At last - A flight date from Oman air

At 18:00 Friday, Oman air phoned with the flight details.

Here they are:

1 WY 222N 26APR M COKMCT HK2 0720 0930 /E (first leg Kochi-Muscat)
2 WY 101N 26APR M MCTLHR HK2 1400 1905 /E (second leg Muscat Heathrow).

So all being well we'll be back monday evening (but for us, when we get to brighton it will be like 2 am. Cathy will NOT get to the drop-in Tuesday as we will need a lie in.

We saw a small temple festival yesterday with three elephants and fireworks. This was in a nearby village accross the backwater in Vipen island There weas also a band (cathy says a vast band) with drums and horms. There were young men acting as "cheerleaders" on the elephants which were all decorated with gold.
The band was assisted by regular bangs that appeared to be some kind of firework. Later we saw the man making the bangs. He had several iron tubes embedded in the earth, into which he tamped gunpowder. At the appropriate time he ignited them with a burning brand.
In the evening there were quite spectacular fireworks which had to compete with a thunderstorm which periodically lit up the sky and provided the usual sound effects, until the rain started at which point the fireworks ceased (as did our conversation in the resturant due to the rain drumming on the roof).
We are feeling more relaxed now we actually have a date and may do a little sightseeing tomorrow.

Information (or the lack of it)

The news is hard to fathom from here - a lack of concrete information seems to be the main complaint from others who are stranded, plus a lack of support by airlines.


Banks do'nt seem to have read the news - Cathy told her bank that she would be back from a trip to INDIA in UK on 17th April. So they would not validate a transacton from India made on 19th April. Had to spend 190 Rupees on a call to UK to sort it out but its STILL not working!

Our travel plans turn to ashes

We arrived at the airport to be told that "The volcano has caused the cancellation of all flights to London". After trying to explain that we did'nt have volcanoes in England we eventually had to accept that we were remaining in India for the time being.

We have gone to a hotel right on the beach in a place called Cherai. The water is warm and the view nice, and though it is hot, we have air conditioning.

We are quite near the airport in case the situation changes, but since this is not likely, we are now wondering whether we may try to reach Barcelona by air and then continue overland.

However this is only a tentative plan right now.

We can receive emails when the internet is working here (now working on Tueday).

Back to Cochin for the flight home

We've now returned to Ernakulum (the name of the town adjacent to the island of Fort Cochin) and we take a taxi to the airport early tomorrow morning.
We had a quick look at Calicut and its (very old) mosques, beach and city centre on the way here, and then we took a train (air-conditioned class this time) to get here. We did a little shopping last night and today (today is a holiday so many shops are closed) and also took a boat trip to see some of the things we missed last time such as the synagogue. This was a great way to end our sightseeing and also relatively cool as the breeze on deck was a welcome respite from the heat.

We are back in Brighton tomorrow, but for us the arrival time of 9pm will be like 2AM so we'll need a bit of recovery time before engaging with you all.

Jungle bliss April 11th

Gaur (Indian buffalo):
















Wild elephant:

[Cathy]
We are now indulging in a relaxing (and stimulating) stay at the very luxurious Jungle Retreat on the edge of the Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary. We opted for the bamboo hut (with mosquito net and small biting ants in bed with us at night!) because the bathroom feels as if it's in the open air - highish walls and a roof, but a large gap between, where we can see the wildlife but not be seen. In the morning when we emerge from our room at 6.30 am for a birdwatching walk a herd of spotted deer is resting in front of the hut. We have to be escorted back to our huts/rooms after dark to make sure no elephants have wandered in!
The retreat is on private property just below the Ooty range of the Nilgiris, still at 1500ft above sea level, and nestles in the bowl of hills on a plain surrounded by scrub, only a few kilometres from the Wildlife reserve and its jungle. The reserve is closed because of the drought (and because a French tourist was killed by an elephant 6 months ago - [S]actually she was staying just down the road from this place), but we are able to drive on a public road in the reserve, which we did last night for nearly 3 hours, seeing wild elephants, and working elelphants having their evening bath, gaur (an incredible large and muscular bull bison, crossing the road in front of us) sambhar (deer), spotted deer, mongoose, wild peacocks and a hare from the jeep - no-one is allowed to get out on the road, because of the risks.




