TRIP REPORT: NOVEMBER 2006 - APRIL 2007
*** Hotel reviews have been added for places we stayed at during our 5 months - about 23***
I was going to try to put this is one report, but it's gonna end up too long and bore you all to death, so splitting into three. Hope you all enjoy the read!
misterc.
PART ONE
Bored with the treadmill, my girlfriend and I sold our flats in the autumn last year and put our life on hold, deciding to visit India for 5 months, using Goa as a base. More than excited, this would be my fifth visit to Goa, my girlfriends second. I first visited Goa in 1994 and the progress since then has been relentless, but one thing still remains the same - the spirit of the place. Now I must get this clear from the start, we're not a pair of post university travellers 'trying to find themselves' (though there's nothing wrong with them), we know who we are, and most of the time (except for where we want to eat and drink) what we want!
Where do we start, well I suppose the beginning is as good as anywhere.
We said our goodbyes to parents at the airport, tears flowing, we went through security knowing the next time we'd see them would be at the end of April 2007. We flew with Virgin on an overnight from Heathrow to Mumbai, paid for the emergency exit seats and had a comfortable flight. The joy of flying scheduled is worth its' weight in gold. Getting the shuttle bus to the domestic terminal was straightforward and we waited for our Spice Jet flight. We arrived the following day at our base, Xavier's Beach Resort, Candolim.
Both in our early 30's and in need of home comforts, we toyed with the idea of renting somewhere, but eliminated this as an option as we'd be paying for somewhere when we were on our travels. Xavier's was the perfect base for us.
Candolim (mid Nov-early Jan)
Likes:
- choice of restaurants
- village feel
- cows still walking the streets
- the dog barking and running after cars / bikes by Tony's & Full Moon (though after our trip to the north, he was no longer there"¦hopefully he's alright)
- 100 rupee haircuts
Dislikes:
- the perception from some locals all tourists are loaded
- too many taxis (now there's a surprise!)
- main road too busy
- beach sellers (now there's another surprise!)
- too many sunbeds on the beach
It's great having the length of time we had, not worrying about getting to the beach early, what time we got in, how much we had to drink. Our mentality was completely different to a two week holiday and it was great! We frequented Seawaves shack (in between Bob Marley and Rupa's), which is run by brothers Steve and Vinay - their brother Ajay is a taxi driver. Beach-life is great for people watching, we'd always look forward to Mondays, seeing the police doing their rounds to tax the sellers, confiscate stone elephants (how many must they have!) and on one occasion give one of the sellers a cracking right hander. Police have power and they're in the wrong for what they're doing, so are the sellers for not paying any tax as are the shack owners for taxing the sellers who sell to the tourists. India is rife for corruption and it trickles down from the top to every layer and section of society.
The choice of restaurants is great. We found that most places were good at a handful of dishes, our favourite places to eat were Plantain Leaf, Floyds Hut and Tony's. Our first night in Tony's was like meeting an old friend, we didn't go in there last year on our holiday, so the last time I saw him was about 8 years ago. He came to our table and greeted me with my name - amazing! This could have something to do with the fact that on my first trip in 94 with 3 other friends (all in our early 20s), we stayed at Xaviers for 3 weeks and frequently terrorised the ninja security man with paper airplanes and water bombs in the early hours of the morning! Subsequently believe it or not we made a good impression with Xavier, Antionette and all the boys who worked there! Without doubt one of the worse meals we had in our 5 months was at Ma Thai - should be called 'Ma Where Da Thai' or 'Na Thai Tanite'.
There were a couple of days where we didn't drink and I seem to remember them being 26th December and 1st January! We had a cracking Christmas and New Years, drinking, eating, watching fireworks, more drinking and stumbling home. I won't apologise we rather enjoyed the fact there weren't hordes of western tourists over Christmas and New Year - obviously the locals wouldn't agree, but certainly when we returned to Candolim in mid February after our trip to the south there was almost double the amount of people on resort.
Other things we got up to during this period:
- Went to Panjim a few times and stayed in the Panjim Inn. Been here so many times and don't get bored - it feels so European compared to other cities in India, the Portugese influence remains strong. Try Vihar (near the post office)"¦similar set up to Plantain leaf, excellent food and non touristico prices
- The occasional evening in nino's nook getting plastered on Honeybee
- We treated ourselves to a 2 hour Auyervedic massage at ANCH Saligao. Just under £30 each, it was well worth it. Recommended.
