Blissed out

Hello! I have to say a little more than Matty on Fort Cochin. It was a beautiful place - full of old churches and Portuguese old colonial houses... including the most stunning one set just off the beach that looked like it would collapse at any moment.. we looked for signs of an owner to offer to buy it from having brief dreams of setting up a boutique hotel in it! Our amazing living quarters openened out to the low sea wall and then the sea so that after breakfast we could just open the doors and watch the sea life pass - big tankers (actually quite magnigficant) to small 1 man canoes... and to the right the great fishing nets Cochin is famous for were billowing out from the sea walk... needing 4 men to lower them! One afternoon walking along the front we came across a fish auction!! At first we didn't realise what it was and then we realised that about 40 men were arguing over the price of 4 great big squids sprawling and still quivering on the pavement! Tobes as usual loved the walk and ran headlong along the path until it jutted out into the ocean! We feasted on tikka fish and lime sodas and haggled over this and that! And Tobes decided that he was now big enough for spicy food!!! HOORAY Well Spicy Mice - aka fried rice which he started eating with gusto - all parents will be able to empathise with how thrilled M and I were watching him tuck into a big bowl accompanied by fresh pineapple juice - particularly given the food drought he's been on - really just eating rice and bread! M managed to have his second big row in India - and walk out of a restaurant nearly 2 hrs after we walked in after no food arriving - eventually we found out that they had gone to market to buy squid for his lunch but hadn't thought that we'd like to know - much better to tell us just to wait 5 min and another and another.... so so Indian! I was mortified until a guy joined us for our walk to another restaunt and told us that the previous one also had just lost it's chef...

We could have stayedx longer but the backwaters beakoned and so we headed for Alleppey - the backwater capital! Driving in style by white ambassador taxi - due to me having second bout of delhi belly and not thinking I could cope with a train! Tobes was thrilled and spent the whole drive in conversation with the car - who needs a stunning landscape etc when you're in a cool car! My stomach got worse and worse... eukkk and at 3am staying in our budget hotel - all cramped under putrid pink mossie net - Tobes revolving regularly just to make sure we didn't sleep - me hopping in and out of our outdoor toilet - killing mossies as I went (only comfort being a gorgeous silver round moon peeking out of the coconut tree above me) - well at 3am ater 10 or so loo stops and having lost all liquid from my body - drunk toby's cup of water and anything I could find - I am not ashamed to say that I wanted to go home and see my mummy!!!!!

But sun up and things always look better - we decided not to cancel our houseboat and go for it. We headed down to the jetty where there must have been maybe 40 boats all moored together - a long baking walk down the path later we came to our boat! Not the most plush (which had plasma screens and 2 stories) but gorgeous... the boats are made of woven bamboo (i think) curved ... so its a little like sailing on a barge base with a long french bread basket over your head. we were introduced to our crew: Cpt Thomas, Chef Joseph and Joe (who we didn't see much of) and then shown round... a front open deck shaded with seats and a table, our room with bed and bathroom and windows and then the kitchen and their tiny sleeping area (tourist guilt tourist guilt.....). I hate to gloat but it was perfect even as I lay cramped up! I lay back on the benches and watched the water world of Kerala ripple by.... there were not that many boats about I was relieved to see... and the pace of life on the backwaters is so peaceful!

Part of the deal on the boats is that you get all your meals - we weren't that excided about this but should have been --- they were gorgeous! First lunch moored up on a penninsula - we had a thali served on giant banana leaves... I had to eat despite being ill! It was some of the best food we've had here - I was gutted I couldn't eat more... beans in coconut, spicy marinated fish, .... and Tobes dug in with gusto - clearly eating with his hands was an advantage here for him! After lunch we set off again bobbing along the great lakes and down little water allyway... with a light breeze and then some freshly fried banana chips to help us along!! Sorry .... but I have to tell you!

Then onto the highlight... we docked for the night by rice paddys and took a smaller canoe to explore the smaller allyways... it was about 5.30 pm and Kerala's river villages were getting ready for the evening, a man was beheading, de-feeting and plucking a dead chicken in the river watched by an interested hen, much to Tobes enjoyement lots of children were having bathtime in the river being vigorously soaped down and dunked (we had to restrain Tobes from joining a group of 3 brothers grinning at him) emeral backed and sapphire tummied kingfishers perched on wires across the river diving across to catch fish or insects and m and repeatedly failed to photo them! Women rushed home with children on their hips stopping to wave at us and chat to friends... and all around us the evening light mellowed and mingled with smoke from fires.... It is funny - we are so lucky these days to see so much of the worlld on Tv and in photos but the downside is that when you see somethings in real life often they don't seem new... but this was so so so vivid and I kept pinching myself and touching the water to remind myself it was real.... so sorry if I am boring here!!

Back to the boat and bed for Tobes who had had a great day driving his cars and trains around the boat and I think relishing being in one place! Bed for tobes and a night out for us!!! We sat and watched the sun sink completely over the lake and then were served a feast!! Gutted tummy still bad!! ladies fingers, chicken curry, cabbage and carrot, more and more... bliss. Before lying on the deck and playing hide and seek with a moon and the clouds.

After a great sleep on the rocking boat were woke up and had to make the most of our time on the boat before our ride finished at 9am! Delicious toast and chai for us... cornflakes for Tobes which they watched him eat facinated as I had requested these (fearing he would eat nothing else if it was all too spicy etc). The morning was yet again magical... as the morning mist rose off the water the temple started reading Shanti chants out through loadspeakers dotted around the banks... a stunning voice singing chants of peace (I think) while people washed, a man was shaved in a waterfront barbers, children stared at Tobes and Tobes stared at them!...SO peaceful and we were so sad to leave!

Back to our loved cheap hotel run by a group of guys who doted on Tobes letting him ride a tuk tuk and motorbike with them round the compound... and then onto Varkala ... which is where we are now!

Not all bliss - Tobes and M of course then got the tummy bug so we've all been a little worse for wear and a bit homesick over the last few days - despite amazing sea views etc. T coped the best - just asking for rehydration salts/ tummy water when he felt bad! M of course (sorry m) got v grumpy... made worse but lovely but inept hotel people. But I think we are through the worse... please ... and I have to make the most of the seafood before we head off! We have 2 weeks left and I think have now decided that we can fit in a sprint to Rajastan and the desert ... in the name of making the most of this! We ruled out the himalays much to my disappointment as temperatures were -13 degrees and we feared our patagonia fleeces and Tobes 50p one from ooty may not be up to this! Gutted we didn't fit this in before but you can't do anything and another excuse for another adventure later.

Tonnes of love to you all - my yahoo has been out of order for a few days but I'll try and email soon. mum's and dad's can you print this all off for us at some point - Hel heard a programme on digital decay and I keep worying about loosing our diary!

Kate xxx