The food is fantastic here, and despite Samuel having a slight recurrence of his gut problem, we feel confident that we will have put on all the weight we lost earlier, by the time we return. There is also an open air swimming pool where we can keep cool whilst seeing the mountains on one side and watching the crested tree-swifts as they swoop down to drink from the pool. A large bull also came down to drink today, and a dog, and a cow yesterday - apparently at night deer, leopards and other wild animals come and drink, so they only chlorinate it very lightly.
In the mornings and evenings we go our on wildlife trips, watching at waterholes and exploring the surrounding villages and hills, and in the heat of the day we swim or relax in canvas chairs in front of our cabin watching the birds, deer and mongoose as they pass by. Fabulous!

Happy Easter

[Cathy]
Greetings to all and a very happy day for me with Samuel on his feet again, and looking much better. We are staying in a lovely old house, which is now a YWCA hostel, overlooking Coonoor proper, with a belt of trees separating us from the tea plantation between us and the town.The town is apparently noisy and busy, so I'm not sorry not to have been down there yet, but the hills around us are great for walking in and fine views so we'll hope to do that in the next few days, and then move on to Ooty.Our plans to go on the Nilgiri steam railway were foiled, as there was damage to the track during the last monsoon, which has not yet been repaired.

We took our first train in India from Trichy to Coimbatore - 6 hours travelling, plus an hour on the train before it left, to ensure we got seats. We had single seats opposite each other by a window, which was fantastic, as the crowds of people cramming onto the bench seats and into the luggage racks barely affected us. We had plenty to drink, but our food supply, tucked on the floor inside our messenger bags, was invaded by pharoah's ants and had to be chucked away at the next station. We had enough to keep us going, but were very exhausted by the time we got to our hotel in Coimbatore. Although we had felt fine when we left Trichy, neither of us felt good over the next day or so, fussy about food and a bit irritable and tired.

As there was no Steam railway we took a bus to Coonoor, planning to take the diesel to Ooty from there as that part of the track was unaffected, after staying a night or two in this lovely hotel. We also hoped we might get a chance to see the steam engines, as they are housed in Coonoor. The really steep bit is between Mettupalayam and Coonoor, and we could see the track running parallel to the road, with the ratchet teeth in the middle ( the only reason the steam train has survived - no deisel could do such a steep climb). Our bus drove round a lot of hairpin bends through forests, round deep valleys and ravines - wonderful journey!

We hear the diesel leaving for Ooty several times a day, but at present we are very happy here - cool breezes, pleasant temperatures for walking early and late in the day - still hot in the middle of the day. The first time since Munnar that we have been in a hotel room without a fan, because it isn't needed. Shame about Samuel's ill health, but we are ready for action now, and already planning our next adventures into Wildlife sanctuaries. Only 11 days now before we leave India!

Drip, drip..

[Samuel]
The digestive infection picked up in Madurai came back on reaching Coonoor, affecting me quite badly and I have ended up on a drip (in the local hospital) for two days.
Fortunately the hospital is right next to the hotel as the hospitals do not cater for inpatients and so Cathy has had to ferry meals from the hotel to the hospital for two days.

[They were marvellous about cooking really simple easily digestible food, for me to take, boiled potatoes and baked fish, or rice. Samuel couldn't face eggs or dal and neither of us could cope with anything curried [Cathy]]

Cathy did a marvellous job of looking after me despite having some symptoms herself (which the hospital successfully treated) and the hospital provided excellent care in terms of nursing, though as you'd expect in a poor country, the facilities are fairly basic (but cheap by western standards).
Everything was itemised on the bill down to each piece of plaster to hold in the canula (IV drip), and even the cost of bill preparation!
I am feeling fine now although a little thinner and we will rest for a couple of days at least until we are both fully recovered. We'll probably stay for a few more days to explore the area (which has some lovely scenery) - so far Cathy has been limited to the gardens around the hotel - where she has seen some new birds.

