Final Installment

Heading home in 5 more big sleeps. although we are pretty excited about returning, South India continues to enchant us.
Presently in Mysore, just returned from a hard day of visiting a Palace of the last Maharaja to govern in Karnataka. The palace is truly a masterpiece designed by Henry Irving of Scotland and consequently all the fittings are from Scottish manufacturers. It is one of the most impressive building we have seen.
Our travels this last week have taken us to rubber plantations to an overnight houseboat stay on the back waters of Kerela with a captain, engineer, and chef for the 2 of us. It will be hard to adjust when we get back home, where the captain will be golfing and the chef will be cooking, cleaning, sewing and otherwise serving the maharaja (who cuts the grass).
Stayed in Fort Cochin on the Arabian Sea. Lots of seafood, yum yum. We were treated to a sumptuous seafood dinner at the Malabar, a very classy restaurant in Fort Cochin. Enjoyed the local ferries across the bay for 2 INR which is 5 cents where we shopped the night bazaars.
The travels through the countryside to Ooty a hill station in the Nilgri Mtn was highlighted by return trip on the Blue Mountain Railroad, a UNESCO Heritage Railway between Ooty and Coonoor. Just visualize lush green tea plantations terraced on the hillsides with quaint villages nestled in palm groves.
We travelled through 36 switch backs as we descended to our next destintation, a jungle safairi camp, Bandipur National Park. Here we relentlesly hunted the evasive tiger and leopard with our camera. Our treat was several herds of wild elephants. Very impressive in the wild. They were dusting themselves after having their daily bath.
Hassan, Bangalore, then homeward bound out of Mumbai.

Merry Christmas,
Alan and Susan

Relaxing and winding down

The driving in the countryside in Kerela is green, lush and truly magnificent. Around every corner there is a new species of vegetation. Tea, coffee, rubber trees, 80 varities of bananas, pineapple, grapes, spices and herbs of all sorts and more and more.

We enjoyed a relaxing stay at a rubber plantation. 104 acres, 60% is rubber trees where we were taught how to tap and process rubber for selling to the wholesaler. The other 40% was exotic spices and fruits such as passionfruit, which we could not get enough of. They made us fresh juice when ever we asked. Also the food was outstanding.

Just returned this morning from interesting and relaxing cruise of the Kerela backwaters. We saw the lifestyle of the people that live there. We had our own staff of 3, captain, engineer, and chef. The food was again outstanding. Fresh fish bought from the local fishermen, which go from boat to boat selling their catch of the day in their dugouts.

Presently at Cochin (Kochi), our driver has had to leave us as his wife is having their first baby and has gone to hospital. He was enjoying our singing of christmas carols.
Bye for now .