- Oh yes, we researched our next trip"¦"¦
Benaulim (1 night - early January)
Likes:
- Beach and squeaky sand
Dislikes:
- Everything else about Benaulim
We were attracted by the quiet appeal of this resort and felt we needed to give the south a go. Our stay here was going to be for 10 nights (see Carina Beach Resort Hotel Review), we didn't get a good vibe so we stayed 1 night, packed our bags and went to Palolem. I'm sure there are plenty of people who go on holiday here every year and have a fab time but it weren't for us .maybe if we had the money and stayed at the Taj we'd have a different opinion (we did check out a few other guesthouses when in Benaulim, but they were all of a similar shoddy standard).
Palolem (early January)
Likes:
- Laid back feel
- Choice of restaurants
- Mix of people and age groups
- Calm sea
Dislikes:
- Number of shacks on beach
- No cashpoint
Moving hastily on from Benaulim, we headed for our stay at Hotel Oceanic, located at the southern end of Palolem (it was quicker to walk to Patnem beach). The place has a real good feel about it and was just what we were looking for. We spent most of our time on the beach, preferring the quieter Patnem beach, where there are fewer shacks and the beds are set back a fair distance from the sea. We used Casa Fiesta on the beach and what a find, the shack was nicely done out and they made an excellent guacamole - give them a go if you're in the area. Again the choice of restaurants was good, with most tastes being catered for. Our preferred haunt was Cool Breeze (try the masala papads) - we'd read good reviews for Dropadi, located at the end of the beach road on the left, but apart from average food, it was very popular and service slow.
Other things we got up to during this period:
- Visited Agonda, what a fantastic beach. If you're on a two week holiday and need a complete re-charge we'd recommend here.
- We saw a troop of monkeys down the road from our hotel, very amusing.
- Frequently in Cuba most evenings for a drink or three.
- Found a great place on Patnem beach road for cheap washing. Think we were charged 200 rupees for about 40 garments.
- Played bat and ball on the beach!
To follow:
Part two - Kerala, Candolim, Hampi
Part three - Delhi, Jaipur, Ranthambhore, Agra, Shimla, Candolim
Great start MrC - just what I need to take my mind off the Northumberland monsoon - keep it up
Can't wait for part 2. Well done to both of you about the way you sold up and went, I guess there are many people on this site that wished they had done that sort of thing many years ago, I know for sure, I wish I had done it many years ago!!
It was brave to take the decision to sell up. I've known several people who have taken a year out. I was so envious of them- particularly when I got a postcard from somewhere exotic when it was wet and cold here( like now 
)Its too late for me now- too many commitments but I do go on holiday whenever I get the chance 
I'm looking forward to parts 2 and 3
)Its too late for me now- too many commitments but I do go on holiday whenever I get the chance I'm looking forward to parts 2 and 3
I hope you haven't given up on us misterc 
, I'm sure I'm not the only one who's looking forward to parts 2 and 3 , of your travels around India.
Thanks lassi
, I'm sure I'm not the only one who's looking forward to parts 2 and 3 , of your travels around India.Thanks lassi
I'm sure we are not the only ones looking forward to the next part
...it's been a stop start affair writing part 2! all being well should be posted by friday 
misterc.
misterc.
as long as we are getting to read it and you haven't forgotten us
TRIP REPORT: NOVEMBER 2006 - APRIL 2007
***Hotel reviews have been added for places we stayed at***
Hope you don't fall off your chair reading this; it's long! Enjoy the read
misterc.
PART TWO
Kerala (mid January to mid February) Candolim, Hampi
We decided to fly to Kerala as we knew we'd be doing a long train journey later in the trip. Our route was Dabolim-Bangalore-Trivandrum on 2 Air Deccan flights. Had we known the problems we would experience, it would have been a train journey all the way! We arrived at Dabolim to find our 2pm flight was delayed by 4 hours (we only had a 2 hour window to catch our Trivandrum flight at Bangalore) and it then took us a good 2 hours to get the Air Deccan desk to change our connecting tickets from Bangalore to the first flight out in the morning (red tape and more red tape - 'we can't issue, we need authorisation from Bangalore etc"¦'. So stress levels raised we braced ourselves for a night at Bangalore airport (we arrived at 8.30pm and needed to check in at 5am the following morning). We arrived to face a mob of hundreds outside the airport, tired and clear in our mind we were now going to sort out a hotel from our trusted lonely planet guide. With about 100 rupees credit on our phone and a fading battery we managed to secure a room for the night (Hotel Empire International) and grab a taxi to a vibrant city called Bangalore. Our tip: Don't fly Air Deccan - their prices are low for a reason !