Traffic, rubbish and so on

[Samuel]
Traffic rules in India are roughly like this:

Hoot whenever there is another vehicle or pedestrian in sight
If someone hoots at you, get out of the way
Keep moving at all costs
Don't give way except to avoid a collision
Drive on the left unless it is more convenient to drive on the right
Overtake even if you cannot see what is coming - you can always change your mind at the last minute

Traffic is consequently very noisy - especially as buses tend to have loud air horns - some drivers use the horn almost continuously.

Cars, motorbikes etc often drive out from side roads without stopping, precipitating a burst of hooting by traffic on the main road (and a response by the person driving out). Similar strategies seem to apply to roundabouts.

Piles of rubbish collect by the roadside - plastic bottles, oily rags, newspaper and suchlike. Organic waste like food waste tends to get eaten by the ubiquitous cows (who are loose along the side of many roads), who will also eat newspaper.

Pavements tend to be the cover of an otherwise open sewer, and will (when they exist at all) have occasional gaps exposing the (smelly) drain, but most significantly, they tend to be colonised by vendors, used to park motorbikes, used as somewhere to live, display good for nearby shops, etc.

Thus walking is a continuous battle with:

Traffic (hooting at you to get out of the way)
Avoiding unpleasant holes!
Avoiding rubbish!
Avoiding cows (one tried to but me in Munnar!)
Avoiding colonisers of the roadside

Having said this, one can see more and get a much better feel for the flavour and nuances of Indain life by walking than by scooting past in a taxi or rickshaw.

In cities there are little temples everywhere, and all sorts of shops and street vendors.

Temples and temperatures 30th MARCH

[Cathy]
We so enjoyed that wedding, but the consequences were dire... we had only been a few hours in Trichy (just time to view the Rock Fort and its temples) when we began to feel ill, and spent the next few days in our hotel room. A doctor sorted out the problem, and today we felt well enough to go to the big Sri Ranganathaswami Temple just North of the main city. It is a huge and incredible complex with about 7 concentric walls and courtyard - we were only allowed to go into the first 5. Cars and other vehicles could go into the first 3! Great place, but hot and tiring, so glad to get back for a rest.
[Samuel]
We were at the Temple for a festival and got quite close to the 'cart' that was being hauled around the outer precincts. This affair is nearly three stories high and houses a band. It is heavy enough to require not only a team of devotees to haul it, but it also needs levers on the wheels to get it going. So it moves in sort steps of (I estimate) abut 6 feet at a time. I have some pictures an a video, but I do not think I can load them today.
[-s]
This afternoon we have been struggling with the complex Indian railway booking system, trying to leave Trichy and head back to the cool of the hills and more wildlife. We managed, with difficulty to buy unreserved seats to Coimbastore ( or at least a station only a few k away). Now we are trying to book seats on the famous Nilgiri express to Ooty, but have been struggling with power cuts and the obscurity on the Indian Railway website. I have just found a man in a little office upstairs, who says that if I come back at 6pm , when the power is restored he will book the seats for us for the princely sum of 20 rupees.

The politics and economics of rickshaws and transport

[Samuel
One thing we noticed, immediatly after leaving Kerala and entering Tamil Nadu was many more bullock carts. When we got to Madurai, we saw several moving sand (usually collected from a dried up river bed). Now the amount of sand that the bullock cart could actually manage is quite small - occasionally one would see a truck passing with about 10 or 20 bullock card loads.
We also saw cycle rickshaws here (and have used one or two) - though most rickshaws are the 2-stroke 3-wheeler power variety (noisy and smelly!) - but it is striking that it is the older drivers that have the cycle rickshaws.

The guide book state that Kerala has had a communist government for many years - and one of the effects of this has ben radical land reform. This may account for some of the difference between Kerala and Tamil Nadu (which has not undergone this redistribution of wealth).

