Last two days were back in Mumbai as Fran wanted to do some Christmas shopping.We flew there from Cochi and stayed in a hotel by the airport. Mumbai was just as before - frenetic but now seemed a lot more affluent than the rest of India.The highlight of the shopping was seeing the little stalls selling Christmas decorations and Santa outfits - with the stall owner giving demonstrations - seemed so out of place in the bazaar. All a bit sad now as the trip is...

We had decided we needed a bit of time on a beach so had booked 3 days at a beach resort 25Km north of Cochi. It was a nice easy trip there and got to the resort at midday.We spent the rest of the day on the beach. The resort was positioned between a freshwater lagoon and the Indian Ocean and was in an area that hadn't been developed at all.All the rooms were individual little huts positioned over or by water. We had to cross a little bridge to get to our room -...

We arrived at Kochi after a couple of hours journey.We were staying at Fort Kochi, which is the old colonial part at the entrance to the harbour. It is a laid back place compared to the rest of Kochi and has lots of good restaurants and shops. We are staying in Waltons which is a converted warehouse that has been recently renovated - one of the best places so far. On the first night Fran decided she wanted to go to cookery lessons (well she does need them!).Thi...

After a 6 hour train trip, we arrived at Allepey about 11/2 hrs late - pretty standard for the trains but at least it is more comfortable than the bus (and air conditioned). Allepey is a sleepy little place on Kerala's backwaters and is the stopping off point to visit them.The backwaters are a series of canals and lakes that go for about 300 miles up and down the coast from here. We were staying in an old Keralan house run by a friendly man named Joseph.He was ...

We gave up on the national park and headed on to Calicut - the nearest place on the coast.Getting there involved a jeep ride and then a bus down.We just missed the bus so had a 2 hour wait so sampled the Indian cakes at the local bakery - more of a greasy spoon really. The bus arrived, found a seat.Fran had the window seat but no glass in it.The ride down was pretty hair raising - initially through winding roads surrounded by tea plantations on all sides.Eventua...