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Sweltering, steamy, sizzingly southern India--It was hot!

Sweltering, steamy, sizzingly southern India--It was hot!

Old Aug 25th, 2015, 06:42 AM
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Sweltering, steamy, sizzingly southern India--It was hot!

This year we made our third long trip to India, but in the southern half instead of the north where we had previously visited. Our general route was to make a backwards J-shaped loop that started at Mumbai and ended in Bangalore. We went south from Mumbai along the coast as far as Cochin, and then moved inland heading north towards Bangalore.

As is usual for us, we did not book tickets way ahead of time and did not have a fully-fleshed out itinerary for the entire trip. Plane tickets to India were purchased about two months ahead of time, which was earlier than we often buy tickets. We had reservations and firm plans for our first three weeks but planned to wing it from then on out. I did all of the planning and reservations myself, and we did not use an agent at all this time. For past trips we’d hired a car and driver for extended stretches of time through an agency. This time around we just decided to use our lodgings to book us transportation for day trips and to arrange transfers between locations. This worked out just fine.

We were gone from Feb. 2 to March 17 because we wanted an escape from the bitterly cold climate where we live. However, we soon found out that the timing of our trip was a mistake, and we spent our last three weeks in India (the unplanned portion of our trip) making decisions on where to visit solely based on where we thought we could go and not die from the heat.

So, my first piece of advice to those considering visiting the southern half of India is to go earlier than we did. During our trip we were told that any time from Sept./Oct. onward would be a good time to visit. Tamil Nadu had been on our radar as a place we potentially wanted to visit, but it was quickly crossed off the list when we learned that it would be even hotter than Kerala.

At times we were so hot that we vowed never, ever to take another tropical vacation because the heat just isn’t for us. It is truly swelteringly hot when you are sitting outside, in the shade overlooking the ocean, having breakfast at 8:30 in the morning with sweat running down your back after having done nothing more exerting than just walking down one flight of steps to your table. Or, there was a similar day when our major excursion for the day was to walk about a kilometer round trip to buy a bag of oranges. We were so drenched with sweat from this leisurely walk that I actually contemplated taking a tuk tuk back to our guesthouse because I was so hot. And, we are the type of people who can spend an entire day walking when visiting an interesting place. (Of course, within a month of our return home we were in Mexico where the temps hit 110 a couple days, but the heat there didn’t seem as bad as it had been in India.)

Adding up our three trips, we’ve now traveled in India for about four months total, and on none of our three trips did I feel the need to have an agent plan a lot of things for me. On our first two trips I had an agent arrange a car and driver for us, and a couple times got suggestions on routes and places to stay, but that was it. For those who enjoy planning their own vacations, India is not really too difficult to do. In fact, one place we were on this trip we were having a discussion with the young man who was our guide for our stay there. He said that he can’t figure out why people feel the need to use the services of an agency (with all of the additional costs) because people in India are so friendly and like to help tourists. Plus, the locals all can give great advice on where to go next, they all know drivers, and they are aware of places that a larger agency might not be aware of. We agree with his advice.

Another major difference for this trip is that it ended up being much more about nature and the outdoors than cultural sightseeing. We certainly engaged in and learned about the places/cultures we were visiting, but there was not nearly as much visiting of temples, historic places, palaces, and museums etc. as on other trips. By the end we were viewing our trip as more of a winter escape than as a sightseeing trip.

We'd agree with those who classify the southern parts of India as India lite compared to the north. For people who are cautious and want to tiptoe into the country, taking your first trip in the south might be a good idea because things are not so in your face as they are in the north. Kerala, in particular, is the richest state in India so things are better developed and there isn't as much visible poverty and dirt.

We booked our tickets on United (never again) and flew into Mumbai and out of Bangalore. Flight and airline advice: Be extremely persistent with the airline if there is any delay in your journey. Right before our departure date there had been big storms in Chicago and on the east coast, so we’d been watching for flight changes and cancellations right up until the minute we left for the airport. We live 20 minutes from the airport and arrived at the airport thinking all was well. But, right after we got in line at the airport, I got two e-mails from United telling me that both our Minneapolis to Chicago and our Chicago to Newark flights were cancelled.

