Back in Mumbai

We caught a plane back to Mumbai and this time stayed with family friends Harish Masa and Charu Masi, who made us feel very welcome.

We went exploring in Mumbai again, caught taxis to get around around and even got the train, which was an experience in itself. No "health & safety" here.... in fact..... no doors either!! If you want to get from one platform to another? Simple, just cross the track and hope you don't touch the live rail. They have even put steps down from the platform to the track to help you walk across the train lines - how thoughtful! On the train itself was a bit of a squeeze, but one experience we'll never forget.
We arrived at the Victoria Terminus, which is the grand building you see from the outside shot and the busy place you see in the other photo. This is THE Victoria Terminus, which was attacked by the terrorists, but as you can see is back to the normal hustle and bustle.
We couldn't really do another entry on Mumbai and not put in a photo of people playing cricket. People set up a match anywhere and everywhere. The chaps in this photo are playing in a park in the centre of Mumbai, but we saw matches going in any free space we passed in our taxi.

Povar

We arrived at our next destination; Povar, which was our last one before heading back to Bombay.
It did not disappoint! The hotel sent a river taxi to collect us and after a 10 minute journey we reached the hotel, which was positioned just as a backwater river meets the sea.
Shivani made time to do some poses amongst the palm trees and on the beach, whilst Andrew caught 40 winks on the hammock.
Shivani wasn't the only fancy bird on the beach that day.....

The Bottom Tip Of India

Back on dry land we headed for the southern most tip of India, where 3 seas meet at Kaniya Kumari; The Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea and The Bay
of Bengal. You can actually see Sri Lanka, which is only 30km away. It is also considered to be a very holy place and many people make the pilgrimage to bathe in the seas, often sleeping overnight in coaches, so as to save money on hotel rooms. Us being "Western Softies", chose not to take the coach option, but the hotel one instead. Our room had dual aspect windows; facing both east and west, meaning we had the best vantage point for sunset and sunrise the next day: Unfortunately it was cloudy for both. The other photos show scenes from the state of Tamil Nadu, a truly colourful place. Check out the chap selling pineapples off the back of a lorry.

The Questionnaire

After we finished the wonderful houseboat cruise, we were asked to complete this questionnaire.
Take a good look at the options! Talk about not wanting to hear any bad news!!

Views From The Houseboat 2

Some more scenes of Kerala...
Including one of hundreds of Ducks crossing the water. Did you know that you can herd ducks like cattle? We didn't until we saw it in India.

Views From The Houseboat

We cruised down the backwaters of Kerala and soaked in the amazing scenery.
We saw amazing wildlife such as snakes and eagles, people going about their general business, whether it be having a wash, doing their washing, going to work, working, hailing a taxi, you name it. Not to mention the natural beauty of the landscape from palm trees to paddy fields; it was simply breathtaking.
We had both brought our books on board to read, but hardly touched them, as the views were so good we didn't want to miss a thing.

The Houseboat

Our Houseboat,which would be our home for the the next day and a half, collected us from our hotel, to the amazement of the other guests.
Well.... you know Shivani, she likes to do things in style!
We had on board a Driver, Chef and Butler, to look after us.
As you can see from the photos; it was all pretty luxurious.