If you’ve been following along it’s no secret that I haven’t been the biggest fan of India. One of the things everyone has told me though is wait till I get to the SOUTH it’s so much better and different from the NORTH. After two months in the north I was ready for a change and excited to finally make it to the famous SOUTH (Kerala, Goa & Mumbai). Luckily Val & I booked a plane ticket from Kolkata to Fort Kochi early on. We had looked at the train option and it would have saved us about $90 each but taken us like 2 days to get there. So we splurged bought the $100 tickets and flew. It also worked out great because that is where Jessica and Dani from Globetrotter Girls would be arriving an hour later than us. Yup I am traveling with them again. Traveled with them for two weeks through Costa Rica & Panama and loved it. Now we are together again doing 5 weeks through the south of India.
We arrived on time got our bags and then waited for the girls. We happened to arrive before a huge thunderstorm and noticed that the girls plane would arrive late. We waited & waited and wondered where in the world is MUSCAT? So many planes were arriving from there and neither of us knew where it was. I thought Russia or maybe Saudi Arabia… come to find out the girls knew and well it’s in Oman. Now you know… in case you ever need to know that. The girls finally arrived and we caught a cab to our hotel… that cab ride ended up being the longest cab ride of our lives. 2 hours to get to the hotel that is only 30 kilometers away. Crazy traffic and crazy rain meant slow driving. We finally arrived and the hotel was amazing… it had free wifi and hot showers… something I hadn’t had in a long time.
The next 2 days were spent blissfully enjoying the beautiful town of Fort Kochi. We strolled around enjoying the town. I loved that it was different than the north. It was way more calm and aside from the few down pours of rain we managed to have a good time exploring the city. Here are some shots of what we saw and did there.
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I really liked Fort Kochi and wish we could have spent more time seeing more of it. I enjoyed watching the men catch fish using the chinese fishing nets, I enjoyed taking photos of the silly trash cans all over the city, I enjoyed watching the guys play cricket (a sport I still know nothing about), I enjoyed walking on the set of I have no clue what a Bollywood movie or commercial, I enjoyed the random street art and just really enjoyed the relaxed vibe that was everywhere. It was just what I needed after 2 months in the North. As for the rest of my time in the South so far… well it’s been filled with many highs & many lows… but more on that later.
Glad that you had a good first impression. Can you imagine if you had thought it was WORSE than the north?
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I have no clue what I would have done with myself… The south has been a bit better so far. Still intense, but not as much. It’s growing on me… have no clue how I am going to feel when I leave!
A punted boat tour around the backwaters of Kerela is a really nice afternoon out. Extremely peaceful, very relaxing and just a lovely experience to have while you’re in the area 🙂
Oh Mike, we did a 3 day/night houseboat tour through out the backwaters in Kerala… it was AMAZING. A highlight of my life… I mean seriously. I agree it was so lovely, relaxing and just amazing.
Jaime I’m glad you are enjoying yourself. I couldn’t help but notice trash everywhere.
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Paula, thanks & yes sadly all over India you will find trash. When I say all over… I mean it. Even right outside of the Taj Mahal we saw a lot of trash and much of it being burnt.
I am pretty torn on India (having never been there, but….) also. Then again, I know I need to knock out 4-6 months in that region at some point. Dunno. Then again, I do know I love the Globetrotter Girls. Please say hey to them for me.
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Oh wow I didn’t know you had never been to India Michael. My advice is give it 3 months… it’s going to be the best yet the worst times of your life. I’m going back to Egypt in 2 weeks and am so ready. The thing is now that I am about to leave I think I am going to miss India a lot. I hate it & yet dont hate it at all. For sure India has been the toughest country I have ever travelled in. As for the girls… I love them & will be sure to let them know you said hi.
It’s good to hear you’re liking south India much better than the north 🙂 Muscat, Oman has tons of Indian expat residents, which probably explains all the planes arriving from there. Oman is a great, albeit expensive, Persian Gulf country. You should visit it some day 🙂
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Yes Sabina, so far the South has had it’s moments for sure… but I am liking it much better than the north!!! Thanks for the info on Muscat… I had no clue. That is a country I would love to explore one day too (Oman)…
Those garbage cans are hilarious!
