On our day of leaving our beach hut, we were told that there was a national transport strike ….. No Tuk-Tuks, taxis or buses and not sure about trains. We managed to hire a private car to take us to the train station and luckily our train was still operating and we arrived at Fort Kochi at about 3:00pm.

On the first night Heather was keen to take in some culture and accordingly we went to a Kathakali performance. This is an Indian theatre experience of high drama, acted out largely in mime form with highly elaborate make-up and the narrative supplied by a singer. The show lasted just under 3 hours and the first hour and a half was spent watching the actors apply their make-up ……. enthralling for Heather (apparently) but for Dan, it was like watching paint dry (literally) …… A drink was needed, which is when we found out that Kerala is predominantly a "dry" state.

On our first full day and feeling lazy we hired a tuk-tuk driver to take us around the highlights of the town - 4 hours plus and it cost about 6 quid. We started at the Santa Cruz basilica, an impressive catholic cathedral, it was built with Portuguese influence but also significant Indian touches, like the graphic ceiling murals of the "Stations of the Cross". Another church of note was the Church of St Francis, built in 1503 by Franciscan Friars and believed to be the oldest European built church in India and houses the tomb of Vasco de Gama (who died in Kochi). Keeping on the religious theme, we visited the Jewish synagogue built in 1568 and a Jain temple, which held a strange ceremony involving hundreds of pigeons descending into the ceremonial square, while the congregation chanted loudly for several minutes.

Other sights of note -The Dutch Palace, so called as the Dutch renovated it in 1663, the Chinese cantilevered fishing nets which take 4 people to operate, the local outdoor laundry where old fashioned, non-electric irons were used and no washing machines, crumbling old warehouses housing various spices. The town is a real mixture of Chinese, Jewish, Portuguese, Dutch and the British Raj.

The next day was aboard a converted rice boat, where we joined an international group of travellers - 4 Brits, 2 Czech, 2 French, 2 Spanish, 1 Omani, 1 Turkish, 2 Russians and a mysterious couple of uncertain origin (who were not revealing their nationality or purpose) - This would be our first experience of the "real" Kerala, lush green vegetation and extensive backwaters.

This intrepid but motley crew set off into the flowing backwaters of Kerala, powered by two Keralans with 7 metre bamboo poles. We gently floated through the various streams, passing villages and farms, stopping occasionally to view artisan workers such as rope makers and "toddy tappers" and once for lunch which was served on banana leaves. ….. The menu comprised of rice, curry and chapatis (no surprises there) cooked and presented in medium size buckets. Generally, a very relaxed and slow day …… I believe it's called serenity.

In the evening, we went in search of alcohol. We spoke to a dubious tuk-tuk driver who promised to take us to a beer shop if we went to a curio and clothes shop with him - We agreed - It turned out that he got petrol coupons from the shop owner for bringing us (regardless of whether we bought anything or not). The official government alcohol shop was unbelievable - It was located in a back street, a plain building with no signage. When we entered there was a queue of desperate looking men (no women) around the wall and as we took our place, the vision transformed into the scene from "The Full Monty" in the dole office, when they all started dancing. We finally received our bottles of beer, wrapped in newspaper and guiltily smuggled them into our hotel.