United was not at all customer friendly or efficient in the circumstances. We had a huge wait in the line with all of their other cancelled customers, and their customer service phone lines did not work either. As soon as I found out our flights were cancelled and we moved into the re-booking line, I called United. I was still on hold two hours later when we finally got to the front of the airport line and were helped in person. Then I had to keep insisting that I did not like their solutions (come back tomorrow) and had to ask to speak to a supervisor. Finally, five hours after arriving at the airport, United agreed to put us on a Delta flight from Minneapolis to Mumbai. And, they only did this because I had found out that there was a Delta flight that had seats available; they would never have done this problem-solving for us. In fact, at one point we were told that United’s general policy is to rebook on other airlines only for domestic itineraries.

Another problem I had with United was that only after booking our tickets and not being able to figure out why I couldn’t get seat assignments on the Lufthansa code-share flights for the way home did I find out that (a) Lufthansa does not let economy passengers get seat assignments until 23 hours prior to the flight and (b) Lufthansa does not give any miles to those who are flying in certain economy classes. United, of course, said nothing about either of these things on their website when I booked tickets. And, on our return flight United’s standard policy for dealing with passengers whose flights have been delayed causing them to miss their connection is so unfriendly that we ended up stuck in Chicago for five additional hours despite the fact that there were four flights to Minneapolis during this time. So, we’re done with United.

The one positive thing that did come out of our experiences was that we learned it is much better to fly from the US to Europe and then Europe to India than it is to take that horribly long 15 hour United flight from Newark to India as we have done in the past. So, in the future, we’ll be looking for flight segments that are broken up this way.

I'll try to post soon with details about the trip.
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Old Aug 25th, 2015, 07:02 AM
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Julie's - excited to hear more! Unfortunately our tickets are booked and we will be there from February 9 till March 9 so we are unable to heed your advice regarding weather. During our last 4 week trip to the Rajasthan area, we traveled in late sept/October and it was beyond hot. Still...it left us wanting more so here we go again.
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Old Aug 25th, 2015, 07:38 AM
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Thanks for getting your report started, I'm looking forward to more. Your info about weather is very useful.

Sorry you had such a bad time with United.
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Old Aug 25th, 2015, 01:08 PM
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I just spotted this and am keen to hear how your trip went. Southern india is on my radar for a few reasons - my grandma was born there [not sure where, she didn't have a birth certificate] and worked as a nurse in Madras, and my mum was born in Mumbai. and I'm very interested in travelling without an agent.

But I struggle in the heat too, so i can sympathise.
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Old Aug 25th, 2015, 01:39 PM
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dgunbug--You'll have to adjust your itinerary so that you move up into the ghats for the last part of your trip. We had also heard that Goa is generally a little bit cooler than Kerala, so if you intend to visit there it could be at the end of your trip. I'd say about Feb. 20 was when we really noticed how much it was really heating up.

Kathie--It is not just we who have had trouble with United. In the past year our son and daughter-in-law had a beyond horrid experience (made ours look like nothing) with United, and another friend also had a really bad time with United. All of us have said never again.

annhig--So it sounds as though you too will have to plan carefully the timing of your trip if you do not want the heat to get to you. I think Nov. to Jan. may be the coolest time of year (and unfortunately the highest prices with the most tourists).
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Old Aug 25th, 2015, 01:58 PM
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julies,
Looking forward to reading your trip report, too. I've enjoyed following your other trips and found your first report very helpful when I was planning my first trip to India. South India is definitely one of the places that is high up on my list, so I'll be interested to see what you did -- and did not -- end up doing.

I will definitely heed your advice, however, when we plan our next visit and will try to avoid sweltering heat at all costs!

Paule
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Old Aug 26th, 2015, 06:53 AM
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Back to India itself: Parts of my report will be very detailed because they are based on a journal I was somewhat devoted to writing for about a quarter of our trip. The other parts will be a brief synopsis of what we did in the area. I am trying to flesh out and recall now (something that is proving more difficult that I’d thought it would be) what we did at the places where I did not keep a journal.

