go at 9 ...

Our whirlwind tour of Kollam's backwaters started as soon as we got off the bus after finding that our accomodation options for that evening were either 1) trawl around the town's dingy guesthouses in the sweltering heat under heavy rucksacks or 2) opt for an expensive overnight houseboat stay leaving within the hour. After inspecting the boat, meeting the 3-man crew (cook, driver and English-speaker) and failing to negotiate the price, we opted ...

... next stop was at the Valara falls,it was bigger than the Chiyapara falls and visibly cleaner.Now the jorney upwards coursed through the tea plantations.It covered the mountains like a green carpet that stretched endlessly and made a beautiful sight,my eyes have ever witnessed.We then came across a place called Karadipara(karadi:Bears in Malayalam,and para:rocks).This place had been home for the bears many years ago,our driver told us.We soon came to the town of Adimali and a short drive ...

... own food. It is all right that sometime soon we will be paying for such leisure with uncomfortable situations of all sorts. We indulge our ease even more by hiring a houseboat for two nights. A quick train ride carries us up the coast where we charter it. Allepey is sort of a gateway into what is called the Backwaters, a series of lakes, canals, and rivers that flow 900km into the tropical lowlands of Kerala. The vessel is a handmade wooden barge that has been converted from a rice ...

... brown! dont really want to talk about everything we did coz you'd just get bored, or really jealous so some highlights... unusual experiences on this trip - 1. watching an english lady in a purple bikini playing frisbee on the beach surrounded by cows (there was loads of dogs and cows on the beach mingling with the holiday makers) 2. went night swimming in the sea with 2 guys we'd met the day before one hour before we left to catch our 1 a.m. train to kerala ...