So I did it! I survived India! And here's what went down in my last week there....

We started the week travelling through Kerala - the land of coconuts. On our first night we travelled by boat to the backwaters where we stayed with a local family in their home. The family members were Thomas (Dad) Layla (Mum) and Ann and Nina (cutest little daughters ever!). They made us feel so welcome and we had some yummy scrummy home cooked meals...very cocunutty but delish. The backwaters were so secluded, peaceful and generally different to anything we'd come across before. Plus it was cool to see the some massive house boats on the waters, double decker things with air conditioning and everything!

Then we carried on to Kochi where I found a little shop called 'Teapot' which as you may have guessed by the name sold lots and lots of different teas. AND the best chocolate cake ever! (AND yes, before you say it, my trip is driven by my obsession to find good food most of the time!). Kochi was another quiet little place with a harbour full of Chinese fishing nets. I'd never seen Chinese fishing nets before so it was interesting to see how they hoisted them in and out of the water to catch the little fishes and the big ones too. Google a picture of them to see what I mean!

Next was Mysore (uneventful) and then Hampi. Hampi was similar to Pushkar as in it was full of old hippies BUT Hampi will not be remembered by me for that! Oh noooo! When we arrived in Hampi we were told that we would have to cross the river by ferry with our luggage to get to our hotel. Now as you might know I do not in the slightest bit like boats but thought it would be fine as it was only a short journey. Anyway we turn up and we are faced with....a "jetty" (I use the term loosely) which was made of precariously placed rocks and a "ferry" which was a tiny weeny wooden motor boat with water in the bottom. To top it all off there was the usual rugby scrum of Indian men pushing to get on the boat. So picture the scene....12 tired, grumpy Westerners with backpacks and rucksaks perching on some rocks ready to be pushed into a boat full of water! What a nightmare!! The worst thing was actually trying to get in the bloody thing because you had to jump from the rock to boat all with a backpack weighing twice your body weight! But we did survive and it does make a good story now I suppose!

After Hampi we left for Goa....party party party! We managed to go out one night for drinks and dancing Bollywood style = AWESOME! Loved it! And that was the end of my Indian adventure. It has been a tough old two months - I still believe whole heartedly that India is completely insane and I won't be coming back for a couple of years or so. I would definatley come back to the South because it is so beautiful and much more to explore than I had time for. It's such a fascinating country though and has made me appreciate home far more. I don't regret one bit of it!

Right now I'm writing to y'all from Singapore which is complete heaven. I've already maxed out my credit card in the shopping malls. I've managed to do my laundry in a proper washing machine. I've also had beef for the first time in two months! So you'll be glad to know that I'm a very happy girl at the moment. See you tomorrow or the next day for another Singapore update.