We stayed at a mix of hotels, homestays, guesthouses and resorts and spent between $50 and $120 a night for rooms (many of these also included meals). We consider ourselves moderate travelers who will splurge occasionally when we feel it is worth it. And, we are people who prefer smaller, more quirky, and, as the Indians say, more “homely” types of places rather than generic, anonymous large hotels. The real hotels were the places where we paid the highest room prices and are also probably the places we liked the least because they typically lack the opportunity to interact with owners and fellow guests.

In a nutshell, here is where we went and where we stayed.

4 nights in Mumbai—Ascot Hotel
4 nights in Olalulim (interior Goa outside of the Panjim area)--Olalulim Backyards
2 nights at a wilderness resort on the Goa/Karnataka border--Wildernest
2 nights in Curtorim (a more southerly Goan interior town)—Arco Iris
3 nights on the beach in Kannur in northern Kerala—Blue Mermaid
2 nights in Kochi—The Fort Bungalow
The next 7 nights were in Kerala on a bicycle trip we were fools to take (more about that later)
2 nights Thattekkadu—Soma Birds Lagoon
2 nights Thodupuaha—Dewalokam
1 night Pala-- Kuruvinakunnel Tharavadu
2 nights Alleppy backwaters--stay at the owner of the bicycle company’s home

**All of the previous lodgings and destinations had been pre-planned and booked before our trip. From this point out--other than Olappamanna where I had pre-booked for specific dates so as to be able to visit a local Pooram--it was planning on the ground. And, it was at this point in our trip we started making decisions based on where we could go that maybe wouldn’t be so swelteringly hot.

4 nights at Marari Beach—Marari Austin Beach Villa
2 nights in Vellinezhi at a guest house with private Hindu ceremonies--Olappamanna
4 nights Conoor—Taj Gateway
2 nights at Vythiri in Wayanad—Pranavam Homestay
1 night in Masinagudi (near Mudumalai national park)-- Jungle Hut
4 nights in Mysore—Radisson Blue Hotel
1 night outside Bangalore airport—Goldfinch Retreat

With the exception of two places (the homestay in the Alleppy backwaters and the Goldfinch Retreat near the Bangalore airport) I’d recommend all of the places we stayed.

Now to the trip itself:

Mumbai—Ascot Hotel— Feb. 3 to 6--4 nights

We are not normally big fans of large, noisy cities, but we liked Mumbai. It appealed to us a lot more than Delhi does. We had four nights and three full days and found them easy to fill. In fact, we probably could have stayed a few more days and kept ourselves busy. We walked a ton, found a couple fabulous seafood restaurants, took the ferry to Elephanta Island, took a slum tour, and took a night tour of the city. As an aside, nearly everyone in Mumbai still referred to their city as Bombay; apparently the former name is what most locals are most comfortable with.

Feb. 3
Despite all of the airline hassles we got into Mumbai only about an hour and a half later than our original flight time. And, sure enough, the hotel's taxi was there waiting for us. When we got to the hotel (after midnight) we were delighted to find out that we were able to get the deluxe room we'd requested. Normally we don’t seek out the deluxe room types, but this time around we suspected we’d be tired and would want to have a nice haven to retreat to because we’d probably be spending more time there than just sleeping. It was nice to have the larger room with plenty of space to spread out and to have some nice chairs to relax in.

After a shower we collapsed about 2:00 am thinking we'd be zonked for hours since neither one of us had gotten more than an hour or two of sleep on the fights. We'd both thought the best strategy would be to stay awake on the MSP to AMS flight and then try to sleep AMS to BOM. Didn't work out unfortunately.

Feb. 4
Our goofy internal time clocks didn't allow us to sleep. We were both wide awake at 6:30 am, after only sleeping for four hours. We had no plans at all for the day since we hadn't even known if we'd get to Mumbai or when. Elephanta Island was on the list of possible places to visit, and everything I'd read said to make sure to visit early so we could avoid the tourist hordes and also as a time to tour when the heat wasn't so bad. So, this soon became our plan. Have breakfast and head off to the ferry for Elephanta Island as soon as we were done eating. We didn't make the first ferry at 9:00 but were on a boat by 9:45.