We went to Kerala kind of expecting something similar to Goa, but quickly realised Kerala is a different kettle of fish. A diverse landscape, the English language is less spoken here by locals and alcohol is all under the counter - no drinks menu's here (only in the waiter's back pockets when you ask for one). Kerala vs Goa ? I'll do a summary at the end of the Kerala section and give you our opinion.
Poovar
Likes:
- Secluded resort and great for a relaxing low key break
- Empty beaches, clear blue sea
Dislikes:
- Not a dislike, just a pain in the proverbial"¦nearest government liquor shop about a 15 minute taxi ride away (beers and honeybee about a third-quarter of the price the hotel were charging)
- Unscrupulous taxi drivers outside the gates. Make sure you agree a price (we thought we had agreed a price and route before we got in the taxi, the driver when he dropped us wanted an extra 200 rupees - we kindly said 'er we don't think so' and walked off through the gates and into the hotel).
This is a resort location (we stayed at the wonderful Isola Di Cocco), the village itself is grubby and not entirely geared up for tourists. There was an Elephant march/festival going on near the village which we went to and was great fun. We were befriended by a group of 15 kids when we arrived and they did not leave us until we decided we'd had enough of the festival entertainment. A memorable event, there were about 12 elephants doing a procession, loud music and announcements from a main stage, colourful clothes and an abundance of stalls selling Indian snacks.
Kovalum
Likes:
- Choice of restaurants (Fusion and Spice Garden our favourites)
- The lighthouse
- Some great local people
- The man on the beach selling glasses bellowing 'sunglaaaaases, reading glaaaaaases'..classic!
Dislikes:
- The walk back up the hill to our hotel
- Being charged for sunbeds
- Not the cleanest of beaches
Now Kovalum has a good feel about it, even an Indo-European one, there's a promenade along the beach with most of the restaurants and shops. We met some great locals here (Michael in Sea Shore) and a great lad called James who looked after a section of sunbeds - we had clothes that needed washing and he even arranged for his auntie to take care of it"¦think it worked out about 5 rupees an item. The beach itself isn't the cleanest and there is a more consistent flow of locals / Indians walking up and down the beach doing the usual staring - if you like big waves, here's the place to come, there's even a couple of guards with their whistles and flags shouting to get people out of the sea when they can see a big one brewing.
Pot, Dope, Weed, Charis, however you like to call it, we were offered it on numerous occasions here, on the beach, on the street and even in a rickshaw (a local who was waiting for a bus decided to join us on our 20 minute journey to Trivandrum), a funny experience we will never forget.
Other things we got up to during this period:
- Went to the lighthouse on the beach and climbed to the top to be rewarded with breathtaking views"¦do not go if you're afraid of heights!
- Day out to Trivandrum, visited the Zoological Gardens and the Puthe Maliga Palace Museum, both of which are worth a look.
Cochin
Likes:
- Bustling city
- Fort Cochin
- Marrybrown restaurant (we're not ashamed to say it, this place rocks! India's take on KFC - 2 months into our trip and we needed a taste of home)
- Our first taste of paying the local rate for rickshaws (10 rupees for 10min ride)
Dislikes:
- Only one bar in Ernakulam (Hotel Yuravani)
- Not a dislike, but we found most of the rickshaw drivers we used did not speak good English (like most tourists we don't speak Hindi!), so you really had to work at explaining where you wanted to go and then negotiate a price.
Our first rail journey in India was great. We took an early morning 4 hour train journey from Trivandrum to Cochin in our air conditioned first class carriage, sat back and enjoyed the coconut plantations rolling past our very eyes. Cochin is big and diverse. Ernakulam on the mainland, is busy, noisy and full on. Fort Cochin can be reached in 15 minutes by one of the regular ferries at the harbour and is full of history, enjoyable to walk around and easy to get on with. We decided to book a five day tour with the KTDC (more on that later), so our stay in Cochin was aimed at sorting our onward trip and having a few days to explore.
