BACKTRACKING IN TAMIL NADU & KERALA

These pictures are moving backwards in time - I've only just rediscovered them! The 'musician with Vina is self explanatory. The middle picture is of maintenance work at the Kodaikanal Golf Club. The last one shows how low Periyar Lake is at the moment. Water is a problem, with very little rain around. The pictures at the side are a team of workers shifting rocks by hand. The foreman decides what size of stone per worker. If you are pretty it helps!

UP THE MOUNTAIN

KODAIKANAL MUSEUM AND POST OFFICE

The guidebooks said this museum was rubbish, but we found it quite endearing. Almost the high spot of our stay! Inside it is filled with skeletons, stuffed animals, shells and coins - usually a great turnoff, but, in this case quite striking and well presented. The Post Office had a tin roof and a magnificent wall of flower pots. I bought stamps for my postcards and they came out of a padlocked strong box. Probably the only sale they had that day!

ROUND KODAIKANAL

The fences around Kodaikanal are beautifully made from long, straight twigs, bound together with string.

THE CARLTON, KODAIKANAL

Kodaikanal is over 2000 metres up a mountain - and is an Indian hill station - not a Western hill station. Our hotel, The Carlton, is the large pink blob at the back of the lake. Prosperous Indian families and honeymooners come to stay there. They all wear woolly hats and pretend they are freezing, even though the weather is lovely. If you want, you can ride a horse around the lake. Terry preferred to walk. I preferred to watch.

PARADISA PLANTATION

Next stop Paradisa Plantation in Idukki Region - half way up a mountain and immensely peaceful. Motty and Lali came to visit us for lunch one day, driving all the way from Alleppey. The plantation is fascinating - but it badly needs some rain. Simon is quite worried about it. He says they must have some rain by 10th March, which sounds very precise (and which is very soon!). I think that he feels he will do better to concentrate on tourism, raather than the plantation, although he says that he thinks next year will be very bad in the tourist industry. We are not really surprised, as we think that India has been pricing itself out of the market in the last three years. Much to see in the plantation. The banana flower blooms first and then the bananas grow out of the flower. Amazing looking! And it all seems to happen at the same time. Each banana tre will be at a different stage.

THE SNAKE TEMPLE

We visited a snake temple where the people seemed very happy with life. Notices said 'no photography', but, as usual, if you asked, everyone wanted their picture taken!

LUNCH AT THE MENON'S

We visited Luxmi and her parents in Kochi for lunch. It was a six hour journey, but we had a very good afternoon with them, meeting some of their friends, catching up news and having a great lunch. Luxmi is obviously a star pupil at her school. We saw her cabinet full of awards! Sunny and Renu are planning to move to a homestay they have built in Wyanad, when Luxmi goes to University. She aims to study Architecture at one of the two top colleges in India. It is in Delhi. Her final exams start in a day or two-and then she has to pass the special exams for the Architecture school. It is wonderful to think how we met the Menons, four and a half years ago, purely by chance, because our car broke down outside their house. Sunny invited us in and said 'trust me, I'm an artist' when we looked doubtful! Luxmi was still thirteen, but her English was superb. It was she who found out what was happening to our car (which had been taken away with all our luggage in it). They looked after us until a new car and driver were found. Quite difficult, because it was one of Kerala's frequent transport strike days!

KOVALAM - OUR FIRST STOP

There are always plenty of kids with attitude in India. These 'posers' were at the Trivandrum Palace. The fishermen were hauling in the days catch on our local beach in Kovalam. They sang as they hauled. Hard work for them - but very entertaining for us!

Starting from where we left off - India 2008. This was Sat's family fort, which we visited when we stayed at Shapurah Bagh. He took this picture as he is a professional photographer, when he is not being a hotelier. Sadly we won't be visiting them this year!