Madurai and some amazing Temples 26th March

We felt better next day and caught the 6.00 am bus from Kumily to Madurai, to avoid travelling in the heat of the day. The border to Tamil Nadu was just at one end of Kumily, and we descended sharply from the mountains of the Western Ghats to the Tamil plains below. much greater poverty, and larger plantations, suggestive of big landowners made a marked contrast with Kerala.

Our hotel here is a bit of a flea-pit, very dirty and Samuel killed a cockroach in the bathroom on our first night. We're going a bit more up-market when we go to Trichy!  After a long rest in the heat of the day we visited the famous Sri Meenakshi Temple, which was huge and very amazing with 9 "gopuras" - gatetowers ornamented with brightly painted figures of gods and goddesses. We had a guide who helped interpret the different spaces - 2 shrines, one to Meenakshi or Parvarti, and the other to her consort Shiva. We couldn't go into the inner shrines, but were allowed in to see a lot more than in most temples.  At the end our guide took us to a very expensive shop where we could view the temple compound from the roof, and then left us to the tender mercies of a hardsell salesman, who tried to flog us some lovely, but very expensive carpets.
Next day we went to another smaller Temple in a Madurai Suburb, with huge statues of horses in the outer courtyard. As we were viewing the outer areas we could see a lot was going on in the inner shrine, with hordes of people milling about. suddenly we were swept up and welcomed by an elderly woman, who told us her daughter was getting married. She took us through to a hall where a lavishly costumed but rather nervous looking young couple were standing. They also welcomed us, and we were all photographed together, and then pressed to partake in an elaborate meal (Only an hour or two after our breakfast!) Everyone was very friendly and all the children wanted to be photographed with us. I was given a baby to hold and asked to sing to it - very sweet. We had some difficulty tearing ourselves away - how incredibly friendly and welcoming peple are here.

We went on to the Ghandi Museum and then a palace, so by the time we got back to our hotel we were really shattered. We have another 5 days or so of towns and temples and palaces planned, and then I hope back to the hills and Ooty and more Wildlife centres and birds.

Cathy

Hornbill hunting

[Samuel]
Yesterday, in the afternoon, we booked another walk in the forest and set out with the aim of seeing a giant hornbill.

To me the birds are fascinating, but the forest is also very impressive. Here are some tree pictures:

The trees are often covered with creepers, strangling figs, orchids and ferns.

To start with,  we saw a woolly-necked stork on what remains of the lake (drought has drastically reduced levels). Then we went into the forest and looked for the hornbill. The guide used the noise made by the bird to track it and eventually found it in a tee, but we could not see it. Eventually the bird flew off and we were able to see it in flight. It is a large bird (130 cm long) and the noise made by its flight was distinctly audible.
 We did'nt get a picture, unfortunantly. We saw a racket tailed drongo (see picture at right) and several other birds, but in the dense forest, the birds are hard to spot, and there are fewer than at Thekaddy.
The forest is alive with the sound of birds monkeys and cicadas.
Below right is a picture of a cicada in the forest.
The cicadas seem to go quite and then all start up in unison.

An attempt to show the size of the trees - they are higher than in an english wood.

Today we are having a rest day as we are both feeling slightly unwell. Originally we'd planned to go to Madurai today, but as it will be very hot and involves a four hour bus journey, we'll wait until we are feeling fit. Someone here went to Madurai earlier and came back after one day as it was so hot.

Note: I have added some photos to earlier posts in the last few days.

Buffalo Bill is very ill

Today we had planned to have a buffalo cart ride which was recommended for seeing birds. However the Buffalo was sick and so it was cancelled and so we are having a relatively quiet day. Tomorrow or the next day we are planning to head for Madurai and big city madness and lowland heat, so a bit of a break may be good while we have cool evenings.
However we have booked a further walk in the forest later today. All non-Indians have to be accompanied by guides in the forest which is good at first but means you have to follow their pace (and it also adds to the costs).
There are people living in the forest - we saw then taking the honey they had collected to market yesterday.