We were unable to get a room in Hotel Yuravani, before our 5 day trip so we stayed at the basic Hotel Bharat for a couple of nights, located a 10 minute walk either way to the Harbour and the centre of Ernakulam. We were able to stay at the Yuvarani on our return before heading back to Goa, a more comfortable option with the only bar in town, darkly lit, good snacks and Kingfisher, Royal Challenge and Honeybee!
Other things we got up to during this period:
- Visited Fort Cochin. Saw the Chinese fishing nets, took a wander around the Jewish quarter, went to a small scale factory drying out fresh ginger getting ready to pack up for export.
Munnar
Likes:
- Amazing scenery
- Cool mountain air
Dislikes:
- Without sounding like alcoholics there was only one bar here too (at Hotel Issacs) !
The itinerary for our 5 day KTDC trip included:
- 2 nights in Munnar (Westwood Hotel)
- 2 nights in Periyar (Periyar House)
- 24 hours on a houseboat doing a backwater tour from Alleppey to Kollam
- Our own driver for 6 days
Our driver arrived on time and we headed off for the first leg of our 5 night tour of Kerala's best sights. We quickly realised our driver didn't speak English and we suspect it was his first job - a four hour drive took about six, not helped by the fact we think he couldn't read either! I had to gesticulate the way to munnar (like I knew my way around the roads!) after he'd gone past a sign saying turn left and he turned, er right!
Anyway we were rewarded with a stunningly beautiful place, cool air - spectacular, the climate and scenery were such you could have been in the Alps. Two nights is about right, plenty of time to drive off through the tea plantations, hear the ladies picking tea and having a natter. There is a route we followed - went to the end of the peak where you looked across the top of mountains towards Tamil Nadu, there's a couple of dams where you can ride horses, rent a pedalo, or as we did sit down with a cold drink and take the scenery all in. Recommended.
Other things we got up to here:
- Visited a commercial tea factory, well worth doing (takes 20 minutes)
- Got drunk at the only bar in town!
Periyar
Likes:
- Resident monkeys at our accommodation
Dislikes:
- Prison like accommodation (though we did have an idea before hand it would be like this)
We were going to Periyar in the hope of seeing some wildlife, an elephant perhaps and maybe the elusive tiger. We'd read mixed reviews of this area and we'd be of the opinion that you're not really missing anything if you don't go here.
The wildlife sanctuary offers morning and end of day trips on the lake where from great distances you're led to believe you may see wildlife going about its' business - but it was a let down. Sanctuary it certainly ain't, a large marauding crowd clambering around these boats, loud engines, our cover was blown before we left. The concept of 'Sanctuary' was lost on all the Indians around us I'm afraid to say.
We saw more wildlife in the hotel, with the monkeys - great fun!
Other things we got up to here:
- Bought cheap Tea Tree oil and cracking honey roasted cashews
Houseboat - Alleppey to Kollam
Likes:
- You do not have to lift a finger!
- Spectacular scenery
- Your own crew of three on board; the cook and two drivers
Dislikes:
- Only gripe was the dirty, smelly water coming from the shower
One of the highlights of our entire trip, a houseboat meandering through the backwaters, we caught a glimpse of life on the water, people going about their business; washing clothes, washing themselves and fishing. We were served a huge lunch of puppodums, cabbage thoran, long green beans in spices, fresh fish, sambar and rice.
We settled in quickly, relaxing, relaxing and more relaxing. The guys had to moor the boat at one point as we'd run out of beer, so they asked what we needed from the liquor shop and 20 minutes later they came back with new supplies! Sunset was breathtaking; we soon had our evening meal of chilli chicken, a bhindi dish, coconut and tomato curry and more rice. We cracked open our bottle of honeybee, and took in the evening sights and sounds and watched the resident gecko gobble up a succession of moths and flies!
A mosquito net was provided for the bed and I think between us, we were bitten twice, so were probably fortunate. Recommended.
Candolim
Rather than spend 20 hours on a train we decided to fly from Cochin to Mumbai and then Mumbai to Goa. We returned to Candolim and couldn't believe how busy the resort was, there were more people than Nov, December and January and it had a real buzz about it (we were asked by a couple on the shack if we were here in November when they were last there and we said yep, not even gone home yet!). The following day was Valentines, so I made my excuses early in the morning and came back with a bunch of flowers for my lovely other half. We then spent the day at Siolim House, a lovely grand old palacio, fascinating, peaceful and excellent food.
