After a rollercoaster ride of a bus journey we finally arrived in Kumily- home of the Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary. This was the first time staying in a large hotel which had an over friendly manager who insisted on deciding our "programmes" for our entire stay (he was particularly keen about getting us into a church!)

We were excitied so see that there was HOT water available - but were confused when they told us that someone would "bring" the water in the morning! To our surprise (BUZZZZ) it turned up at 5 am in two plastic buckets! Such an early start was in preparation for a boating trip at Periyar lake so we could avoid the charging Indian tourists fighting for boat tickets. We were told to wear HUGE life jackets - this was due to an accident two years ago where the boat capsised because of the over excited tourists (not that our trust in health and safety here was low enough already). After all that hassle we didn't see any animals of interest but had a nice snooze at sunrise, followed by our own little trek in the park (lots of monkeys - who ate our banana skins).

In the afternoon we finally found the trekking ticket office and went on a Clouds Walk with two Australians and our guide called Augustin (he taught us how to write our names in Malayalam - the Kerelan language). We saw some amazing views from the hill tops and Sarah got terrified of the Tigers roaming in the grassland and the tied up cow being used as bait for a Tigers midnight snack. Deb (of course) made the most of Sarah's fear of the Tigers and scared her at any given moment.

We decided it was about time we stopped being such cheapstakes and did some shopping - Kerela is famous for its spice plantations so we purchased a variety of spices and were taught some traditional recipes.

On Valentines day we decided to treat ourselves to the famous Ayvendic full body and head massage - my oh my! The naked bum and boob massage with natural oils didn't make us feel particularly relaxed - but it was an experience none the less. We spent the evening in a cool little coffee bar (eating peanut butter on toast!!) and met some friendly backpackers!