We met up with mike and Laura from Varkarla the morning we were due to get on the house boat for a massive Indian Coffee House Masala Dosa feast. It was great to see them again, and we arranged to see them in Cochin after they had visited Munnar.

Our house boat extravaganza turned out to be amazing! We were blessed with great staff who gave us a brilliant tour of Alleppey’s Backwaters and canals. The boat was around 45 feet long and had a large open sided living area with dining table and a tv stereo (with no Arial) and bench seating all around. There was a ladder to a sort of open air crows nest and a shaded seating area with great views. Down the boat was our bedroom with en-suite. And at the back was the kitchen and engine. They layed on a fish curry for lunch and an incredible fish fry and chicken curry for dinner, with fresh pineapple. The 24 hours flew by with only a little bit of rain in the afternoon. It has defiantly been one of the highlights so far!

When we got off the boat the next morning after a masala omlette, toast and coffee we set off to the train station to head up to Cochin. We arrived at the ferry to get over to fort Cochin at around 12. the ferry was an experience. The engine was controlled by a man down in the engine bay who altered the speed when he received commands from the driver via a series of pulleys and string leading to a bell. I loved it.

When looking for accommodation, as all the places we had hoped to stay were fully booked we were left quite disheartened until we found a small home stay next to a guesthouse we had visited. We went inside and met the lady who showed us the room. It was immaculately finished with individual single beds, and a huge bathroom. We got the price down to 200 a night (less than $3) each and settled in. after we had looked around town for a bit we returned to our room and were blown away by how cold it was. It turned out she gave us air conditioning!! Also as it is a homestay, and we are the only people in the house we have a garden with washing line, a fridge and a living area! We also have the front door key, so it is doubly secure!

The next morning I was up bright and early with a mission in my mind. I had noticed how quiet this place was and how the roads were almost empty. It was obvious, now was the time for me to have my Royal Enfield Experience. So I set off to the information centre and set about getting my bike. Within 20minutes I was sat on the bike and ready to go. The feeling was incredible, once I had got used to the gear shift being reversed and on the opposite foot, I really started to enjoy myself, exploring all the back roads in Fort Cochin. There was however one small problem. The gearbox was slightly, well almost entirely b*****ed. I managed, but finding neutral was nearly impossible. So I took the bike back to the dude and showed him the problem. After some explanation he agreed that I was correct and he took the bike back and didn’t charge me anything!! 2 hours of playtime for the cost of 1liter of fuel! Later that day me and mike went to find a hair dressers. We found a local place with a young guy working there. We had a great time, I had a face shave with cut throat razor, and Michael had a hair cut and 4 weeks of beard shaved off! It was great, we plugged my ipod in and watched the hair dresser work his magic as he grooved to Jurassic 5 and chewed his pann.

Yesturday we visited Jew town – a beautiful area with small meandering streets and a very quiet vibe. We enjoyed sitting with locals in a small shed drinking coffee and chi as we whiled the hours away. In the evening we met Laura and Mike who had just arrived from munnar, and went for dinner. It was a year since they had got engaged so we had a few beers to celebrate at our house.

Tomorrow we are heading to munnar by bus- 5 and a half hours apparently – Fun!