Kerala - Backwaters and Onam

We ended our journey in india by going south to the beautiful coastlines of Kerala focused around the city of Kochi. Entering the south of india is like stepping into a different country compared to the north. The pace of life is slower, the streets are cleaner and the people are much less 'in your face'.

On our first day we went to watch some traditional Kochi martial arts and theatre known as Kathakali. It is a very unique style of theatre where words are conveyed via facial expressions, body language and hand gestures. Although very interesting you have never seen it take so long to get across one sentance (some words like father can take 5-10 seconds to act out).

Then came the highlight of our trip, a boat cruise of the stunning backwaters of Kerala. The tour took up most of one day gently drifting along the river. The boats are powered by poles similar to those of the punts you find in Cambride (after my experiece punting i dont envy the boatmen at all, especially since this boat is large enough to fit 20 or so people on it).

We tokk a break half way through the day to eat a traditional lunch of assorted curries served on banana leaves (was very tasty). The cruise was not just filled with stunning scenery but wildlife also; iguanas, eagles, kingfishers, water snakes, even the odd fish or 2.

We wrapped up our trip with the festival of Onam. A large festival celebrated throughout this part of India full of colour, dancing, music and good food.

As part of the celebrations the people create huge flower 'carpets' in attractive patterns, we even woke up to one created in front of our room by the hosts of our homestay.

So... that was India.

An amazing experience we will never forget, full of extraordinary sights, sounds and once in a lifetime experiences. We have met some fantastic people, some of which we know we will keep in touch with and may yet meet again some time on our travels.

We would love to spend more time in the south of India but Sri Lanka calls.....