Where the sea plays hide and seek with the back waters

You will have to excuse the poor quality photos as we only had the rubbish camera phone on us!

It is now our last night in Fort Cochin and we are heading off to Periyar in the morning, hoping for tigers but happy with elephants!

As soon as we stepped off the plane in Kerala it was a completely different atmosphere. The drive in was again so different in our Ambassador taxi. There was a time as we got to Ernakulam where the traffic got more hectic but even the beeping horns seemed friendlier. It is definitely more relaxing and there is more beautiful scenery to look at here but then because of that there are alot more tourists! Always something to complain about! Our first full day here was yesterday where we took a ferry and then 2 buses to get to Cherai beach on Vypin. It wasn't what I had pictured from the description in the guidebook but it was peaceful and we were the only tourists there, which was great! We decided to take an autorickshaw back to the ferry (minimum equipment required appears to be a sports bra!) where we became a part of the rickshaw rally. Overtaking all vehicles and competing with fellow rickshaws!

In the evening we went to the Kathakali performance. It was really great and something I wanted to experience whilst we were here but I think you have to bare in mind that it is only really put on for the tourists and just treat it as an introduction/education about Kathakali. Amazing what can be done with a pair of talented hands, paper and some rice paste! The story is quite long winded to explain and we only saw a section of one play! Suffice to say it involved an egotistical "hero" called Arjuna, a disguised Lord Shiva and Parvathi, a boar and a special arrow! Oh yes!

Today we chilled out on a house boat cruise from Kottayam, although this one only had chairs rather than the full living area/bedroom scenario. We were in the company of about 14 mostly dutch and french tourists but it was great to view the backwaters and get to see some of the cottage industries. We stopped at one place where they make lime using shells, coal, fire and steam, which is used for paint, newspaper and pharmaceuticals. The other place we stopped they made rope from coconut fibres which is then sold and made into things such as carpets and also helped keep our boat together! We stopped on a bit of land in the middle of the waterways and were treated to a Thali served traditionally on a banana leaf and eaten non-traditionally with a metal spoon! Both Jon and I are wusses when it comes to the amount of chilli in our meals so gallons of water washed our meal down! We then carried on to Vembanad Lake which sits between Allepuzha and Kottayam where we saw some cool hawkish birds and returned to our starting point. We are finally managing to coax the dragonflies and butterflies to stay still long enough to have their portraits taken. The birds are proving way more accommodating!

We have taken nearly 600 photos so far although I'm sure several could be thinned out! Thankgoodness we have a total of 9gb worth of memory!

Back in Fort Kochi we figured it was high time to stock up on some crisps and 7up, ready for Periyar, and get a few souvenirs and tat! We have been pretty reserved so far about spending money on anything other than food, transport, accommodation and day trips. Pretty sure we will be able to pick up similar purchases in our last stop in Goa, where we won't have as long to carry it around for. Hoping to pick up some home grown tea and coffee if we can somewhere along the way!

I can't remember if I spoke about the monsoon in Mumbai... basically its been really bad, barely any rain and there are still water shortages particularly in the slums. Here in Kerala apparently the power is all from hydro-electrics and because its been so dry they are having a half hour power cut each evening to conserve water. We did buy an umbrella, as the waterproofs have proven to be akin to seives [cheers mum! :-)] but are now wondering if we will end up using it at all!

Thats probably it for now, hope it wasn't too brief a description but i'm aware we keep writing massive essays! Keep the comments coming it's lovely to hear from you guys. Next update will be from Periyar/Munnar and no doubt there will be a beard update with that!