The hour-long ride through the harbor was interesting and the breeze refreshing. This was probably not a ferry boat you'd want to be on if there were an accident. We assume life jackets on the ferry were non-existent since the small group of Japanese who arrived with their tour group were all sporting bring-your-own-lifejackets.

The walk through the caves was interesting, with only the first (main) cave remaining nearly fully intact as far as the sculptures. There weren’t a lot of tourists, and just walking through the island and seeing the workers who were hand hewing rocks for future walls and walks made for an interesting morning.

As we rode the ferry back in the early afternoon, we checked the guidebook we had with us (no pre-planning once again) looking for a restaurant for lunch. In the book it appeared that a highly recommended restaurant—Trishna-- wasn't too far a walk from the ferry landing. Since the Elephanta Island ferry docks at the India Gate, we did our obligatory sight-seeing there prior to trying to find our way to the restaurant.

As usual, the restaurant we were searching for wasn't on a main drag but set a bit of a ways back on a small alley-type road. When we got there, we almost didn't go in because it didn't look too inviting. There was absolutely no sign of welcome or ambiance. In fact, it looked kind of like an obscure, nightclub-type place with a doorman standing outside of a very non-descript building with a blank door. But, a few bites of our food convinced us otherwise, and we were so impressed we thought the place might be worth a return trip. And, we did end up returning for another lunch.

Then, we slowly made our way back to the hotel, taking in the local sights, thinking we'd rest a bit and go out later on. Never made it out again. Relaxing felt good, and we were so full that we didn’t feel a need to go out again for dinner. Just sitting in our hotel room from 4:00 until bedtime isn't our normal style, but after the exhausting process of getting to India it was nice to have some downtime for relaxation.
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Old Aug 26th, 2015, 08:33 AM
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Such good info - taking notes - will try to find the restaurant - Trisha.
Curious - thought I remembered Dogster talking about elephanta island and the long climb up to the top. We're there many stairs? I'm concerned about my husband's knees.
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Old Aug 26th, 2015, 11:15 AM
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My mum used to have ancient postcards of a huge gate at the entrance to what was then Bombay harbour - it looked a bit like the Arc de Triomphe or Marble arch as I recall. is it still there?

really loving you report and looking forward to reading about all the highs [and learning from the lows!]
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Old Aug 26th, 2015, 11:45 AM
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Great start! Looking forward to more.
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Old Aug 26th, 2015, 04:24 PM
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By the way - do you have an address on the Trishna restaurant?
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Old Aug 26th, 2015, 06:19 PM
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Following along here too and looking forward to more, Julies.
We were in Kerala in February a few years ago and agree it was hot! But we kept telling ourselves - oh well nothing worse than DC in August. . or the rainforest most places. . Also liked Mumbai - and stayed at the Ascot too!
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Old Aug 27th, 2015, 02:36 AM
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Enjoying this!
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Old Aug 27th, 2015, 06:04 AM
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dgunbug--I honestly can't recall if there were tons of steps (more so that an other places we've been in India)at Elephanta. But, I know it couldn't have been that bad, or the memory would stick out in my mind. Trishna--Sai Baba Marg is the only address I have. It is a small alleyway perhaps two blocks long; once you find the alleyway just keep looking, and you'll find it.

annhig--Yes, that is the India Gate.

Glover--We were glad we chose the Ascot because of its location and the nice room we got. Making reservations though turned out to be a bit of a hassle, but I am glad I persisted.

We took the "Moon Handbook to Mumbai and Goa" and found it very worthwhile. My edition is now 6 years old, and I don't know if they have updated it or not. My other standby that covered a larger territory was the 5th edition of "Footprint's South India". Also recommended.
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Old Aug 27th, 2015, 06:16 AM
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Feb. 5

We were surprised we liked Mumbai since we didn't have any great expectations and normally aren't fans of big cities. Our hotel was in a (relatively) quiet location in a lovely neighborhood that was partially residential.