Periyar National Park

[Update by Samuel]
We went for an trek in the forest of the largest wildlife Sanctuary in Southern India this morning. We shared the trip with a German couple both of whom had an interest in Biology (but not specifically birds).

We (at least Cathy saw) a male wild elephant with tusks - apparently this was known to be a dangerous animal and though it was far from us, it appeared near another group.
The trek was through a heavily forested area with huge trees and we could see monkeys and a few birds (such as the malabar hornbill) and well as signs of elephants. The trees were the most impressive we've seen and often entwined with strangling figs - which in some cases had taken over completely.

We walked back along the 5 Km road into the park and some more birds, deer and wild boar on our way back, as well as more huge trees.

Here is a picture of a bird (actually out of sequence, as I do not have the Periyar pictures yet):

Note on internet cafes here: Sometimes the keycaps are illegible making spelling hard and updating the blog a bit of a struggle. Today there is a power cut so though the keys are OK I am finding it hard to see what I am doing (the PC is on an UPS and power cuts are frequent. We wandered though Kottayam during a power cut -  the fumes of the generators outside each shop made it even more polluted than normal.)

Backwaters at Kumarakom March 17th -19th

We only spent a night at Kottayam, and in the morning went to see some temple murals at Ettanmur, quite early in the morning. They were nice, but not as good as the ones in Cochin, and the priests were a bit fierce. We left for Kumarakom at midday and arrived at a slightly shabby homestay with a really sweet family, two small children, and lots of neighbours' children always playing over.  We arranged to visit the Bird Sanctuary that evening and our guide Sabu, an ex-army man set a cracking pace, barely giving us time to look for birds. It was a narrow peninsular, with the path running up each side. We were allowed to stop to admire the colonies of fruit bats suspended in the treetops, just waking up, stretching and quarrelling with each other - really spectacular. Even when we reached the end with its welcome cooling breeze, stretching out onto the lake, we didn't linger. On we marched seeing several kingfishers but not much else, in the streams that ran along the path. When we reached the watchtower we saw why the focus was all on this. In the space between the two paths lay a wide glad filled with bushes, small trees and reeds, in a marshy area. this was filled with egrets, purple and night herons, cormorants and darters, all either courting, nesting, feeding, or in the case of the entirely male cohort of night heron, waiting for the females to arrive. At any one time I could see 6 night heron in my binoculars only 20 feet away, without moving the. The same was true of the purple heron. Here indeed we were allowed to stay and watch and marvel, before being marched briskly back to base. At the homestay the mother cooked us an unforgettable meal of fish from the lake - the best food we've tasted so far.

The next morning at 6.00 am we reported for duty at the backwater, where Sabu paddled us round the backwaters and the edge of the lake for 3 hours, brigning us back via narrower backwaters in a cicle to where we started. He stopped to show us some amazing birds, fleets of beeeaters and swallows lining the telephone wires over a lake, and darters, with only their snake like heads showing above the water. He also showed us the incredibly long snake boat, paddled by 100 men which takes part in races in Augsut. he is one of the team, and keeps fit by paddling people like us and by running for an hour at 5.00 am before setting out!
[S}Here are some pictures:
Dawn

 DayL

Later that day both Samuel and I had an Avurdeyvic massage in a purpose made facility on the roof above our homestay.p. We were smothered in oil, massaged mainly by feet, the masseurs (masseuse in my case) holding on to a rope to keep their balance on the slippery floor, and then baked in a hot steam oven (really hot!!!), before showering off all the oil and emerging relaxed and very clean.

We had a more leisurely browse in the Bird Sanctuaty that night and realised why we had done the route march the night before. We saw very few birds just doing the first half, and by the time we came home we or at least I ws covered in insect bites. At high speed you leave them behind I suspect. We had another delicious supper, but both evening meals were in the open air and once again I got badly bitten.

We decided not to risk more bites on the very expensive house boats - urged also by the Rough Guide to avaid them as the sheer numbers are really polluting the backwaters. Our hosts who rented out houseboats were disapointed, but a houseboat for just 2 was far too pricy.