Holi arrived and being here for a while we stocked up on colours (powered paint) knowing we were bound to be targeted by the kids on the beach. Sure enough 'happy holi' was being screamed from the kids and before we knew it, we were covered (and so were the little brats!) - great fun.
Hampi
Likes:
- Mystical feel about the place
- Historical significance
-
Dislikes:
- Only Hospet where we stayed"¦apart from the hotel, it's quite a grimy place
We spent some time in the ruined city of Vijayanagar, better known as Hampi, located in the state of Karnataka. Between the 14th & 16th centuries, this was the most powerful Hindu capital in South India. In the mid 16th century a rather large group of Muslims decided they didn't like anyone else prospering (sound familiar?!) and after a 6 month assault, they managed to destroy most of the buildings within the area.
We took the 8 hour journey from Vasco taking in the scenery and were tired and stiff. We decided to stay at the Hotel Maliggi in neighbouring Hospet, an excellent hotel with an extensive room service menu most restaurants wouldn't dare - naan breads for 10 rupes!
Truly spectacular, you can feel what this place would have been like hundreds of years ago in all its splendour, there is just so much to take in, from the Vitthala temple (UNESCO world heritage monument), Virupaksha temple, elephant stables and the Lotus Mahal. Watch out when you have to take off your footwear when before entering the temples, the floor is scorching!
Our train journey was delayed by nearly 4 hours on the return. We checked out of our hotel at 6am, train due at 6.30, didn't arrive until 10am! We were saddened by the number of people sleeping in the station and by another group of Brits where tears were flowing. It's a sad story, a blind child was on their train from Vasco and was still at the station in Hospet on their return 3 days later. A difficult situation, I think someone took his picture and was going to pass his details onto an agency.
If you haven't been we'd recommend it"¦it's practically on Goa's doorstep and is a great starting place to visit somewhere else in India if you haven't ventured out of Goa - an amazing experience.
Kerala vs Goa ?
Kerala is great for a two week break. Not sure it holds the same draw for us to return back to say its' main beach resort, Kovalum. Probably be happy to return to a hotel resort, however you could be anywhere in the world - it just depends what sort of holiday you want. There is of course Varkala futher north up the coast, however we suspect it's the equivalent to Palolem in Goa and the attraction of more your world traveller than package tourist. Alcohol can be bought, it's just more cloak and dagger and the choice is restricted.
So we think if push comes to shove, we'd put Goa above Kerala. More choice for food and drink, the great locals you meet and there's just more of a buzz about the place. That said there are still the little niggles, such as the over supply of taxi drivers, beach sellers and for us an element of Europe's beach resorts hitting the country with rows of sunbeds after sunbeds in some resorts - a shame really, however this is progress and it's not for us to judge what the locals are doing to their own country and whether it's right or wrong (they are purely maximising their potential income). As long as Goa is a more affordable winter holiday than other destinations, this won't change.
To follow:
Part three - Delhi, Jaipur, Ranthambhore, Agra, Shimla, Candolim
***Hotel reviews have been added for places we stayed at***
Hope you don't fall off your chair reading this; it's long! Enjoy the read
misterc.
PART TWO
Kerala (mid January to mid February) Candolim, Hampi
We decided to fly to Kerala as we knew we'd be doing a long train journey later in the trip. Our route was Dabolim-Bangalore-Trivandrum on 2 Air Deccan flights. Had we known the problems we would experience, it would have been a train journey all the way! We arrived at Dabolim to find our 2pm flight was delayed by 4 hours (we only had a 2 hour window to catch our Trivandrum flight at Bangalore) and it then took us a good 2 hours to get the Air Deccan desk to change our connecting tickets from Bangalore to the first flight out in the morning (red tape and more red tape - 'we can't issue, we need authorisation from Bangalore etc"¦'. So stress levels raised we braced ourselves for a night at Bangalore airport (we arrived at 8.30pm and needed to check in at 5am the following morning). We arrived to face a mob of hundreds outside the airport, tired and clear in our mind we were now going to sort out a hotel from our trusted lonely planet guide. With about 100 rupees credit on our phone and a fading battery we managed to secure a room for the night (Hotel Empire International) and grab a taxi to a vibrant city called Bangalore. Our tip: Don't fly Air Deccan - their prices are low for a reason !
