January 21st–31st

We met our driver, Firoz, for the final leg of our journey through Kerala. Travelling through Munnar, Thekkady, Kumarakom, Alleppey, and Kochi, we immersed ourselves in the region’s rich culture and experienced incredible adventures, making the most of our last days in India.

My mother will be the one telling this part of our trip…

In and around Munnar, we visited an ayurvedic herb garden, a waterfall, the rare Nilgiri Tahr (very similar to Swiss mountain ibex), and drove up and down hills of tea plantations. One evening we went to see traditional Kathakali dancing, which was so much fun to watch because of the dancer’s intense expressions.

 

Next we drove to Thekkady where we visited elephants in a domesticated setting and at the Periyar National Park. We also visited a special statue of Ganesha, who is a Hindu god with the head of an elephant and the body of a human. He is the god of beginnings, wisdom, and luck, and is worshipped as the remover of obstacles.

Then we were treated to a sumptuous lunch in the beautiful home of Benzir’s brother, Bijoy Mohammed, in hilly Vagamon. (Benzir and my father have been working together for more than 15 years at InterHyve). Caretaker Ali made us a full Kerala thali – he is a master chef! Many, many thanks!

After spending many cool nights in the hill country we made our way back to the coast to Kumarakom and then on to Alleppey, where we were treated to a very tasty lunch at Benzir’s uncle and aunt’s house. We met Benzir’s mother there and other family members who were so gracious with us. Many, many thanks!

In Alleppey we boarded one of the traditional Kerala houseboats to navigate through the famous Backwaters.

After a night on the houseboat near Alleppey we made our way to the historical port town of Kochi. There we said goodbye to Firoz and wished him well. In Kochi we stayed at the beautiful Ginger House Museum Hotel, which was close to the Mattancherry Palace built by the Portuguese in the mid-1500s and the famous Paradesi Synagogue, which is the oldest synagogue in India built in 1568. We enjoyed wandering through the historical part of Kochi and looking at all the beautiful artefacts available for sale.

We were also kindly invited for another scrumptious meal at Benzir’s family’s house where we also met his wife Ayshia’s parents. Another lovely evening was spent chatting and eating delicious food. Simply amazing! Again, many, many thanks!!