Wellaway From Home

Becs wasn't feeling tip top today, we think she might have caught a big from another traveller at Munroe Island, so she spent most of the day in the room resting. If we could have chose a day for this, it would have been today...and here at Windemere as the view from our room was amazing, the room itself was amazing and the staff really thoughtful and we could order meals and drinks to the room. I did manage to get out to explore the grounds though and take a swim in the lovely pool which had an infinite view of the tea plantations. I also walked up to the granite rock viewing platforms with amazing views of the area. Breakfast was a Indian/British affair with bacon and eggs accompanying some more local cuisine. Afternoon tea was served in a lovely gazebo with some cakes too which was nice as we"d decided we weren't hungry for lunch. At 4pm I went over to reception for the hike that was offered by the hotel. It was led by the estate's own naturalist who was very inform...

Yes, it really did take all those modes.of transport to get us to our new destination. You might think that having precooked the train ticket from Kollam to Kochi and the taxi to pick us up from the station and take us to the Windemere Estate in Munnar, that all would be well. Aha! Think again! We woke up early and packed before Vijeesh brought us a goodbye coffee which ws very sweet of him. We then settled up paying on Monzo which was brilliant as the exchange rate is fabulous and there didn't seem to be any commission involved for paying in rupees. The whole 3 night trip including all the meals and activities came to £145, well worth it. I'd asked Vijeesh to book us a taxi back to Kollam station but he looked up the train route and said that it actually stopped at a much nearer station so we could get a tuktuk there. A no trainer really. So at 7:10 we shouldered oir bags and he led us down to the road...across rhe road and to the canoe and told us that the tuktuk was on the o...

Woke up and made the short 15 minute walk to a local yoga shala for our first practice since Kochi. It was easy to find and the teacher was waiting for us outside the shala which was up a metal staircase with views of the surrounding mangrove forest. 90 sweaty minutes later we felt stretched out and at peace with the world. It was Hatha yoga for those who know about these things and cost 1000 rupees each. Glowing, we headed back to the homestay for breakfast and chatted to the group about the start of the day. Vijeesh has bikes for hire, no idea how much they are but we took a couple for a spin around the island, calling in at a repair shop on the way to tighten the chain (50 rupees) and the juice shop from yesterday. This time he even turned the fan on for us. We had no route planned so just pootled about, went over our bike treads a few times and even found the local Munroturuttu train station before calling it a day due to a bit of saddle sore. Bikes were fine though and the roads p...

Woke up early (again) for a dawn cruise on the canoe punted by Vijeesh himself this time. Was well worth the early alarm as we took a different route and saw the party lights of the temple for this evenings' festival as well as a truly amazing sunrise. Otters too! Afterwards we arrived back for a lovely traditional breakfast of pancakes, banana and melon...smashing. But with nothing planned we took the opportunity to spend the rest of the mornjng relaxing a doing a fee chores like washing clothes and having a snooze. The room was lovely and cool with the aircon and fan and we could have slept.longer but woke ourselves up for lunch, more home cooked curry which was very tasty and mostly veggie but with a few small fried fish too if you fancied them. After lunch we asked Vijeesh about yoga and he gave us the number of a local shala whom we whatsapped and set up a session for the following day. He also put a couple of pins in my Google maps app for a nearby cotton weaving factory an...

Day 4 started with more yoga, at 5:30 this time and went in a little longer until 6:45. Sona slightly changed the class this time and ended as usual with her beautiful sing-song voice. After breakfast there was just time to grab a cup of chai at Qissa before getting our taxi (again booked through Joseph) to Ernakulum Junction train station for our journey south. The taxi ride only took 30 mins and cost 700 rupees. Our train tickets were around £25 fir the two of us in Chair class - A/C and 'steward service' whatever that meant. I was a bit worried about finding the right platform and identifying the right train...but after checking the information screen and then asking at the Informaion Point, it was easy. On the ticket is the carriage number as well as the seats...and there are screens to tell you where to stand on the platform for which carriage...easy! Train didn't arrive tho so after a few minutes I googled the train name and it told me it was running 18 mins late. E...

Alarm woke us up at 5:30 for an early yoga class booked through Joseph. Sona was a great Indian yoga teacher who had me in my first ever headstand. My body was so well warmed up that it seemed easier than in Devon. After a post yoga snooze and another good breakfast we headed out to the water metro to catch a foot passenger ferry to High Court (40 rupees for a one way ticket that can be easily bought at the ticket office in the terminal). A 25 minute cruise later through the main waterways of Kochi and we made landfall at High Court, an area of Kochi famous for the Court building. We ignore this and strolled down the 'Marine Drive Walkway', a pedestrian only footpath with intermittent shade and viewing platforms of the Kochi seascape. Took about an hour to the end and back, felt pretty safe all the time even though we were the only western tourists around and we got back to the terminal for the return. Again, able to buy tickets from an English speaking person and told where t...

Up to the roof terrace for breakfast at 8:40. It had started at 8:30 and we'll be there then tomorrow as not many tables left to sit at and no coffee until much later. Still, good continental breakfast and had an omelette. Went for a walk to see the Chinese fishing nets which were cool. Got asked a few times if we wanted a tuktuk ferrari but once we said no a few times they left us alone. Generally the street vendors and tuktuk drivers didn't seem quite so pushy as in Northern India during our trip last year. Fishing nets were quite amazing, had a nice walk in the very hot and humid weather before retracing our steps and trying the Ouissa Cafe near La Lune which was quiet, cool and tasty. Cheap too, had a masala chai, lime soda and a cheese/tomato sandwich for about 320 rupees. After a siesta we headed out again to Aspinhall house which was part of the biennial arts festival that had already been going on for a month. Lots of modern art and not so much to my taste...could hav...

Arrived in Mumbai on Virgin flight - 9 hours Got a domestic flight to Kochi with Air India - 2 hours. Nice free curry on the plane. Took a taxi from Kochi airport (which is totally solar powered btw), booked and paid for by B&B, which took an hour and a half to get to La Lune in Fort Kochi. Lovely accom in a quiet house just off the main street covered in artwork done by the owners daughter who is studying in the UK. No shoes in the house, leave them at rhe front door. After settling in we asked Joseph the B&B owner for dinner recommendations and got one for Mary's kitchen. Great curry meal for 2 people for 620 rupees. Afyer 26 hours straight of travelling from Devon we slept for over 10 hours. Room was lovely and cool with a fan and air-conditioning.