We elt the next morning for Kumily, where we have a nice hotel room overllking a garden. Today we climbed a small local mountain, drank coffee grown by the lady in the house at the top, and after a midday rest went out for a tour round a local spice garde. Very relaxing. Tomorrow at 7 am we go for a 3 hour guided hike through the Periyar wildlife reserve.
Here is a picture of a pepper vine (produces black, white or green pepper):

Here is a picture of a cinamon tree (the bark is used as a spice):

Cathy

Thattakad bird sanctuary March 13th -16th

We arrived about 1pm after a sickening descent fromn lovely Munnar, down the hairpin bends that had seemed no problem on the way up. Our lawyer host met us at Kothamangalan and put us in a rickshaw for the Bird Sanctuary. His mother met us at the gate and took us inside the sanctuary to their house where we introduced to Great Granny (88), daughter-in-law and granddaughter. They made us so welcome we stayed a 3rd night. The setting was lovely - just two or three small houses surrounded by forest, with a lake at our doorstep. Each morning our host took us out for a 2.5 hour walk at 6.30 in the morning, showing us all the local birds, and then we'd come back for breakfast, hot and sweaty and in my case very happy. In the early evening Sudah, his mother took us on another 2.5 hour walk. In between while Samuel lay on his bed and read or slept. I've had a bit more energy, and chatted to some of our fellow guests, who were all loving the welcoming family and delicious home cooked food, or even sat in the shade (sweltering looking for more birds. We saw 60 birds I hadn't seen before on this trip, many of them rare and local only to this area. I got reasonably good at spotting and identifying the different types of Oriole and Drongo by the end of the time there.
Really sad to leave today, and a bit overwhelmed by Kottayam, where we are staying one night before going to see the temple at Ettumanur and then on to another homesty by another lake and another bird reserve. Samuel is enjoing the birds too you'll be glad to know, and appreciating the occasional mammal like the malabar giant squirrel and the bigger brighter birds like the Malabar grey hornbill and the Malabar Trogon, of the extraordinary frogmouth.

Here is a picture of a pair of Frogmouth (they do not move, relying on their camouflage):

and another bird (I think it is a drongo) [S]

Cathy

Trip to Top Station 11th March

I'm finally better though it took a trip to the local hospital and some antibiotics to get me back to health. No more buying food from stalls in the bazaar!I've spent around 3 days in the hotel room reading and recuperating close to a loo. Meanwhile Samuel has been going on half day walks in the surrounding hills.

[Samuel - The hospital was most efficient we were in and out with the drugs in about an hour and a bit. It cost 185 Rupees (2.70GBP) 55 for the doctor and the rest for the drugs.]

Today I felt well enough to venture out and we took a bus at 8.00 to Top Station which is a beauty spot on the border with Tamil Nadu. After monsoons washed away the railway line which transported the tea to the coast in Kerala in the 1920s, they built a cable car connection to Tamil Nadu via Top Station to carry it in the othr direction. In Munnar you can see the site where it started and at Top Station we could see the concrete in which the winding equipment was embedded descending into Tamil Nadu but not the other end of the Munnar Line.

The bus journey was great with wonderful views of 2 reservoirs. Madupattu was enormous and boating facilities are popular. Endless stalls fringed the road but they were mainly empty or just setting up as we ascended but crowded with local and foreign tourists when we came back at midday. There were some tethered elephants beside the lake. The second lake was smaller and soon after we reached a cfe and were told to get off as we'd reached top station. Nothing was really visible, and it looked a bit of a disappointment. We wandered up a dusty track and found more stalls setting up and a small hotel, where we ate breakfast still faintly baffled what the fuss was about.

Fortified by food we ventured on, ignoring a trespassers will be prosecuted sign, and eventually found ourselves on a spectacular ridge which stuck out between two mountain ranges (around 2000m) with deep valleys falling on either side beneath. The sandy path with sketchy steps descended 100m to a couple of fragile looking viewpoints protected by bamboo barriers. Despite some early morning mist the views were incredible. On our return we realised the path and steps were created by sandbags to make it relatively safe to descend.