We went to Kerala kind of expecting something similar to Goa, but quickly realised Kerala is a different kettle of fish. A diverse landscape, the English language is less spoken here by locals and alcohol is all under the counter - no drinks menu's here (only in the waiter's back pockets when you ask for one). Kerala vs Goa ? I'll do a summary at the end of the Kerala section and give you our opinion.
Poovar
Likes:
- Secluded resort and great for a relaxing low key break
- Empty beaches, clear blue sea
Dislikes:
- Not a dislike, just a pain in the proverbial"¦nearest government liquor shop about a 15 minute taxi ride away (beers and honeybee about a third-quarter of the price the hotel were charging)
- Unscrupulous taxi drivers outside the gates. Make sure you agree a price (we thought we had agreed a price and route before we got in the taxi, the driver when he dropped us wanted an extra 200 rupees - we kindly said 'er we don't think so' and walked off through the gates and into the hotel).
This is a resort location (we stayed at the wonderful Isola Di Cocco), the village itself is grubby and not entirely geared up for tourists. There was an Elephant march/festival going on near the village which we went to and was great fun. We were befriended by a group of 15 kids when we arrived and they did not leave us until we decided we'd had enough of the festival entertainment. A memorable event, there were about 12 elephants doing a procession, loud music and announcements from a main stage, colourful clothes and an abundance of stalls selling Indian snacks.
Kovalum
Likes:
- Choice of restaurants (Fusion and Spice Garden our favourites)
- The lighthouse
- Some great local people
- The man on the beach selling glasses bellowing 'sunglaaaaases, reading glaaaaaases'..classic!
Dislikes:
- The walk back up the hill to our hotel
- Being charged for sunbeds
- Not the cleanest of beaches
Now Kovalum has a good feel about it, even an Indo-European one, there's a promenade along the beach with most of the restaurants and shops. We met some great locals here (Michael in Sea Shore) and a great lad called James who looked after a section of sunbeds - we had clothes that needed washing and he even arranged for his auntie to take care of it"¦think it worked out about 5 rupees an item. The beach itself isn't the cleanest and there is a more consistent flow of locals / Indians walking up and down the beach doing the usual staring - if you like big waves, here's the place to come, there's even a couple of guards with their whistles and flags shouting to get people out of the sea when they can see a big one brewing.
Pot, Dope, Weed, Charis, however you like to call it, we were offered it on numerous occasions here, on the beach, on the street and even in a rickshaw (a local who was waiting for a bus decided to join us on our 20 minute journey to Trivandrum), a funny experience we will never forget.
Other things we got up to during this period:
- Went to the lighthouse on the beach and climbed to the top to be rewarded with breathtaking views"¦do not go if you're afraid of heights!
- Day out to Trivandrum, visited the Zoological Gardens and the Puthe Maliga Palace Museum, both of which are worth a look.
Cochin
Likes:
- Bustling city
- Fort Cochin
- Marrybrown restaurant (we're not ashamed to say it, this place rocks! India's take on KFC - 2 months into our trip and we needed a taste of home)
- Our first taste of paying the local rate for rickshaws (10 rupees for 10min ride)
Dislikes:
- Only one bar in Ernakulam (Hotel Yuravani)
- Not a dislike, but we found most of the rickshaw drivers we used did not speak good English (like most tourists we don't speak Hindi!), so you really had to work at explaining where you wanted to go and then negotiate a price.
Our first rail journey in India was great. We took an early morning 4 hour train journey from Trivandrum to Cochin in our air conditioned first class carriage, sat back and enjoyed the coconut plantations rolling past our very eyes. Cochin is big and diverse. Ernakulam on the mainland, is busy, noisy and full on. Fort Cochin can be reached in 15 minutes by one of the regular ferries at the harbour and is full of history, enjoyable to walk around and easy to get on with. We decided to book a five day tour with the KTDC (more on that later), so our stay in Cochin was aimed at sorting our onward trip and having a few days to explore.
We were unable to get a room in Hotel Yuravani, before our 5 day trip so we stayed at the basic Hotel Bharat for a couple of nights, located a 10 minute walk either way to the Harbour and the centre of Ernakulam. We were able to stay at the Yuvarani on our return before heading back to Goa, a more comfortable option with the only bar in town, darkly lit, good snacks and Kingfisher, Royal Challenge and Honeybee!
Other things we got up to during this period:
- Visited Fort Cochin. Saw the Chinese fishing nets, took a wander around the Jewish quarter, went to a small scale factory drying out fresh ginger getting ready to pack up for export.
