Starting from the jetty at Kollam, we took a boat through the vast inland set of waterways heading north in Kerala. Some are natural as offshoots from vast lakes and some are man made. The journey is slow and takes eight hours before we reach our destination for tonight, a home stay near Alleppy. Lunch consists of banana, cashew nuts and water which is ideal. Cashew nuts are a major produce in this area and last nights hotel was built by a local 'cashew magnate' ...

At 8.30am we made a prompt departure from the hotel in Madurai on the 280km road journey to Kollam in the neighbouring state of Kerala. We travelled through the plains where villages are spaced at ten mile intervals and then up into the Western Ghats hills. Many towns were displaying Communist Party of India flags and posters and they are obviously strong politically in this area. The Communist Party runs the next state of Karnataka and so the spirit of Marx, Eng...

I caught the overnight train down last night from Mengalpattu to Madurai further south in Tamil Nadu. It was a two tier a/c sleeper and I shared my compartment with three Indian men, who I am glad to report did not snore! After a short visit to Madurai's flower and vegetable markets it was on to the amazing temple complex, one of the greatest anywhere on earth. It is a vast complex of fourteen temples and it is closed for cleaning and restoration every twelve yea...

The Hope Foundation kindergarten and primary school was set up in 2005 after the tsunami. It educates some of the orphans from that tragedy and the sons and daughters of the local village fishermen. It is a great place, expertly run by an inspirational leader who is a social worker by background. We had a lovely welcome including garlands and a visit to each of the classrooms where we saw the children being taught. Learning three languages; English, Tamil and Hin...

I am now in Mahabalipuram, also known as Mamallapuram, on the Indian Ocean coast, a place famous for its beach temples. Some date back to the 6th century and many are carved from a single piece of granite (monolithic). There were originally seven temples built on the shoreline itself but only one now remains. The other six are now under water but became visible for á very short period of time in 2004 as the sea receded just prior to the tsunami which hit thi...