On the bus journey back through the ubiquitous tea plantaions we saw a working elephant at the side of the road where they were felling some trees.

We've cut  a CD of some of our photos and hope we can add one of two to the blog soon.

On Saturday we're off to the bird sanctuary at Thattekad for 2 nights and then on to the backwaters we hope.

Cathy

A night in the jungle

We arranged in Munnar to stay overnight in the Chennar national park. This meant a visit to the Forest and wildlife office.
The next day we took a country bus to Chennar,winding through tea estates bordering the Evakulum National Park. Winding is the word as the hills here have steep slopes and there are lots of hills and valleys so that the road is twisting and turning, shaking the passengers from side to side as the bus negotiates hairpin bends and avoid oncoming trucks on a road that seems barely one carriageway wide. The pickers have to climb the slopes to pick the tea so each tea plant is separated from the next by a narrow gap, creating a characteristic pattern on the rounded hills. The tea plants are kept trimmed flat and a convenient height for the pickers.
We stopped at Murramar on the way to look at the Sandlewood forest and then took a side trip by auto rickshaw to see some stone age burial sites. This was a good chance to see more of the countryside - this area is much lower than Munnur but wet so that sugar cane and jaggery (unrefined sugar) is produced. The area features huge flat plats of rock on which the burial structures are situated - they looked very like structures of a similar type in Brittany.
When we reached Chennar on another 'bus we we taken on a three hour trek along the river to a tree house. This was situated next to a confluence of two rivers and a large pool. We saw many birds, including a serpent eagle and kingfishers, and then waited by the pool until it was dark, seeing more birds and monkeys, but missing the Indian buffalo that our guide could see in the gloom. We were given dinner by the river (by candlelight as it was by then dark).
We slept in the tree house, managing the rope ladder in the dark, which was slightly challenging - the house was about 30 ft above the ground. In the night we were woken by elephants trumetting, but we could not see them as we were surrounded by the leaves of the supporting tree, and I suspect they were some way off.

It was absolutely fabulous to be in the wild like this - we could hear nothing but birds, monkeys and the occasional splash of fish in the river.

In the morning we were given tea by our guides who spent the night on the ground. I suspect this was partly to prevent night expeditions as elephants can be dangerous -  a tourist was trampled last month - and because there are other rarer animals that present a risk. There is a tiger sanctuary right next to Chennar reserve (but this is in Tamil Nadu and this a completely separate operation).
One might ask why the guides are put at risk like this. However they took precautions - sleeping on the rocks in the river (probably to avoid insects) and they lit a fire to keep the elephants and tigers away.

In the morning, after some tea, we trekked back to the starting point via a different route and saw more birds, including a peacock (a wild one) and (fleetingly) some Sambar, a type of native deer. The reserve is very dry, except in the vicinity of the river, and this means that the large animals are relatively rare. We saw futher evidence of elephants - large dung heaps and also broken trees - elephants have a habit of damaging trees which may help to keep their territories open enough for them to roam easily.

We then made our way back by 'bus to Munnar.

Cathy has been feeling unwell since our return, and this has delayed our departure to the bird sanctuary. Samuel went for a walk today  up a valley and came across a group of schoolchildren who said there were elephant further on. So he went on up the valley to a point overlooking a wood on the other other side of the river (and up a steep slope). Sure enough after a few minutes we had a fleeting glimpse of an elephant, and for a few minutes could see the trees swaying were they were passing.

This valley was really nice scenery - with  a mixture of tea and woodland on hilly terrain.

