Today we woke at seven thirty rested and fresh... Had the best nights sleep yet! We freshened up and headed up stairs for breakfast with the group on the roof terrace... It was so nice and already warm but the terrace is shaded and cool. There were the usual suspects from our last trip plus a two German girls named Josie and Manya, the English couple from last night, another English chap, Pattie the American and apparently there's an Irish guy but he was in bed hungover. Over breakfast Ravi introduced us to southern India and what the plan was for the two weeks.

The meeting was really good... We were all given a big map of India with our tour marked out, a small booklet of local translations and a list of the hotels and run down of the trip, as well as a map of Kochi. He then went through the trip with us in detail and it sounds fab! We also paid in to a kitty so we don't have to worry about the tips. So after a cup of tea, and Stevens toast we headed out to explore fort Kochi...

We firstly headed down to the harbour and observed the Chinese fishing nets. They are huge nets that are attached to a wooden frame and lever and are lowered in to the sea... After five mins or so they pull them up and hopefully there are fish in there, Steven had a go at pulling the nets up and seemed to enjoy being a fisherman. After that we walked along the sea front and soaked up the sun and laid back vibe here... We saw the local restaurants buying fish and seafood, before walking down to St Francis church... This is believed to be India's oldest European church and was built in 1503 by Portuguese Franciscan friars, it was originally a wooden structure but was later replaced by stone... The explorer Vasco da Gama was originally buried here when he died in 1524 but was later moved back to Lisbon where he is now buried... We did however see his original tomb and there's a nice painting of him. It's situated in a quiet part of town and was quite peaceful... Felt nice being back in a church, we have visited so many mosques, synagogues and temples that it was homely to see a church.

We then took an auto rickshaw to the Dutch palace where for the bargain price of five rupees (approximately seven pence) we could explore this amazing place. It's full of beautiful artefacts such as palanquins (hand carried carriages) and some clothes from the days of the Raj. The palace is known as Mattancherry palace and was a gift to the Raja of Kochi in 1555 by the Portuguese to sweeten trading. It's an amazing little place with incredible murals and paintings. We then saw a couple of elephants in the garden and took numerous pictures with them, was pretty cool.

We then headed to he Jewish quarter to see the Pardesi synagogue which was built in 1568... There aren't many Jewish people in this area so they are blessed with this beautiful place to worship... It's got numerous Belgium chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and stunning and painted Chinese tiles on the floor... The ladies of the day would worship upstairs behind screens while the gentleman worship downstairs... Nowadays only eight families are Jewish in the town.

After the synagogue we had some free time so looked around the shops. It was quite freshening as they are a lot more chilled here... One guy even said "I'm not saying anything" and pointed to a sign above his door that read... No hassle shopping! I couldn't help but laugh... Loudly! We had a look around... There are so many spice markets that the air is warm and spicy, smelt yummy! We were starving by now and ready for lunch! We were due to board the ferry at twelve thirty from Mattencherry to Ernakulam where we were having lunch but not before we saw a row of Christmas trees lined up outside a shop haha. It hasn't felt like December or Christmas since we left the UK.

The ferry was lovely... It took about thirty minutes passing Willingdon island and the view was amazing... It reminded me of the Miami backwaters (where Dexter is filmed for you Dexter fans!) and so relaxing... It was so nice feeling the breeze against our warm skin. We landed and walked the ten min walk to a local hotel that serves thali (the Indian version of tapas) and it was yummy! I only had thali once and didn't really rate it much so wasn't too fussed about his but I couldn't be more wrong.

You are sat down and a large banana leaf is placed in front of you of which various South Indian dishes are placed on it... This included potato masala, spiced banana (which was delicious) various dals and curried veg. You are then given a pile of Kerala fluffy rice and various sauces as well as a chapatti and popadoms. There is no cutlery (though you can ask) and the meal is eaten with your hands... It was delicious! Plus before you even finish they pile more on... Steven loved this of course and stuffed himself lol... They then give you Kurd and a spicy drink that aids digestion before finishing with Indian rice pudding! Delicious and only one hundred and fifty rupees a head.... Bargain! We then took the walk back to the ferry and had a leisurely ride back to Fort Kochi.

After some free time we headed out to watch Kathakali, which is an old Hindu art form created around the time of Shakespeare. It is a highly dramatised play out of three main Hindu epics: Ramayana, Mahabharata and Puranas. It has no speech and the story is told through music, dance, facial expressions (particularly eye movements) and mudras ( precise hand gestures). Prior to the performance we were able to watch the artists have their make up applied... It's such a disciplined process where the artist lays on special platform and a young boy delicately applies the amazing amount of make up... The artist then meditates and puts himself fully into character. The little boy who was doing the make up was only about ten and was so cute! He was also the drummer during the performance.

After about forty mins we went in to the theatre where it was pitch black except for an oil burner flickering at the front of the stage... After a few mins the narrator explained that the artist would now demonstrate the various facial movements, hand gestures and actions that represent emotions and objects. After we watched that for ten mins or so we the witnessed a brief performance of one of the stories... It told the story of a demon who disguises as a pretty maiden to seduce a king but he sees through her and chops off her ears and breasts.... It was quite something. We couldn't have followed it had the narrator not told us the story, but it was amazing to watch...the costumes were amazing and the make up was unreal... We really enjoyed it and actually laughed quite a bit. After we had photos taken with the artist.

We then headed across the road for dinner by the sea.... Not how I expected backpacking but was amazing. We sat at a candle lit table on a pier in the gardens of a grand hotel and the food was delicious... Steven had a potato curry and I had squid which was lovely... We shared some rice and had a fresh lime soda before walking back to the hotel through the lovely streets of Fort KochiI then showered and bed! Up early tomorrow to catch the train.