THE MANGALORE MANSION From kochi we travelled to mangalore, a quaint little town of 400,000. Mangalore is actually quite geographically small, and it seems to be far removed from the hustle and bustle of the larger metro cities. It is home to some of Mark's family. We are staying at High Villa, his family house, with his aunty Nina and uncle Colin. The house is old school, made out of mud cured with lime. It's most distinguishing feature is it's garden which is ...

OVERNIGHT AT ALLEPPEY Having consulted lonely planet and trip advisor, an overnight boat trip on the backwaters of Alleppey was a must! The drive to Alleppey took us through various villages and along beautiful rivers and canals. This place reminds me of Fiji. The weather is tropical and humid, which is good for Mark's cutting. The boats are beautiful! The exterior is a kind of flax, but they are far more sophisticated than I had expected! Every one has power...

BACKWATERS OF FORT KOCHI Today we went on a tour through the backwaters. The temperature got to 37 degrees which made for a very sweaty day! We began on a traditional boat being taken through the natural backwaters to an uninhibited island. We had a traditional Indian lunch and then transferred to canoes through the man made backwaters. These act as roads for rural people to move around, and were beautiful. We floated through beautiful canopies of trees seei...

TROPICAL KOCHI We arrived in Kochi to stinking hot weather. It is very tropical with 60-80% humidity, much like Fiji. The surrounds are beautiful. Palm trees and greenery litter the landscape. Mark tells me it is known as "Gods own state" and you can see why. The landscape coupled with the people are amazing. The people are different to Northern Indians. Here they are polite and affable without being pushy. Since we have been here we have explored a bit and on...

DELHI BELLY The last couple of days in Jaipur were a write off. I got the dreaded Delhi belly. God it was bad. I had one day of terrible pain, and I have still not recovered some 5 days later. I was reading someone else's travel blog and they said it can last for up to 3 weeks so fingers crossed mine settles soon. The attached photo is the suspected sickness inducing meal, but it looks so nice!! Anyway we have now left Jaipur via Mumbai to Kochi in Southern Ind...