Over the course of the last 10 days we have flown from Delhi to the capital of Kerala province, Kochi. Here we stopped at the harbour side town of Fort Cochi for a couple of days, followed by a short bus ride to the town of Allepey. We then stopped the night on a houseboat exploring the famous Indian backwaters before we jumped onto a train to the seaside town of Varkala.

To summarize...

Fort Cochi
This small area of the bigger city Ernakulam is an old fishing port that has been trading for over 600 years. It's main site, other than a few churches and other religious buildings we blatantly ignored, is the collection of Chinese Fishing Nets. These impressive and still used contraptions sit in a row along the seafront. Though they are slowly being replaced by more modern methods there were still one or two in action whilst we visited, even allowing David to have a go at pulling the ropes to help out. Which he then had to tip them for. So basically, he paid someone to do their job for them.

There was also a disgusting, but busy beach which would easily make Blackpool beach feel like the Bahamas. Other than wandering, eating and drinking coffees there's not a lot to report about it.

We did decide for some bizarre reason to choose it as a place to get Claire's IPhone fixed. And by that we mean some dodgy lads under a pier who said they could do it that day for £50 (just replace the screen). We quite happily handed the phone over to these strangers getting no receipt or any type of paperwork, all whilst never realising just how irresponsible that decision may be. Anyway 2 days later after several phone calls not being answered, missed meeting times, delays, getting it fixed for it to only break an hour later, getting it refixed, meeting up with people in the early hours of the morning, we did eventually get a working phone back! It was a tense 48 hours waiting though wondering if we'd ever see the phone again. (Although at the time of publishing this blog the screen has been smashed again).

Alleppey
**** town, great guesthouse where the owner, Saj, gets his mum to cook your dinner and then sits and drinks beers with you afterwards. Saj also very decently rented out his houseboat to us.

Backwaters.
The highlight of any trip to Kerala is said to be the beautiful backwaters. A 900km network of rivers that start at the coast and work their way inland. Some describe it as the 'Venice of the East'... which it isn't...at all. All the waterways here don't form a city, they form tiny isolated villages in a tropical setting with Palm fringed lakes.

We had read that the nicest way to enjoy the backwaters was to stop in a house boat. Some of the houseboats on the waters are amazing. They are all made from bamboo and they can have several bedrooms, huge balconies, separate dining areas, tvs, air conditioning, bars and several members of crew. A bit like mini cruise ships. Or some can be very basic, with just one poky room with a mattress in it, a small sitting area and a driver and cook who don't speak any English. You can guess what type of boat ours was.

Saj's boat did have its own charm to it though and the 2 Indian staff on board were great. Our day was spent cruising round the rivers and lakes in some very unseasonal bright sunshine. Waving at the other houseboats and locals on the riverside as we sailed through the villages. We stopped off to buy some king prawns en route which were by far the biggest prawns we have ever seen, they were practically lobsters. The chef cooked an amazing meal for us both at lunch and in the evening. At night we hitched up on a river by the chefs own little village where he took us to meet his wife and family. It was all a very nice and humbling experience. One of the best days we have had on this trip for sure. Until the night.

The hot and incredibly humid night was spent by the both of us lying on the bed underneath a mosquito net with huge gaping holes in it, under a non functional fan. We stayed up all night just feeling ourselves being savaged with mozzies and unable to move due to being wet through and sticky with sweat. On top of this, we were knocked up at 6am to be told we were heading back. An hour later and we were back on dry land. So, a lovely day but a bit pointless stopping overnight in the houseboat.

Varkala
Varkala is a seaside town perched perilously on a crumbling cliff face. All the restaurants, bars and guest houses are behind a narrow footpath that runs along the edge of the cliff overlooking the crashing waves and beaches below. It's ace.

The beach we spent most of our time at was called black beach. It's not really a tropical paradise beach, it has black sand and the waves are ridiculous. Several people have died in Varkala due to the strong currents in the past and it's not hard to figure out why. It's great fun though to be thrown about whilst trying not to drown.

Our 2 days in Varkala soon turned into a week and a routine soon developed. 9am get up and eat the same breakfast at the same restaurant on top of the cliffs. 11am head to the beach, Claire for sunbathing David for playing in the sea. 4pm coffee and cake. 7pm dinner and cocktails on the cliff with new found friends. What's not to like?

We weren't the only ones who had prolonged stays there, we met up with a couple of girls in Varkala who we had been bumping into throughout the last week or so, Ellie and Sarah. We also met a welsh lad who was excited to tell us about his quest to try some opium in the next town north simply because his mate said it was (in a welsh accent) 'absolutely brilliant'.

Whilst nothing much of note has happened on our trip around the coast of Kerala it has been very nice and reasonably trouble free. The weather is much less humid than the north and the food is nicer too. It's definitely our favourite part of India so far.

Things we have learned
1 Trying to teach card games to stoned Indian lads is a rewarding yet difficult task
2 When Dave walks out of the sea up the beach he does not look like James Bond
3 The best way to enjoy vegetable pakoras is with a mixture of ketchup and mustard.

Planes used - 4 (+1)
Buses used - 19 (+1)
Trains used - 16 (+1)
Metros/subways used - 28
Cars used - 5
Minivans - 8
Russian Campervans used -1
Horses used - 1
Camels used - 1
Taxis used - 8 (+1)
Cable cars used - 1
Bicycles used- 1
Tuk tuks/autorickshaw used - 19 (+6)
Scooters used - 4 (+1)
Elephants used - 0
Ferrys used - 4 (+2)
CycloRickshaw - 1
Bamboo HouseBoat - 1 (NE)