Kerala continued

New Years Eve I wore myself out with all the running around I'd been doing - treated myself to a nice meal - popped back to my room (a nice room thankfully) and by 10.30pm my eyes were closing. Pathetic, innit! Got woken up at midnight by fireworks but was too comfy to move!

Got up early next day - had already bought a train ticket to Alleppey - and had a pretty perfect day. I see this as a very good omen for the new year. The train took about 3 hours through the beautiful Kerala countryside that I just couldn't stop staring at. Was handed a leaflet on the train for a homestay I'd been reading about in Lonely Planet and decided to give it a go. The tourist office phoned them for me and they came and picked me up. The place is beautiful and there were three different rooms available. I chose one that is bright yellow and themed with musical instruments. I couldn't stop smiling in the room. I woke up smiling at it today too. There's a big balcony with swing chairs and it's just ... really nice!

After I settled in (ie did emergency washing!) had a wander into the town - I like Alleppey. A lot. It's peaceful. It's nice. It's friendly. The scary Kerala women I talked about in the last post don't seem to be here, thankfully! Had a wander around and found out about passenger ferry tickets for the backwaters. Then got a rickshaw to the beach. Now, I'm sure there's a million nicer beaches in India than Alleppey beach - but I loved it. I had so much fun! The plan was to sit and chill out with my book for a few hours. I didn't get to opening the book. Had fun soaking my trousers running around in the waves - but then everyone was doing that. Took lots of photos. Had lots of photos taken. Was given grapes. Was talked to by about half the beach. Stayed until the sun had set and it had turned too cold and dark to stay longer. But was so relaxed and happy.

Then... decided to splash out on a very expensive meal to continue treating myself. By very expensive - let's say about 1.5 nights accommodations worth of expensive. But it was worth every bite. It was a rooftop garden restaurant at the top of a hotel near the beach. And I had a large bottle of beer - to make up for an alcohol free new year's eve.

Actually, I've only had three drinks this holiday. And no cigarettes. And too much meat. But hey.

Today I got the passenger ferry for 2.5 hours to Kottayam. Not so much to 'see' Kottayam - as there doesn't seem to be much to see here, but just to spend a few hours floating down the backwaters, relaxing and enjoying the scenery. Got another couple of hours here and then heading back to Alleppey. Oh and ate delicious tandoori fish for lunch.

Hard life, isn't it?!