The Malabar Coast

Vic arrived into Bangalore at 1AM on the 10th, and by 11AM the same day we were off to Kochi... AKA Cochin. It's so great to have him here! Kochi is a large port town situated on the southern end of the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala. Although close up, the cities are very different, the skyline and shorelines remind me a lot of San Diego. From here we begin our journey through Kerala. We will be stopping in Periyar, Kumarakom, Kovalam, and Kanyakumari before departing from Thiruvanathapuram (Trivandrum) for the golden triangle.

So far, I couldn't have asked for a better holiday. This morning for breakfast I got to have fresh watermelon juice, lychees, and even pomagranates!! There was a big bowl of them among the fruit selections. You can imagine my delight! There were so many tasty treats being offered we didn't know where to start. Not only did they have a wide variety of western foods, but they also had all the standard Indian breakfast foods... idly/sambar/vada. Vic really enjoyed it.

Two words... Taj Malabar.... when in Kochi, there is no other place to stay. We've had the odd glitch here and there... like having to switch rooms, but overall I'd say, that amidst the backdrop of Kochi, the Taj is a surreal escape. They even have an ayurvedic spa here where Vic and I went today for "cleansing" treatments. For those of you familiar with ayurvedic medicine, you know that this in not an altogether painless experience... especially the eye and nose cleansing... OUCH! After we recovered, we headed to the pool to chill out before watching another goreous sunset on the water from our room. Then tonight for dinner we went for the seafood restaurant... Rice Boat, where they have the day's catch brought in by a local fisherman and you can hand pick your dinner. We got a fish called Mullet which they cooked for us in two styles... Kerala Curry style, and Masala in banana leaf style. Boy are we stuff... and tired.

That's all for now... Signing off from Kochi....

Shirinne (& Vic)