4th March Settled in Munnar

We went to the Tea Museum yesterday, and learnt a lot more about the origins of the tea plantations in this area, and how it is processed. A cup of Chai was provided, and I found it delicious, despite it being so sweet and milky. I'd tried Samuel's chai at breakfast in the local restaurant that morning and thought it disgusting. We spoke to a local honeymoon couple (Munnar is a very popular honeymoon destination), who said that this was how it tasted when they made it at home, so I shall have to give it a try somewhere it is made properly.
Tea plantations:

Both yesterday and today we have roamed through tea plantations on our own, marvelling at the constantly changing view of hills and mountains all around. And desperately seeking out shade. Global warming has raised the temperature in recent years, and the tea is less happy in hotter climates, so there has been a programme of tree planting within the plantations to provide shade, and conserve water apparently.

We both had slightly upset tums today, after eating at a local restaurant, patronised by locals, rather than the rather sedate anglicised on recommended at our hotel, so we haven't done the expedition we planned to the hills on the Tamil Nadu border. I did some more birdwatching while Samuel lay down and saw birds with the wonderful names of Drongos and Needletails, and later an Oriental white eye.

Tomorrow we go to a nature reserve 60 k from here, called Chennar where we will stay overnight in a tree house, and trek round looking at birds, and possibly some wild animals. We return here on Saturday for 2 nights before going for 2 nights to a bird reserve.

2nd March In the Hills

We took a 5 hour bus journey to Munnar, in the heart of the tea plantations in the Western Ghats, yesterday. The journey was hot and tiring, but a cool breeze made it more bearable, and it got cooler as we got higher in the hills. We are staying in a fairly basic hotel - no food provided. We have to walk 15 minutes to another hotel even for breakfast. But they do tours and are very good in all other respects.

We did a six mile "soft trek" round the tea plantations this morning with a guide, who was really interested in birds and fairly knowledgeable about their English names, which was a great help.He had very sharp eyes, and could spot and identify many birds without binoculars. if we didn't know one and had to look it up he pored over my bird book with me and remembered the markings better than I did. A great help! We saw a pair of Brahminy kites hunting some poor hapless lbj and a magnificent kingfisher - haven't got the name with me, as well as lots of others, bulbuls and barbets and minivets et al... We saw several species specific to the Nilgiri Hills, including a laughing thrush. The views from the hills were wonderful, and we learnt a lot about tea and how it is grown, and also saw coffee and cardomom plantings on the hillsides. We had to get up a 6 am and walk for 3 hours without breakfast for the privilege, but it was worth it!

We have plans for the next few days for walks round other hills and the Chinnar nature reserve, and plan to go to the bird reserve at Thettakad for 2 nights at the weekend.

It is amazingly good and wonderful. we're really enjoying ourselve and appreciating the cooler evenings. It is still 32-34 in the days but the nights are cold - we need a blanket and pyjamas.

Arrived in Cochin Saturday

We've arrived in Cochin after a 12-hr flight and then a hair-raising taxi ride, passing one pedestrian casualty on the way (surrounded -both the responsible vehicle and the casualty - by a large crowd). We are staying in a homestay in Fort Cochin, which is quiet with a garden full of birds and exotic trees.

Today we saw the old Jewish quarter with a Dutch Palace with wonderful murals depicting scenes from Hindu Mythology, the outside of the old Synagogue (closed for Purim), and the Old Spice Market, full of small shops where we bought cool cotton clothes for more comfortable travelling.

We had lunch at a lovely fish restaurant by the estuary, and watched dolphins, terns, sea eagles, black kites and an Indian pond heron on a post only a yard from us. We're now home resting from the heat, and thinking how to get cooler.

It is 95F and hot even by local standards for the time of year. We are heading for the hills and some cooling breezes tomorrow, and visiting a bird sanctuary on the way we hope.

Getting ready!

We have most stuff ready; rucksacks, insect spray, guide books, maps, and so on.
We still need to select a route and choose our planned stops but we expect to see things like:
Beaches, wildlife reserves, Munnar Hills and some of the cities like Cochin (in Kerala).
Plus Ooty, Madurai, Thanjavur and possibly Mamallapuram (in Tamil Nadu)..
Perhaps  we'll try to see a festival, though most are between November and March.

Departure: 26 Feb 2010
Return: 16 April 2010