Blog 98 Our first evening in Fort Cochin we were recommended a restaurant and headed out for dinner to make the most of being near the sea again and ordered yet more fish! 'Fish fry' and 'fish vindaloo'. No guessing who ordered the vindaloo, but after being assured I could handle it, I tried a smidgen. I SURVIVED A FISH VINDALOO IN INDIA. I must remind our children one day to write this on our grave stones! A few days away from the hectic beeping and dust o...

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. Foll...

Blog 96 A long blistering hot day in Madurai led us to the 23.05 train to the Keralan coast in the sleeper class carriage along with many Indian people. After a good few long stares and us awkwardly looking away as if to say 'erm ... Is this going to happen all night?' We attempted to get as comfy as possible on the top of our three tier bunks. Soon realising that actually although we didn't have the window breeze coming in on us we were laid about 2 feet unde...

Blog 95 Feeling like we stuck out like a sore thumb; after just 3.5 hours I'd bought myself a jingly 20p 'silver' anklet and we'd been to visit a market tailor and had our newly made Indian style shirt dressy things on! Feeling like we'd been travelling forever again now that we looked the part and the tans are on the way back. So Madurai was an unexpected gem of culture. The real reason we went there?...Cheapest flights. In the heart of this frantic little t...

Blog 94 WE GOT INDIA VISAS!!!! After 3 country attempts we finally sorted our India visas. That £120 each better be worth it! Practicalities a plenty again in Colombo, but considering the heat I think sight seeing was a bit ambitious. Parcel number 8 posted home; hunt for the Indian Lonely Planet continued; Barefoot take two shopping complete; and a Indian restaurant meal and cocktails to celebrate the end of Sri Lanka and the start of the next chapter. Sri...