We arrived in Mumbai in the late evening on Saturday 20 October. On the train we were fortunate to meet a really nice girl who helped us get off at the right stop and explained how best get to our accomodation (we had managed to arrange a CouchSurfing host in Mumbai which we were quite looking forward to.) After a bit of searching we managed to find Anil's place where we grabbed a quick shower and then, since he wasn't home yet, walked down the street to find ...

Our train arrived really early in Goa on Thursday 18 October. All the auto's outside the station tried to rip us off >-/ so we set off on foot, up the steep hill and towards the town. Fortunately for us a driver eventually followed us and offered the fair rate, as it turned out to be quite the drive to the nearest bus stop! We crammed onto the next local bus to pass by and stood uncomfortably with our packs on for the 30 minute jouney to the old town. We eve...

Our bus arrived in the bustling town of Kochi at around midday on Sunday 14 October. We set off down the road to catch a local bus accross to the island of Fort Kochi - the old quarter where the first Portuguese settlers arrived. We were fortunate enough to get the last room in a nice hostel, within walking distance to most of the main sights. After some relaxing time in the room we wandered accross the square to watch the sun set behind the huge chinese fishi...

The trip from Alleppey was a short 45 minute bus trip and an auto ride away, and soon we were being welcomed by the smiling faces of the owners of Backwaters Farm House. We were shown our room which was a spacious cottage with an outside bathroom and a balcony with deck chairs overlooking the water. We were called for lunch and after eating some delicious fish & veg with rice, we sat reading on our deck chairs for the rest of the afternoon - absolute bliss...

The train journey from Varkala to Alleppey wasn't very long, but it was long enough for us to kill six roaches and chase away many more... so when we finally arrived we were very ready to get off! We were met at the station by one of owners of the accomodation we were staying at and, after a short auto ride, we arrived at the lovely "Lake and Paddy" guesthouse. It is as the name says - surrounded by a rice paddy on the one side and the backwaters on the other.....