India Day 4: Bon voyage Fort Kochi, Salut Munroe Island

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. Eventually the tanoi announced that isn't was about to arrive (In english) and we got on and found our seats. Plenty of luggage rack room above them for rucksacks too.

Great seats! Lots of legroom...better than the ones in England I'd say. Then a chap came round with big free bottles of water...then another with a tray of food, like you get on long haul flights! Was a bit lukewarm though so didn't have loads. It was veggie curry of course! Guess thay was the 'steward service'. One more thing, although we didn't use them, on the way onto the train I noticed two different toilets...India style and Western style!

So, arrived in Kollam and looked for our precooked taxi to the homestay on Munroi Island. No sign of it. Rang Vijeesh the owner of the homestay who told me he had booked it a week before...no answer. By this time another taxi driver who'd been touting us for business was keeping a very keen eye on us from about a yard away. Eventually though, on about the 4th attempt Vijeesh picked up, he'd been doing the lunch at the homestay and told us the driver was on his way. Good to his word, the driver showed up a few mins later and we walked off with him leaving the other, slightly disappointed taxi driver behind.

Tip: when the 'real' taxi driver arrived I waited for him to say where he thought we were going to make sure if wasn't a chance.

An hour later we arrived at the homestay and met Vijeesh who was very apologetic aboit the car and showed us to oir room. It was initially hot but once we'd closed the curtains to keep the sun out and turned on the ceiling fan and air-conditioning it started to cool down nicely.

An hour later (4:30pm) we got aboard a canoe on the river just opposite the homestay and Vijeesh's father took us on a twilight tour of the backwaters. This was an amazing 3 hour trip with some low bridges and amazing views of the sun setting over Kerala. It was free too.

Got back by 7:30pm just in time for dinner. Sat down with the other guests for a tasty veggie curry and made new friends. Love chatting to other people from different countries who all have travel in common.