After breakfast we set out to try to find the local office of the Reality Tours company since, according to their website, it was fairly close to our hotel. The website said it is best to book online or by phone, but since they were so close, we decided to drop in. The office visit itself was a lesson in country/cultural differences. I suspect most Americans and Europeans wouldn’t have even attempted to get into the office since it was above a very small store, up some rickety stairs, and down an obscure hallway.

The office itself was “one butt” size and consisted of two small, cluttered rooms with no windows and no space at all. Obviously, no AC either. Now we know why the company doesn't suggest making a visit to the office to secure a booking. Afterwards my husband said we should have asked the guy in the office if he'd mind if we took a photo of the office since it was such a contrast to what we expect the office of a large tour company would look like. After a couple phone calls back and forth between the guy at the desk and someone else, we booked two tours for the following day—the Dhavali slum tour for 8:30 am and the Mumbai by Night tour for the evening.

From there we set out to find the Sassoon Docks where all of the fisherman bring in their catch for the markets. My guidebook had indicated that mid-morning is a good time to visit the docks, so our timing was right. Apparently, most of the docks in the city are closed off and restricted, but this is wide open. And, the location wasn't all that far south of our hotel.

We found the entrance to the dock area and just started walking in the direction where we thought the interesting parts might be. Wending our way past all of the large trucks, we eventually found the main area where boats were docked. Here is where all of the market activity was going on and where the women were squatting shelling shrimp in the hot sun. There looked like some great photo ops here, but as soon as I pulled out the camera to take my first shot, someone shouted to us that there were no photos allowed. I don't know why. My husband thought it may have been because there was a government naval facility close by. My guess is that the locals don't want hordes of tourist coming down to the area.

We spent the rest of the morning just walking and observing life in Mumbai rather than trying to hit all of the local tourist hot spots and must-sees. We glanced through restaurant recommendations in the guidebook and set out walking to a location that was further north than we'd been before. We figured we could take in the sights while trying to locate the restaurant.

We made some wrong turns as usual, but this just expanded the area we were able to see. Once again we had difficulty locating the restaurant. But, there must be only one reason that foreign tourists are stumbling around that particular block because a guy soon asked us if we were looking for the Mahesh Lunch Home (Cowasji Patel St.) restaurant. Then, he quickly pointed us in the correct direction. We'd found another fabulous seafood restaurant, and quickly realized why people say Mumbai is a city with great food.

Stuffed to the gills, we started walking back in the direction of the Hotel Ascot. On our way back we planned to try to find a SIM card for our phone. I'd been keeping my eyes open for a BSNL vendor since I'd been reading that they have the best coverage for the more remote rural areas. My husband, however, had read in our brand new Footprints guide book that BSNL is the most difficult company for tourists to be able to establish an account with. We didn’t see any BSNL stores anyway and finally just decided to get any card we could find.

When we'd asked the hotel desk that morning about getting a SIM card, the guy had told us that we should also bargain on a SIM card since vendors frequently increase the price for tourists. We’d assumed they were a set price, so this totally surprised us! The first store we tried was on the main street in Colaba; the guy wanted 500 rupees for the card with a small amount of minutes. We said we'd think about it and walked away, eventually finding a small store on a smaller back street several blocks away. This guy only wanted 200 rupees (but, there were fewer minutes), so a much better deal. So, we were set for phone and Internet coverage and went back to the hotel about 5:00 thinking we'd rest a bit and then go back out. Never made it out again. Two nights in a row we were tired and full and felt no need to go out.

Feb. 6

When we booked our slum tour tickets, we’d been advised to take the morning tour since it wouldn’t be so hot then (this was going to be a recurring theme during our trip), so we were up and about early so we could be on time at the 8:30 am meeting point for our tour. We were especially interested in taking the Dhavali slum tour since we’d both read "Beyond the Beautiful Forevers", an excellent, non-fiction work that goes in-depth into the lives of the people who live(d) in the slum adjacent to Mumbai airport.

Dhavali slum was not at all what we expected, and I think that is one of the reasons these tours are offered—to take away people’s preconceptions about such places. We were also surprised at how large and well-organized the tour company was and at how many people there were on these tours since I hadn’t expected that many people would be interested in spending vacation time taking such a different tour.

