Monday Night, March 13.
OBEROI CRUISE
About one hour out of Cochin you can board the cruise ship, Vrinda. This is a 3 night cruise that is operated by Oberoi Hotels. This is a pretty comfortable and luxurious ship that carries 18 guests. The cabins are a nice size, with king size beds, air conditioning, flat screen TV, DVD players and nice sized bathroom. The dining room is air conditioned and they have an open air lounge and sundeck. This cruise does travel to the same backwater canals that the houseboats travel. This looked pretty good to me and a nice and easy way to see the backwaters.

Tuesday March14th

Today we transferred by car from Cochin to Periyar. This took about 5 hours. On the way we stopped for a couple of hours and took a houseboat on the backwaters of Kerala and had lunch on board. So far this has been the highlight of our trip.


The backwater canals
This is a fascinating area and is featured in the list of the 1000 things to do before you die book. This is a lush, tropical area with narrow canals and people living along the canals. Most are farmers. This is a water locked area so the only means of transport is by the waterways. The children wave and smile, the residents are actively going about their daily lives. Canoes are going up and down, children are swimming, the women are doing the washing it is truly fascinating. The area is also very scenic as the trees cross over the canals and the lushness of the foliage and all the different shades of green combine to create a magical experience. Drifting along in such comfort and style with the friendliness of the local people it feels like a different country from the chaotic atmosphere of Mumbai. If you visit Southern India this should be on your tour plans.

There must be 100 houseboats. Some basic and some are very luxurious. The sizes range from one to three bedrooms. The boats look pretty basic from the outside and are made of local products. Bamboo, coir from the coconut palms, the main rafters of the thatched roof are made from arecanut palm bark and the boat itself is crafted out of the hardwood of the evergreen tree, Anjili. Once aboard the inside of the boats is very nice and comfortable.

We were on a one bedroom, air conditioned boat that was extremely nice. The bedroom had a wood floor, a ceiling with wood squares with a cloth tapestry inlay, a king size bed, TV, air conditioning, a small but nice bathroom with a full sized bathtub. Upstairs from the bedroom was a private deck area with chairs and a lounging area covered with pillows. Total decadence, of course we had to lounge on this and have our pictures taken. The main sitting area of the boat featured a dining table, chaise lounge many overstuffed comfy chairs and two chairs on the very front. Beautiful wooden floors and woods were everywhere on the boat and the wood was enhanced on the doors by brass hardware. We had a lot of fun on this boat, drinking wine, eating and taking pictures. The food was too spicy for me so they cooked me a piece of fish with no spice. It was good.

The ride from the Cochin to Periyar was interesting. We all thought we would nap but none of us did. The sights of India are unique. So many wild ducks and stretches of green vines with purple flowers. Just like in a post card. The rubber plantations and the tea plantations were beautiful. Particularly the tea plantations, I had never seen a tea plantation before, so green, looked like you could bounce from plant to plant. Then there are the little towns, just full of people, and tiny little shops. India is dirty there is no getting around this fact but it is amazing the longer you are here the more you get used to that.

Before dinner we attended a cooking show, yes lots of spices, curry etc. Then we saw two classical Indian dancers. They were truly sensational. It only lasted about 30 minutes so it left you wanting a little more – that is always better than being too long. These girls were so talented and the costumes were absolutely incredible.

Dinner was a problem for me tonight. Everything was spicy, and it was a buffet, fruit and bread for dinner. They offered to cook something else but I just did not want to bother and wait.

It is a long drive in and we have the exact same drive back to Cochin to fly North. So tomorrow had better be pretty amazing to make that long transit worth while. We will see what the day brings. We are doing a tour this morning of the spice villages and the cruise on the lake this afternoon.

Wednesday March 15th.
The group took a bike ride this morning but I stayed and emailed the office, posted a little on LCT. Slow dial up connection that kept crashing. Ken came home and was hot and sweaty. He enjoyed the bike ride though.

Well I cannot really recommend Periyar. Of course most people just stop here on their way to another destination in India but we are turning around and going back to Cochin tomorrow then two flights to arrive in Uduapir Wont get there until around 8.00 pm and we are leaving at 7.00 am. Not the best day of the trip. Just really not enough here to justify this trip in my mind.

In the morning we went to see the spice plantations. I have seen so many trees and plants before this did not inspire me. What I did love were the children. On arrival a little girl about 5 was standing there saying “hello”. She gave me a flower, she was so sweet so I held out my hand and we starting walking together. The guide sent her home and said we should not have her follow us her parents would worry. Well after viewing a few more plants we came out onto the main track and there she was there again with yet another flower. I put these in my hat that seemed to make her happy. After walking through the plantation and narrowly escaping a red ant attack we came out to see her along with about five other children. All they can say is “hello” and “goodbye” in English. They were all excited and smiling, absolutely adorable. I put my hat on the first little girl with all the flowers in it. She was giggling and having such a good time. These are precious pictures sure wish Ken could upload some, may be in our next hotel.

Then in the afternoon we took a boat ride on the lake. We were running late to the boat and on arrival there were no seats left. We sat down on a bench in the middle of the boat. Well all heck broke lose. The guide was yelling in Indian at the Captain and I guess making gestures we needed proper seats. Then the captain told two nuns and some other Indians they had to move. We protested, we felt like the ugly Americans coming in and telling the locals we were more important. The locals stood up and then sat down again Everyone else on the boat was looking it was very uncomfortable. Then more yelling. Eventually the locals left and we sat down in the seats. Turns out they had not bought tickets but had a friend in the ticket office that let them on. The boat was way overloaded with them and us so that some one had to leave. I guess they should not have been there in the first place. It still felt really uncomfortable. The boat ride was okay. It is a pretty man made lake and a wildlife preserve is all around. You are so far away from the deer and wildlife that they were really just specks on the land. This was a one and a half hour boat ride and we were ready to get off. During the middle of the ride it started to rain really hard. Thankfully it had stopped by the time the trip was over.

Tonight for dinner the hotel had a special grill. We had a seafood plate of lobster, tiger prawns and a local fish that is very good. No problem with food tonight. They were also cooking pasta to order and so I had a nice bland pasta made. What a difference a menu makes!!!!

So now I am on a plane flying back to Mumbai and then another plane to Udaipur. The planes are excellent, nice 737 jet aircraft and on a 1 ½ hour flight they serve a meal. Nothing I will eat but at a least a meal is served. Tonight we stay at the luxurious property of udaivila’s. This is supposed to be the best Oberoi hotel so we are looking forward to our two nights here.