Laura's Trip to India

I'm a little late to report this, but Laura finally came to India. Her trip was short, but action-packed. Here's a brief recap.

12 hours after her arrival, we were back at the airport for a flight to Kerala. We spent a day in Cochin (and stayed at probably my favorite hotel ever, the Old Harbour Hotel), before heading to Varkala. The next day were spent at the cliff-side beach and we didn't let the rain get in our way. The timing couldn't have been better...upon heading to the beach on our first day, I exclaimed: I can't believe you are in India! And then right there in front of us was an elephant! Oh, India.

After coming back to Delhi, I set Laura off on her own for the day, while I worked. After exploring Khan Market for a few hours, Laura and Ani headed to Janpath for coffee and then drinks to the Imperial Hotel. I met them there after work and then we went to Ani's house so she could meet everyone.

Friday afternoon we ventured to Old Delhi to see the sights from our rickshaw and to partake in a meat-filled lunch at Karim's. Next, Laura and I headed out for some shopping and hit all 3 Fabindia stores in GK Market! Our next stop was another favorite: Smokehouse Grill. After enjoying a nice dinner, we headed downstairs to meet up with some friends, drink and dance. We didn't let our early wake-up time on Saturday morning get in the way of a fun night.

On Saturday, we were up bright and early for our day trip to Agra. We left at 7am and were joined by Ani, his brother, Bhupinder, his sister, Rajni, her husband, KK, and their daughter, Sheren. 5 hours later we arrived at the Taj Mahal (my 4th and hopefully final trip!).

To see Laura off on Sunday, we had a super yummy brunch at Tonino's, an Italian restaurant. The three of us were joined by Kamlesh and Rajesh, Ani's sister and brother-in-law. With stuffed bellies, we were to Dilli Haat for a final round of shopping. Even though I already own more scarves than one could possibly need, I HAD to buy more! Laura picked up a few gifts - including a few for herself, before we headed home to pack. That evening, we had a quick dinner at Ani's house and made our way to the airport for our farewell.

Only 8 days in India, but Laura is already planning her next trip in 2009. That's a good sign.

Highlights of Kerala

Yesterday Ani and I returned from a week long trip to Kerala, in southern India, which was absolutely amazing. I think the best thing about it was that it was so different from the rest of India that I've seen. The people were very friendly. The surroundings were green and lush. The food was incredibly fresh and very tasty.

Our first stop was Fort Kochi in Kochi. We spent two days there, enjoying our hotel, the Old Harbour Hotel, exploring the small fishing village, and viewing the Portuguese architecture throughout the town.

From Kochi we travelled to car to Munnar, a hill station in Kerala that filled with tea plantations. The only downside was that most of the tea plantations are owned by Tata Corporation. The company seems to run the city, along with the local tea museum and several of the major roads that climb the hills. Despite this, our two days here was very relaxing, and very cool, compared to the heat and humidity of the other towns we visited.

Next, we headed back the coast of Kerala and stopped in Allepey. Here, we hired a houseboat and spent the next day exploring the backwaters. Life here was quiet and peaceful. No car horns anywhere. On the boat, all of our meals were provided and were prepared with fresh, local produce. Very yummy.

Our Kerala trip ended in Varkala, a small beach town that sits on a cliff above the ocean. Aside from enjoying the views and the fresh seafood, we also visited a Hindu temple that is over 2000 years old and enjoyed aryuvedic messages.

It was wonderful exploring Kerala and there was so much we didn't even get to see everything. A return trip to Kerala is definitely in a my future and next time, it'll be even longer.

Kerala-Bound

I'm off to Kerala, in the south of India, for my final trip in India, this time around. People have warned me that it can be oppressively hot and humid there, but I don't care. It's also supposed to be green and lush, quite a contrast to the dust and dirt of Delhi.

Plus, it's 106 F/41 C in Delhi today! How much worse can it get? It's only supposed to be 91 F/33 C in Kochi, so I am looking forward to the relatively cooler weather.

Kerala is a small state on the Arabian Sea and it's often referred to as "God's Own Country." It has lush greenery, tea plantations, better beaches than Goa, and amazing cliffs on the edge of the sea. At least that's what I've heard. It's also one of the best Indian states, in terms of life expectancy, literacy, infant mortality and gender equality. And surprisingly, Kerala has one of the world's only democratically-elected communist governments.

Here's an interesting National Geographic article on Kerala.

So, I'm off to the airport soon and will be MIA on my blog for the next week. Hope the weather is warming up back home. If you get sick of the chill, just think of me in the sweltering heat of India!