Munnar
Likes:
- Amazing scenery
- Cool mountain air
Dislikes:
- Without sounding like alcoholics there was only one bar here too (at Hotel Issacs) !
The itinerary for our 5 day KTDC trip included:
- 2 nights in Munnar (Westwood Hotel)
- 2 nights in Periyar (Periyar House)
- 24 hours on a houseboat doing a backwater tour from Alleppey to Kollam
- Our own driver for 6 days
Our driver arrived on time and we headed off for the first leg of our 5 night tour of Kerala's best sights. We quickly realised our driver didn't speak English and we suspect it was his first job - a four hour drive took about six, not helped by the fact we think he couldn't read either! I had to gesticulate the way to munnar (like I knew my way around the roads!) after he'd gone past a sign saying turn left and he turned, er right!
Anyway we were rewarded with a stunningly beautiful place, cool air - spectacular, the climate and scenery were such you could have been in the Alps. Two nights is about right, plenty of time to drive off through the tea plantations, hear the ladies picking tea and having a natter. There is a route we followed - went to the end of the peak where you looked across the top of mountains towards Tamil Nadu, there's a couple of dams where you can ride horses, rent a pedalo, or as we did sit down with a cold drink and take the scenery all in. Recommended.
Other things we got up to here:
- Visited a commercial tea factory, well worth doing (takes 20 minutes)
- Got drunk at the only bar in town!
Periyar
Likes:
- Resident monkeys at our accommodation
Dislikes:
- Prison like accommodation (though we did have an idea before hand it would be like this)
We were going to Periyar in the hope of seeing some wildlife, an elephant perhaps and maybe the elusive tiger. We'd read mixed reviews of this area and we'd be of the opinion that you're not really missing anything if you don't go here.
The wildlife sanctuary offers morning and end of day trips on the lake where from great distances you're led to believe you may see wildlife going about its' business - but it was a let down. Sanctuary it certainly ain't, a large marauding crowd clambering around these boats, loud engines, our cover was blown before we left. The concept of 'Sanctuary' was lost on all the Indians around us I'm afraid to say.
We saw more wildlife in the hotel, with the monkeys - great fun!
Other things we got up to here:
- Bought cheap Tea Tree oil and cracking honey roasted cashews
Houseboat - Alleppey to Kollam
Likes:
- You do not have to lift a finger!
- Spectacular scenery
- Your own crew of three on board; the cook and two drivers
Dislikes:
- Only gripe was the dirty, smelly water coming from the shower
One of the highlights of our entire trip, a houseboat meandering through the backwaters, we caught a glimpse of life on the water, people going about their business; washing clothes, washing themselves and fishing. We were served a huge lunch of puppodums, cabbage thoran, long green beans in spices, fresh fish, sambar and rice.
We settled in quickly, relaxing, relaxing and more relaxing. The guys had to moor the boat at one point as we'd run out of beer, so they asked what we needed from the liquor shop and 20 minutes later they came back with new supplies! Sunset was breathtaking; we soon had our evening meal of chilli chicken, a bhindi dish, coconut and tomato curry and more rice. We cracked open our bottle of honeybee, and took in the evening sights and sounds and watched the resident gecko gobble up a succession of moths and flies!
A mosquito net was provided for the bed and I think between us, we were bitten twice, so were probably fortunate. Recommended.
Candolim
Rather than spend 20 hours on a train we decided to fly from Cochin to Mumbai and then Mumbai to Goa. We returned to Candolim and couldn't believe how busy the resort was, there were more people than Nov, December and January and it had a real buzz about it (we were asked by a couple on the shack if we were here in November when they were last there and we said yep, not even gone home yet!). The following day was Valentines, so I made my excuses early in the morning and came back with a bunch of flowers for my lovely other half. We then spent the day at Siolim House, a lovely grand old palacio, fascinating, peaceful and excellent food.
Holi arrived and being here for a while we stocked up on colours (powered paint) knowing we were bound to be targeted by the kids on the beach. Sure enough 'happy holi' was being screamed from the kids and before we knew it, we were covered (and so were the little brats!) - great fun.
