Kollam : If someone recommends visiting Kovalam, it is worth writing this down as it sounds similar to kollam. Got night train here from Bangalore, so it had little to improve upon. Kollam is a town where you come to see the backwaters. The main income earner here is riverboat tours and cruises. the town is not a big tourist town and so no one spoke any english and finding anywhere to eat or even get a coffee was impossible. Picked the accommodation that was the highest ranking on trip advisor and can totally see why. By far this was the nicest digs we'd had so far, staying in our own little luxury cottage alongside the main river. Booked a half day canoe trip around the local rivers for the following morning with 3 funny Dutch people and a local guide. We got to see how the locals grow grapefruits, bananas, cashew nuts, papaya, mango and farm prawns. This is the reason people go to Kollam and so the initial misunderstanding was worth it. later had dinner served to us on our own balcony overlooking the river. Its not a bad life!

Kovalam : Got sleeper class train (2 hours) to the place we meant to visit in the first place. Kovalam is a seaside town in the very southern part of India. It is also a very religious place, so meat and alcohol here was scarce. in fact, if you have a drink problem, come to Kerala. finding beer is a challenge, and even when we found some at a restaurant, the bottle was wrapped in newspaper and hidden under our table! Managed to negotiate a very good rate for an amazing double AC room for 3 nights. The main beach is very beautiful, the water is very clear and there is a very strong current and a big shore break. As before, the locals bathe fully dressed, even men. Although tourists were ok in bikinis / shorts. We couldnt help but compare this town to Colva and it was not in the same league. Despite the beautiful beach, it was overdeveloped and overpriced.

Fort Kochi : Its very laid back here like the rest of kerala, not much hassle, people are friendly. The guys wear mundu which are essentialy, tablecloths as skirts. And they hold hands a lot. Not sure what thats all about, some kind of man bonding. People often say "hello" and ask " where you from" . London we say, as the truth is too confusing. Or if they are trying to sell us something we dont want, then we come from Sark. That gets them really confused; conversation over. We have done lots of walking here and island hopping on boats (a bit like travel trident) a ticket costs 3p. 3p! Our room is in a homestay with a local family and its very nice, and cheap, like everywhere we have stayed. they have given us good advice on what to do and where to go and they are a chatty couple which is nice. Its so hot and humid here. So what do you do when your boiling hot all the time.? You go to a water park. of course. which was very nice and cooling, even though we were dressed in shorts and t shirt the whole time which felt just a little strange!!! and we were underdressed, as confirmed by some of the stares and giggles we got! some women were going on rides with full on saris and scarves, must be so uncomfortable! its been such an eye opener for us here. On the last night here we went to watch a typical Keralan play / dance called kathakali. Erm, it was ok. 2 men in very heavy make up and massive costumes a lot of drumming and off key singing, and a confusing story line ( an indian god with a green face flirts with a yellow face then cuts off her breasts , nose and ears when he discovers shes a demons sister) For 2 and a half hours. Dom loved it ( whilst playing Angry Birds on his phone).
next stop new Delhi.

Ps love reading everyones messages and comments!