Hello from Trivandrum!!

We've made it to our most southern point and all in 48 days!!! :D

From Ooty we took a very scary local bus to Coimbatore encountering another 16 hairpin bends on the way down with a VERY full bus. Coimbatore was busy busy busy but we only stayed there one night, next to the station. The room was really basic but really cheap and had a "western style" toilet (unlike other rooms we looked at in the same hotel!). Following morning we were up early and caught the 8.40 (actually ended up being 9) train to Ernakulam. We met a very friendly family and we exchanged some coins (a 50p for 50 paise!). 5 hours later (past some very beautiful paddy fields) we arrived.

We caught the ferry from Ernakulam to Fort Kochi. The area of Kochi is made up of a series of islands, inc. Fort Kochi, and the mainland of Ernakulam. We chose to stay in Fort Kochi. It was very beautiful and peaceful, a total contrast from Coimbatore and the other mainland cities! We checked in at a hotel and headed out to the famous chinese fishing nets which line the northern coast. Beautiful sunset pictures!!!

We spent 4 nights there (one more than we'd planned!) and booked a private houseboat in Alleppey with the owner of the hotel! So after 4 days of hard exploring and relaxing including a massage for us (modesty removed completely!!!!!) and pedicure for me, we headed by bus to Alleppey. Had to get the ferry back across and then an auto to the KSRTC in Ernakalum. Once in Alleppey we were greeted straight off the bus by a very friendly man. He took us to our boat and it was even better than we had thought!!!

We had our own chef, waiter and captain. We had a large lounge area on deck and a bedroom with an ensuite!!!! We even had electricity, running water and a surround sound music system! It was ultimate luxuary for 2 nights! Food was fantastic and we went swimming every day off the side of the boat. We ended up eating all the time! Woke up to omelette and fresh pineapple, had a HUGE lunch, afternoon tea with snacks and an even bigger supper!! We spent most of the time ambling through the backwaters; reading, taking photos and generally relaxing!! Martin was very happy as he steered the boat for an hour or so.

We were sad to leave and got dropped at the bus station to get ANOTHER (our last one) bus to Trivandrum! It was a long 4 hour trip and we got a little squashed at times when HUGE men tried to squeeze into our row! All part of the experience I guess... LOL!

Now in Trivandrum and have seen all the major sites in the city. Haven't had time to see the famous beaches but we had 2 weeks in Goa! Saw a huge palace this morning and have just repacked this afternoon as have a 6AM flight tomorrow...ugh!! Didn't realise when we booked it that we'd have to leave for the airport at 3am! Oh well, it means we arrive in Delhi tomorrow at 11am (ish!). Hopefully our hotel will have a car waiting so we can go straight to the pre-paided hotel! Ahhh nice!

Can't believe how fast this trip has gone and how much we've done! The photo count is almost 3000 and we can't wait to show you them when we get home (might have to sort through them a bit first!). This truly has been a once in a lifetime experience but we are already planning what we'd do if we came back again!!! :D

See you all very soon,

Love Emma and Martin xxxxxxx