Namaste

Can I start by saying that a visit to Ooty was recommended to us by several people while travelling through India but I have to say it is in our top 5 places not to ever visit the place is a dump. Many years ago it used to be where the Rajas would spend their summer in the cool hills but today it is just a big rubbish tip.

We decided to try and give a couple of sights a go today (to kill time) and they turned out to be really bizarre. We took a rickshaw out to the lake which was just a lake and OK, the big attraction in Ooty is the thread garden which is flowers made from cotton and all hand made with no machines. Normally not the sort of thing we would be up for seeing but we were desperate to fill our day till 4pm when our taxi takes us back to Mettupalyam to catch our last train in India to Chennai.

Anyway I digress, the thread garden is billed as a modern miracle which we thought was a bit strong. Although it is clever and must take a lot of patience it basically is loads of flowers made from cotton and only took is 10 minutes to look around before we reached the exit!!!!!

If I was to be honest South India really has done nothing for us at all, there really is nothing to do or see, we weren't even that impressed with some of the beaches in Goa that were like rubbish dumps. The last three weeks have been a real struggle and not the most eventful but we leave tonight for Chennai where we hope to get this trip back on track by flying out to the Andaman Islands a few days earlier than planned. We are both really excited about them and they look so beautiful with lots of natural beauty and calm seas to swim and snorkel in.

One funny thing did happen today that had Mel in stitches, some Indian family that we got chatting to told Mel that they thought I looked like bloody Ron Weasley from Harry Potter which has happened a lot in Asia!!!!!!

The dilemma we have now is which of the two decent restaurants to have lunch in.

I think what I am trying to say is South India has not been our cup of chai (tea) but Rajasthan we absolutely loved to bits. But sometimes you have to visit these places to find out whether you like them or not that is the whole purpose of travelling and because you have the flexibility you can just do what we are doing and move on till you find somewhere you like.

Will be in touch from Chennai.

Lots of Love

M & M

xx

P.S If anyone sees either of us near a curry when we get home you can beat us with a big stick!!!!!