I'm now hoping to go away as many weekends as possible so I can see
lots of different parts of India. I think it's hard for someone from a
country as small as England to understand how much diversity somewhere
like India has until you actually go there and see how different each
place is.
The driver we got was lovely and took us to a nice but cheap hotel. He then came back for us later and showed us around Fort
Cochin.
We went on a boat trip to the backwaters and it was so rainy. Even in
the rain, it was absolutely beautiful. It's quite nice to be there at a
time when tourists don't usually see it. The food in Kerala was spicier
than what we're used to! On the boat trip lunch was provided, we sampled
lots of dishes and I have discovered that I really enjoy beetroot in
Indian dishes! I made sure I had two helpings of the beetroot on the
boat trip. It was nice to have brown rice for a change and to taste the
differences that exist in food even between areas that are relatively
close to each other. We just don't have that kind of variation or
regional identity in England, apart from Yorkshire puddings up north!
Coincidentally, in Kerala I saw the local Kathakali dance, so thought
that would be a good starting point for the lesson and took some photos
of some masks there.