Skeggsy’s Blog

Awoke on houseboat. Set off for a cruise at about 8:00am. Had breakfast on the boat & returned by 9:45am. Driven back to flat. Arrived Cochin approx 12pm.
4pm went to collect suit which turned out not to be ready. Also went looking for a colourful umbrella as a present for Mum but one we saw was for an elephant so was a bit big.
Visited a few local temples in Ernakulam.
Finished reading Under the skin.
Dinner at Thampi’s. Discovered that mutton is in fact goat, and had ‘pink’ pineapple.

Checked out at 10:30am & drove to where we thought houseboat departed. Arrived back at hotel at 13:15 where houseboat actually departed from. Welcomed with a coconut water drink. Moored for lunch at about 2pm. Lunch was sambar, fried fish, bean thoran, popadoms, aviyal and lime pickle & then payasam for dessert (like rice pudding but with vermicilli).
Then had half a pineapple expertly sliced.
Setoff at 3:30pm.
Purchased some large prawns for dinner.
Moored up at about 5pm.
Dinner 8pm.
Saw some bats.
Yamini sang to me. (Yamini would like to point out it was pretty bad but funny).

Started out for Kottayam at 8:30am. Approx 140km. Arrived 12pm at Backwater Ripples which was very pleasant. Customer service is much better as well. Very nice room with view across backwaters.
Took a taxi to Coconut Lagoon for lunch but it was fully booked. Had lunch at The Taj instead- Chicken Biriani. Had coconut water to drink by straw straight out of the coconut.
Cost was approx 2500 Rupees/approx �30. Very expensive meal!
Headed back to Backwater Ripples.
Sunbathed by pool.
Had cup of coffee & game of ping pong.
Ordered a beer & sat by lake to watch sun go down.
Watched entertainment….traditional dancing. Had dinner & watched tv before bed.

Driven to Thekarry, approx 115 km away.Started out at 8am. Lovely scenery along the way but roads absolutely terrible so v.slow going. Arrived 11:30am at Saj Jungle Village where we were staying.
Had elephant ride at 2pm. Unfortunately we went for the overpriced unofficial version. Went for boat ride within the sanctuary. We saw Sambar deer, black monkeys, rather cute otters, water snake, tortoise, wild boar & a kingfisher. Then dropped back at bottom of our road & walked back up stopping at The Taj hotel for drinks & snacks (Samosas & french fries). Saw lots of large bats against clear night sky, probably the most impressive sight today.
Incredibly exhausted so had fairly early one.
Not overly impressed with the man on reception at Jungle Village.

Had toast & Idly for breakfast.
Picked up by mini coach for our tour at 10am.
First stop was Erivakulam National park at the top of a mountain. We switched to a jeep at the entrance to the park. As a foreign national I paid 200 rupees for entrance but Binnie the driver got Yamini’s ticket which was 15 rupees. Saw some rare goat that was nearly extinct & is now protected. Saw a rare plant that only flowers once every 12 yrs - Neelakurinji. On the way back down we stopped at a waterfall where we also saw some beautiful blue butterflies. We also stopped to look at the tea plantations. We then stopped for lunch at Bhavan Saravan in centre of Munnar.
After lunch we stopped at two dams.
Stopped at echo point.
Drove to Top Station which was covered in cloud. Bought some green tea. Yamini wasn’t cold in her shorts, eventhough we were told it was 7 degrees centigrade.
On way back down saw some wild elephants that had ventured into the tea plantation. Also saw some working elephants. Saw some eucalyptus trees.
Arrived back at Tea County approx 6pm.
Had a beer in the bar & wrote journal and then dinner. Had chicken Khorma which looked a really nice green & lovely smell which is why I had some. Tasted nice though lightly spiced. Whereas usually chicken korma is such a ghastly artificial colour so never actually had it before.
Had Gulab Jamun for dessert.

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Driven from Cochin to Munnar staying at KTDC Tea County. (Started snacking on the banana chips Babitha bought for us. Very moorish). Saw another elephant being riden down road along the way.
Munnar is very mountainous & tropically lush!
Went for a stroll to the shops in Munnar. Had my photo taken by someone with their mobile phone camera. Took an auto-ricksaw to tourist information & booked a tour for tomorrow. Autoricksaw man waited for us & took us on a mini tour. He showed us a coffee tree & we picked some coffee pods. Also saw some Cardomon plants and tea plantations. Cost of autoricksaw was 100 + 20 tip.
Took a stroll around market & bought some bananas for 13.5 rupees. Bananas not that nice, peachy colour inside & quite tough. Perhaps these are meant for cooking.
Back at Tea County. Had a game of snooker before dinner.

Went on a boat tour between 8:45-11:45. Expensive at 1200 rupees but had entire double decker tourist boat to ourselves. Saw chinese fishing nets. Saw some dolphins. Set foot on Mattanchary island & went to Dutch Palace. Bought presents for parents-elephant coat rack & coasters.
Had lunch at Taj Residency
Visited Raman & Shanta
New year party at the flat

Driven back from Badagar to Cochin. Left 8:00am. Arrived Palat & Rugmini’s penthouse 9:00am. Left approx 9:30am and got back 2:30pm.
Had some toast & cake for lunch & hung out at flat until about 6:30pm went for walk with Yamini & bought some Lay magic masala crisps for 10 rupees. Left for dinner/buffett at Meridian hotel at about 7:30pm.

Hung out in Badagar for the day.
Had a look around Uncle Gokri’s nursery.
Drank coconut milk which was sweeter so tasted nicer but stank. This one had been left to ferment slightly.
Went to postoffice. Told that postcards need to go in an envelope by postal worker who had never seen a postcard before.
Uncle Mohan dropped by to see us.
Visited next door to Mr Vidyer & across the road to Aunty Jayanthi’s mums house.
Pondered that never been anywhere that everyone stares so much. Cute Indian child said hi though.
Had hard sesame seed ball thingy for tea. Same as sesame snap?
Went for walk with Yamini in evening.
Heard the legendary polecat that lives in the attic.

Driven to Varavoor (approx 1.5 hrs) to Yamini’s Granny’s house where Yamini’s dad grew up. Met Yamini’s cousin Kunykutten, and her Dad’s brother, and his wife, as well as Yamini’s Granny.
Had lunch, ate rice & sambar with hands off a banana leaf. Payasam (rice pudding) for dessert.
Saw vanilla plant, peppercorn & mango tree.
Drank coconut milk which smells & wasnt particularly pleasant to taste.
Then driven to Badagara (approx 4 hrs) to house where Yamini’s Mum grew up.
Uncle Gokri & Aunty Jayanthi now live here. Yamini’s cousin Babitha visited with her husband Manoj.
Saw lizards crawling up the wall.
Doogie the dog is a Pommerainium. Doogie didnt like the choc drops we bought but pretended to eat them & spat them out later.