Blog 97

There's nowt better than a cold shower after a hot and sticky bit of travelling in a dusty India. Refreshed, we began a fruitless hunt for dinner. I cut my losses and ordered a veggie curry and rice in a dodgey looking and smelling place and had a few mouthfuls before feeling too nervous. (Luckily 2 days later I think I must have got away with it this time.) Pangry (panic hungry), we headed back to the guesthouse to order in an Indian takeaway.

Following day we again, ruled out the option of the holidayers luxury of a houseboat and opted for a slowly slowly peaceful ferry ride up towards Cochin through the backwaters, kingfisher spotting the whole journey. Halfway to Cochin and the end of our ferry ride we stopped for our first real Keralan food. A fish curry with the works in Indian equates to fish curry, mounds of rice, lime pickle, coconut curry, a poppadom, beetroot curry, raita, green been curry and a scummy little pudding thing (creamy, cinnamony ?ricey ?coconutty thing). What I'm trying to get at is it was worth forking out 200 ruppees (£2) for.

A few hours later after a bus and little boat ride, I forget exactly which journey this was, we arrived in Cochin and were welcomed with open arms into the family of a Christian home stay who would do whatever they could to try and make it a relaxing and easy visit for us which was just what the doctor ordered.

Love Jo x