The tour began as we went through Dhavali’s recycling businesses. It was amazing at all of the work that went into recycling things that we all never think about once we’ve disposed of them. It was crowded, hot, cluttered, often muddy, and we said to ourselves (as we have tons of times during our India visits) how lucky and privileged we are. After the visits to the recycling factories, we walked through areas where people live. Some were definitely more cramped and depressing than other parts, with teeny, windowless rooms where large groups of people live. In many ways the slum was just like any other town or suburb; there were less and more desirable areas in which to live with better housing options in certain parts of the slum.

In many ways this was more like a small town than just block after block of squalid, compressed housing. There was a several block long, fairly wide main market street with shops and stalls-- something else we had not anticipated. We were also surprised to learn that even after they have earned enough money to move on to a better area of the city quite a few people choose to remain in Dhavali because it is where they have their roots, family and friends.

The tour ended at the community education building where classes are given for local adult residents who hope to better themselves through education. It was a fascinating morning and something we’d recommend. Out of respect for the local residents, there are no photos allowed during the tour.

At the end of the tour, we got back in the van for the drive (maybe 30 to 40 minutes) into tourist-central of Bombay. We decided to walk back to Trishna for another late lunch. A great meal again, and after lunch we returned to the hotel for a bit of relaxation before walking to the meeting point for our evening tour of Bombay.

Up until this point our feet had been our means of transportation in Mumbai, but we knew there were more scattered places we wanted to see. So, we’d decided that taking this night tour would be an efficient way to visit some of these different places. Just like for the morning slum tour we decided to opt for the small group (4 or 5 people) rather than the private tour.

This was an easy way to see some of the places we’d wanted to visit without going to the trouble of taking taxis all around, and it was a fine couple hours. We stopped outside the home of India’s richest gazillionaire, visited Chowpatty Beach, stopped at Banganga Tank (lake), visited a Jain temple and went to the main train station. Tonight we felt we’d finally re-charged and changed our time clocks and were ready for some evening activity. After returning to our hotel at the end of the tour we walked down the street and found a nice rooftop bar/restaurant where we enjoyed the evening with drinks and snacks.

This was our last day in Mumbai because the next morning we were off to Goa. I am sure we could have kept ourselves busy in Mumbai for another day or two if we'd had the time.
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Old Aug 27th, 2015, 09:13 AM
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Still enjoying...keep it coming. Do you remember what you ordered at krishna's restaurant? My husband is not a big fan of fish so I'm wondering if there is more than just seafood and if it would be worth our while.

I'm most interested to hear about what you did in goa. Living in Florida, the beaches are not our priority. You seem to have spent a lot of time there. Which area of goa would you recommend staying in for one or two nights. We have our hearts set on going to Hampi, so we will have a driver pick us up in goa.
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Old Aug 27th, 2015, 09:51 AM
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Thanks for your reviews of those two tours!
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Old Aug 27th, 2015, 11:19 AM
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Were you transported around for the night tour by vehicle or did you use public transportation? Do you think the night tour was very informative or are they places one can go on ones own?
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Old Aug 27th, 2015, 09:04 PM
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Eager to hear lots and lots more! i was on the northern Kerala coast and in the Wayanad district (stayed at Pranavam also!) in February!! Wish I'd have known then about your itin --we may have just missed each other! Friend stayed at Dewalokum and loved it--am very much looking forward to read your impressions. We must have lucked out with temps, or locales, as i don't recall it being too too hot where we were.
Taj Gateway in Coonoor...was there for a meal in Dec 2008 and loved it (thee food and the "Raj" era ambiance). I think it was Thursdays who didn't like the place, so again, am curious for your take on it, as it seemed it would be a lovely place if choosing to stay right in Coonoor town.
Thanks Julie for taking the time to write this!!
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Old Aug 28th, 2015, 04:09 AM
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Calinurse - please refresh my memory - did you write a trip report for your February trip? Just reread your post to me about Kerala houseboats and we are leaning today taking smaller country boats instead.
Julie - did you stay overnight in the houseboat?
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