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I know right… I loved them!!!
Just came across your blog and I have to say-in the words of A. Schwarzenegger: I’ll be back soon 🙂
Thank you so much!!! Glad you enjoy it & hope to see you in the comments…
Seems like a lot of people experience many highs and lows while traveling through India. We are hoping to spend 6 weeks there during our backpacking trip and definitely want to spend time both in the North and South.
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Vicky I would have too agree with you traveling through here is one hell of a roller coaster… 6 weeks isn’t enough hell not even 3 months is enough time. 6 weeks though is enough time to see a bit. What are your plans? Let me know if you need anything. What every one says is true… the South is much better.
We are trying to see a little bit of the North and South. We’ll probably fly into Delhi, plan to see Agra, Varanasi, Amritsar, travel around the Rajasthan area to see Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur
Jaisalmer. From there I’m thinking of taking a train to Mumbai and then on to the south. I was considering going to Goa, but I feel like with so little time in India it’s not worth spending it at the beach and especially after reading your Goa post it doesn’t seem like it would be worth it. What do you think?
So I guess from Mumbai we’d try to train/fly to Chennai and spend the rest of the time in that area going to the backwaters of Kerala, Fort Cochin, etc.
What do you think? Any tips/recommendations are welcome and would be greatly appreciated! Sorry to just ramble on there!
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Hi Vicky, 1st question how much time do you have in India? It’s a MASSIVE country with long distances between cities. Your plan so far sounds very good actually. Depending on how much time you have in the North I may cut out a city or two. Be sure to book the train ride from New Delhi to Mumbai as soon as you can.. they sell out & fast. I booked mine 2 months in advance. It cost me $8… find out how much it with AC… it woud be worth it. As for skipping Goa… depends on when you go? We were there during off season and honestly it was just okay. My favorite beach was Palolem the rest I’d never bother visiting again. Oh & for sure be sure you make enough time to do the backwaters tour… its one of the highlights of my trip. I spent 3 months there and because getting from place to place was often times difficult and a very long journey I ended up spending about 5-7 days in each city we visited. It’s exhausting and intense, but something you will never forget. Oh & don’t apologize for rambling on… I love helping when I can. Let me know what else you would like to know. It’s to pick someones brain who’s been there before & recently.
Thanks for the quick response!! I think we’re aiming to spend about 6 weeks there. I realize we won’t get to see anywhere near everything in that time but with the difficulty and exhaustion that I’m guessing traveling in India will be I think 6 weeks should be a good intro into the country. Thanks a lot for the tip regarding the train bookings – will make sure to book the train well in advance, We will probably we in India in December 2013 (I know it’s still absurdly far away) so I’m guess that’s peak season in Goa but I[‘m thinking we would rather spending a few extra days in the backwaters of Kerala instead of on the beach. Just curious how many days did you allocate to exploring Delhi/Mumbai?
Once again thanks for all the tips and if you have any other recommendations I am more than open to them!
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Oh yeah 6 weeks will be a good intro. Oh & its never to early to start planning. You can easily do Delhi in 3days and Mumbai I would give it 4 or more. I just love Mumbai so much more… it’s still crazy but just a diff feel for it. Email me when the time gets closer and I’ll give ya tips for more things if you need them.
The garbage bins rock!! Recently we were in Halong Bay. There we were visiting a gigantic cave, and the garbage bins there are all in the shape of penguins. I don’t understand why penguin, since this is tropical place, but there you go!
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I loved the garbage bins… so weird. I will have too check them out when I make it to SEA!
Kochi is in Kerala and the part of South India. The view of fort Kochi is really an awesome. I also visited Alleppey and Kovalam along with this place. Hope will get back again soon.
Kerala is always an amazing & relaxing place for me 🙂.. Whenever I got tired, I visit this Kochi and nearby places. I love to do Yoga in the morning on the beach.. thanks for make me remind by beautiful memory
Kerala is very famous destination in india and this palce is heaven on earth totally nature created place surrounded by trees and lakes i have visited there and some more places i have to visit will visit shortly