KERALA
We left Nagarahole by car and headed for Marari beach at Mararikulam in Kerala’s north. It was a long drive – 11 hours including a few short stops: to admire the view of the western ghats as we descended through 29 hairpin bends and the cheeky macaques populating the area, roadside tea, our driver stopping to pray, lunch (samosa and tea for us, beef and rice for him, only available in a Muslim cafe), roadside coconut type fruit of the Palmyra tree – munjal – with a jelly like flesh
Spot the monkey!!
The landscape remains tropical jungle, and is lush and verdant with rice paddies and coconut groves. The roads are generally good for the first several hours and everything looks clean although there is still visible evidence of the after effects of the terrible August flooding (monsoon rains and landslides). It was actually fascinating until the last three hours when dusk fell and we could see little and then hit terrible traffic and road works in Kochi. We were relieved to reach the resort we had booked as a holiday at the end of the trip where we were warmly welcomed and shown our bungalow. I was immediately impressed with the four varieties of loose Darjeeling and Munar tea and ground Coorg coffee available. I was then shocked that because it was the first of the month and as such a – government decreed – alcohol free day the restaurant could not serve us a beer with our late supper. Rather sweetly the staff assured us we could drink from the minibar (in fact we didn’t, the moment had passed)!
The resort grounds are beautiful and the resident naturalist available to take us on a guided tour to see the birds, explore the butterfly garden and learn something of the trees. The bird life was prolific but our absolute favourites are the owlets. A breeding pair and three chicks. Soooo photogenic. There were also scops and barn owls as well as kites, sunbirds, egrets, magpie robins and – somewhat surprisingly to us – lots and lots of crows
Owlett parents 
Barn owl 
Owlett chick 
Owlett chick
Magpie robin 
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Good food (lots of fish curries and grilled marinated fish), excellent swimming, in pool and sea, and nothing more culturally demanding than a cycle round the local villages (a very hot and humid cycle!) it really was a proper holiday within our trip. Tea was served every afternoon for an hour from 4 o’clock out of the most beautiful 19th Century cart, usually with a local biscuit or cake in which coconut featured largely
Local god at the snake temple 
The tea cart 
Andy having a lesson on an Indian table accordion
The holiday atmosphere was much enhanced by an evening with the Linterns (Karen, my former partner and her husband Richard) who were spending the last few nights of their Indian sojourn at a sister resort to ours but on the lagoon. We had joined them for dinner in Delhi on the night they arrived and before we went to Darjeeling and thought that we would not see them again as we had not then known where we would be towards the end of our trip as theirs concluded. We compared notes where our journeys had been the same and respective high and low lights and drank gin, white wine and ate fish. . . . .
It was also our only excursion to the famous Kerala lagoon, I was savaged by mosquitos the following day and although not on the lagoon at the time of the savaging i could not face it – something for another time
Relaxed, refreshed and ready for some more India we left the beach and went to Fort Kochi. A not yet well restored tumble down city, formerly a famous and important trading port which survived Portuguese, Dutch and British eras, embracing their architecture and quite a lot of Christianity. We walked extensively, it is very scenic and in the spice warehouses very appealingly aromatic. The town feels tropical and is clean and the most hassle was from tuk tuk drivers desperate to sell us a tour, incredulous of our desire to walk. As the guide book says, it was interesting watching the fish being landed and the Chinese fishing nets are very atmospheric. There are enormous rain trees in the leafy square and families promenading. Apart from fish the town spice basis informs its eating and drinking, ginger and cinnamon in particular and I am now a big fan of ginger tea
On the way to fort Cochi 
Rain tree 
Chinese fishing net 
Outside the synagogue 
The tomb where Vasco de Gama once lay 
A godown 
Ginger 
Christmas lights 
We asked, apparently he was there filming an episode of “Real Marigolds” and had something made . . . .
I discover that the Kochi Biennale starts the day we leave. Bad timing! We saw venues being readied and one or two installations. It runs for about three months so again, something for another time
Our last internal flight takes us back to Delhi for our last couple of days. Until then, Namaste
ALISON