Agra: The Taj Mahal

The bench we are sitting on in called the Princess Di bench, since this is where she sat, and were many foreign dignitaries sit when they visit the Taj. We felt it only appropriate that we take the same shot. :)

Trivia Question

Can anyone guess what year this car was built in? This is the car we rented while were in Kerala, and, as with all of India, when you rent a car... you get a driver. Our driver was Venkatesh.

Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu

We drove down to Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu state yesterday to view the Land's End... it is where the Arabian Sea, The Indian Ocean, and the Bay of Bengal meet. Again, another gorgeous site.... but slightly (or a bit more than that) spoiled by the fact that you can't walk more than one step without being harrassed by the masses of beggars and peddlers. Did we mention that Shirinne needed to break open the Imodium yesterday? Yeah... It wasn't our best day. But hopefully things will start to get better. ;)

On the day of the Tsunami, the waves were so high that they came up to the face of the statue shown in this picture. Though the town did not show many signs of destruction, we were told that there were many fishermen out that day that were just swept away by the waves. Very sad.

We are leaving Kerala today for Delhi. It has been a really "interesting" stay to say the least. I just finished about an hour conversation with the manager here at the Le Meridian Hotel detailing our 99 grievances. Haha... We've been a little disappointed with this face of "God's Own Country"... and especially with the so called 5 star hotel we've been staying at for the past 3 nights. It's really a shame because its such a beautiful place.

Miss you all... LOts of love!!
Shirinne (&Vic)

Kovalam

Today we ventured away from the small unimpressive private beach of the Le Meridien to discover Hawa and Lighthouse Beaches set in two adjacent coves. Though known as a tourist spot there were many locals swimming around as well. This was probably our favorite part of Kovalam... right next to our nightly order of murgh biriyani.... that stuff rocked!

The Backwaters of Kerala

Kerala's enchanting backwaters, formed naturally by the accumulation of sea water, are known through out the world. They offer an esquisite network of canals, lakes, lagoons and deltas of about 44 rivers emptying into the Arabian Sea. Vic and I decided to rent a houseboat, or kettuvallom for an overnight cruise from Kumarakom to the city of Alappuzha, known as the "Venice of the East". It was indeed a magical and memorable experience. As we floated along we caught glimpes of the native way of life.

One interesting encounter was with a group of three young boys. Our boat had docked for the night and we had just got back from taking a stroll along the bank when a boy came over to our boat and asked for some US coins. (This turned out to be a common request from children and adults alike) When we told him that we didn't have any (and we really didn't) he proceded to ask for a pen. We obliged. Two seconds later, two other boys came by asking for pens. Lucky for them Vic happened to have two final pens... so he gave them to the boys.

Then all three boys came back and started asking for all sorts of things....combs, toothbrushes, books, phones, chocolate... but not money. I found it particularly amusing when one of the boys, making brushing gestures through his hair, asked for mousse. What was he going to do with mousse? :P A village man, embarrassed by the way they were acting, shoed them away a few times before they finally disappeared into the night. But not before I was able to give the remaining fried bananas our chef had made for us. :) They were really cute.

A Moment of Peace

Vic and I both agree that our favorite experience in Kerala was floating along the backwaters. It was so peaceful and serene... it seemed as though we were floating a long deserted islands. Nothing around for miles but Banana and Coconut trees.

Stitch in Kerala

Stitch came along with us to Kerala and made a new friend... Luckily he managed to stay out of trouble!

Kerala: Land of Spices

We left Kochi early Saturday morning for the hills of Periyar. The drive was frightening to say the least, but after 4 1/2 grueling hours of near-miss head on collisions, we made it to the Taj Garden Retreat in Thekkady. It was a great getaway from the noisy, crowded towns that congested the route and we were ready to relax and rest in our private little cottage at the edge of the resort. Though not the most luxurious resort, the service standards were superb. It often seemed as we were the only guest at the resort.

The next day we were off to the spice plantations where we met Malik our guide. He showed us several spice plants including the pepper plant, known as the "King of Spices" or "kurumulagu" [shown above] and the cardamom plant, known as the "Queen of Spices" or "elikah". Here is some trivia... did you know that bay leaves and cinnamon come from the same tree and that vanilla is a completely man made spice? We learned these and many other amazing facts about spices and even got to see how rubber comes from trees.

In the afternoon, we headed for a 2 hour boating expedition through the Periyar Wildliife Reserve in search of the elusive tigers... and elusive is exactly what they were. :( No elephants either. But we did see some wild boar, bison, and deer. It was really quite an experience due to the fact that it started to rain just as we arrived. In the confusion we managed to board a boat to seek cover from the temporary yet fierce downpours. Those have to be the largest raindrops I have ever seen! We blamed the rain for the missing elephants and tigers, but it was still an incredible trip. Tomorrow we are heading to Kumarakom where we will spend the night on a Houseboat floating along the backwaters of Kerala!