Hampi
Likes:
- Mystical feel about the place
- Historical significance
-
Dislikes:
- Only Hospet where we stayed"¦apart from the hotel, it's quite a grimy place
We spent some time in the ruined city of Vijayanagar, better known as Hampi, located in the state of Karnataka. Between the 14th & 16th centuries, this was the most powerful Hindu capital in South India. In the mid 16th century a rather large group of Muslims decided they didn't like anyone else prospering (sound familiar?!) and after a 6 month assault, they managed to destroy most of the buildings within the area.
We took the 8 hour journey from Vasco taking in the scenery and were tired and stiff. We decided to stay at the Hotel Maliggi in neighbouring Hospet, an excellent hotel with an extensive room service menu most restaurants wouldn't dare - naan breads for 10 rupes!
Truly spectacular, you can feel what this place would have been like hundreds of years ago in all its splendour, there is just so much to take in, from the Vitthala temple (UNESCO world heritage monument), Virupaksha temple, elephant stables and the Lotus Mahal. Watch out when you have to take off your footwear when before entering the temples, the floor is scorching!
Our train journey was delayed by nearly 4 hours on the return. We checked out of our hotel at 6am, train due at 6.30, didn't arrive until 10am! We were saddened by the number of people sleeping in the station and by another group of Brits where tears were flowing. It's a sad story, a blind child was on their train from Vasco and was still at the station in Hospet on their return 3 days later. A difficult situation, I think someone took his picture and was going to pass his details onto an agency.
If you haven't been we'd recommend it"¦it's practically on Goa's doorstep and is a great starting place to visit somewhere else in India if you haven't ventured out of Goa - an amazing experience.
Kerala vs Goa ?
Kerala is great for a two week break. Not sure it holds the same draw for us to return back to say its' main beach resort, Kovalum. Probably be happy to return to a hotel resort, however you could be anywhere in the world - it just depends what sort of holiday you want. There is of course Varkala futher north up the coast, however we suspect it's the equivalent to Palolem in Goa and the attraction of more your world traveller than package tourist. Alcohol can be bought, it's just more cloak and dagger and the choice is restricted.
So we think if push comes to shove, we'd put Goa above Kerala. More choice for food and drink, the great locals you meet and there's just more of a buzz about the place. That said there are still the little niggles, such as the over supply of taxi drivers, beach sellers and for us an element of Europe's beach resorts hitting the country with rows of sunbeds after sunbeds in some resorts - a shame really, however this is progress and it's not for us to judge what the locals are doing to their own country and whether it's right or wrong (they are purely maximising their potential income). As long as Goa is a more affordable winter holiday than other destinations, this won't change.
To follow:
Part three - Delhi, Jaipur, Ranthambhore, Agra, Shimla, Candolim
Let me be the first to say Thank You
sounds just lovely. How do you feel now you are back from your travels? Do you have itchy feet again?
I'm going to put a link to this on the India forum, as it covers both here and that forum.
I'm going to put a link to this on the India forum, as it covers both here and that forum.
thanks lassigirl.
thanks fiona for linking the posts and putting in the indian forum too.
well, we've been fortunate enough to spend the last two months in the mountains of andalucia, southern spain (a hard life eh) !! yes, i know, more hotel reviews etc...just need to do part three of india first!
i think once we're both working again, the feet might start to itch again - we'd both encourage people to do the same if they haven't got the ties holding them back.
misterc.
thanks fiona for linking the posts and putting in the indian forum too.
well, we've been fortunate enough to spend the last two months in the mountains of andalucia, southern spain (a hard life eh) !! yes, i know, more hotel reviews etc...just need to do part three of india first!
i think once we're both working again, the feet might start to itch again - we'd both encourage people to do the same if they haven't got the ties holding them back.
misterc.
Very enjoyable read!! Thanks..
Excellent report.Having just spent a week in Kerala your summary is spot on.One thing we found was that it was alot cleaner than Goa.But,as you said getting a drink is a right pain and is probably the one thing that put me off the place.
john
john
really enjoyed your report. We are off to Kerala for a week in November before Goa for a week and really don't know what to expect. At least your report has given me some idea.
Looking forward to your next leg as Ranthambore is also on our list of 'to dos'. can't wait!
Gill
Looking forward to your next leg as Ranthambore is also on our list of 'to dos'. can't wait!
Gill
still not back to work What a life!
What a life!
Now THAT'S what I call a 'more-ish' trip report Misterc. Great stuff - more please. Please don't take as long to give us the next part. 
Great report and found your observations of Goa vs Kerala very interesting. Looking forward to Part 3!
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