Our last train journey took us to our final Indian destination of Bangalore. We stayed 3 nights and 4 days and we did absolutely no sight seeing. We had had our fill of India by this point so were quite happy not to be rushing around looking at this, that and the other. I think the most energetic thing we did was go to the post office and send a few knick-knacks home. This being India involved no less than 3 people; the chief postmaster, a wrapping/weighing lady ...

We were quite excited about going to Pondicherry as it was once a French colony and had apparently held onto some of its froggy influences. We were expecting lovely architecture and boulangeries galore so were keen to go there. As with most things in India, expectations are rarely met.We knew from the guide book that only a small part of the city is considered the French quarter so were not surprised to find our hotel on a standard Indian road. Although it was a ...

So we arrived in Varkala after around five hours on a local bus and short tuk tuk ride. Tom managed to find a super cheap beach hut for us to stay in which was good. Varkala is supposed to have one of the nicest beaches in Kerala which is why we headed here. Sadly there was no beach to be found! As it was low season this also coincided with very high tides so the beach was never visible which was a shame. It was still a lovely location though. The beach was over...

WHAT a palava getting to our houseboat destination. Our day began with an unpleasant experience for me on the bus to Allepey. I was sat shoulder to shoulder with a man who basically kept sneakily trying to touch my side whilst he had his arms folded so I wouldn't notice. After I was definitely sure he was doing it on purpose I yelled at him at the top of my voice asking what the hell he was doing and to keep his hands to himself. On a quiet bus and with every...

So after the usual shenanigans at the bus station – buses zooming in and out with everyone knowing which bus was which apart from us...we were helpfully directed to the right one when it arrived and jumped on in the 30 second window provided. Then began an interesting journey. Basically our driver was mental. He mostly liked to drive on the wrong side of the road overtaking every vehicle he came across regardless of if he was heading straight into a blind c...