Fort Kochi (Cochin)-our luck ran out!

A 4 hour train ride this time which made a nice change from 6 to 7 hours on buses.  Had a meal in the hotel restaurant that night, but neither of us particularly enjoyed it and didn't actually finish it. An hour later and Dave was sitting on the toilet, soon after that I was in there bringing up more than I had just eaten!  Followed by several more visits during the night with action from the other end.  It seemed a bit quick for the hotel meal, so we are tending to think it may have been a dodgy biryani we both ate at the train station before we left Calicut. 16 days without trouble, odds were that something was bound to catch us eventually. Whatever the cause, it wiped us out for our first day here in Kochi. We booked another night to compensate. Back on track this morning we ate a plain omelette each and set off to explore the town.
We headed for the harbour to watch the fishing nets in action.  Amazing contraptions, all counterbalanced with rocks and sort of cobbled together with various poles lashed together with ropes.  Dave got called in to try his hand at pulling a net in. Quite sad to see the size of fish that they catch (and keep) as it isn't the best season right now.  After that, as we wandering along the waterfront, we were intercepted by yet another tuk tuk driver, offering a tour of the town for 50 rupee ($1) in his 'Indian Ferrari'.  An offer too good to refuse in the heat, and we weren't exactly full of energy after the previous night and day.  The driver had really good English and showed us around lots of interesting places many of which had Portugese and Dutch heritage.  Some of the approx. 500 yr old Portugese warehouses are still being used for spice warehouses today.  Showed us a co-op where a certain caste of people do handwashing in a big complex.  Lots of old fashioned prop lines for drying, and then to top the manual process off, they still use heavy old irons with hot coals inside, to do the pressing. Of course his tour also included a couple of handcraft etc shops. Everything is so gorgeous it is hard to resist, and they all have a pretty good line of patter too...
We have booked in for an overnight cruise in the backwaters, starting at lunchtime tomorrow, so here's hoping the boat is actually as nice as it looks in the hotel brochure!

Mysore and Calicut

Arrived in Mysore after our 7 hour bus trip.  It's amazing how the bus drivers handle their vehicles, they are never content to sit behind a slow vehicle,  they just pull out to pass in the most unimaginable places, tooting their horn flat out. Most of the time a gap just seems to materialise for them.
First traffic lights we have seen in India!
Our hotel was just a 5 minute walk from the bus station.  Long enough to be propositioned by numerous tuk tuk drivers, one of whom gave us his card and a good price for a tour. Decided to just have an easy day first up, so walked to the zoo and spent about 3 hours wandering around there. Nothing particularly unusual there but it was well laid out with about 5 km of paths to wander around. An easy way to spend the day.
The next day we phoned our tuk tuk guy, who sent his brother to do the job.  He took us up the Chamundi Hills which had a famous temple,  plus a great view back down over Mysore. On the way up he offered Dave a go at driving the tuk tuk.  After a couple of kms and a few crunched gears he took over again.  We then got taken around a series of various 'handcrafted' factories. They were in an older part of Mysore so we got to see some interesting sights between visits. Watched them hand rolling their local 'beeti' cigarettes (all natural tobacco, no additives!) Amazing speed and all the same size, could roll up to 2000 a day. Next was an essential oils place where there was also a woman hand rolling incense sticks.  It looked simple, but I discovered, when I had a go, that it obviously takes a lot of practise. She could roll up to 2500 a day. Then on to the obligatory arts and craft place where we actually went a bit mad. So many beautiful scarves, pashminas, jewellery etc.  Picked up some scarves and a beautiful turquoise and silver bracelet. Just as well it is not much longer that we have to drag our packs. We have been quite restrained (or constrained, due to pack size!) up to now. Next was a sandalwood factory where we managed to resist buying anything. Finished off the day with a wander around the Mysore Palace, another example of faded glory. Unfortunately we weren't able to photograph inside as some of the ballrooms and state rooms were still impressive.  The cost for the tuk tuk for all this touring around for 5 hours or so.... 200 rupee ($4) - we actually gave him an extra 100 rupee as he had been a good tour guide.
Mysore to Calicut (Kozikhode)
Another luxury bus trip. Only 6 hours this time, but it had other challenges! We looked out of the window at one stage and realised we had been climbing, and were now at the very top of a large hill.  Going down involved negotiating 9 hairpin bends, some of which the bus had to back up and take a second stab, before getting around.  Sweaty palms until we had safely made it down to the bottom. We also drove through a National Park / Reserve, and could see spotted deer and a few monkeys as we went along.  Calicut was just a staging post on our way to Fort Kochi, not really a must see destination.  Nevertheless we went for one of our wanders and found ourselves walking through what seemed to be a vegetable wholesale area full of trucks and people staggering around with sacks of produce on their heads and shoulders.  Really interesting, but really dusty and smelly too. Finally found the beach we had been looking for, then, having had enough of the sun we headed for a nice air conditioned mall to have lunch.  Next stop Kochi.

Mangalore

Arrived at 10pm after our 8 hour train trip.  Hotel seemed okay, but the bedding felt damp. After a couple of days we were noticing a very mildewy smell each time we re-entered the room. Only 3 nights /2 days here. The first day we just felt like wandering around the city a little and found our way to the bus station to check out our trip to Mysore. Meal prices were less than in Colva Beach, not such a tourist oriented place.  Lots of universities here.  Decided to do the taxi tour thing again but got a bit caught out by doing more kms than the standard allowance. Put the price up by $10 but still very reasonable.
We did quite a circuit going to see an old Jain temple - 'Temple of a Thousand Pillars', then a 42 foot statue- also Jain related.  After that we headed back towards Mangalore taking in the beach and 3 more temples. 
1st built around 1000 AD
2nd was newly opened in 2012
3rd built in the 900s
I think that is enough temples for now.  We always feel a bit intrusive amongst the devotees who are worshipping, although we are welcomed to go in.
Luxury bus to Mysore, air con, reclining seats, with cockroaches in the upholstery.  Bit of a hairy trip through the National Park area, reminded us of Albania.  Safely arrived in Mysore, hotel good, sheets dry.

Goa

Apologies for the lack of blog since our arrival in India.  For the IT capital of the world it seems to have slightly dodgy wi fi services so far.  Anyway, communication issues aside we have been enjoying India most of the time.  Sometimes the heat and the dirt gets to you, but that's just the way it is.  Being the rainy season the humidity is pretty high as well.
We stayed at Colva Beach for 6 nights.  Took a taxi ride to see the Northern beaches and Old Goa and the Fort one day and then another taxi ride the next day to visit a few temples and historic mansion house.  Apart from that we went for walks up and down the beach, dodging rain as we went, not always successfully, but you dry off quite quickly. In amongst all that we had some lovely food and got to know the next door restaurant staff quite well.
Took a train ride to Mangalore, 440 kms for $1.30 each.  No frills, but not uncomfortable. 8 hour trip.  We met a lovely Indian couple and they made suggestions for the rest of our Indian travels.

Arrival in India

Just about to have a sleep, it has been a long day since we arrived at Heathrow and then flew to Mumbai and on to Goa.
We thought we would be clever and get a Tourist on Arrival visa as we are NZ citizens and can do that.  Didn't figure on it taking over 2 hours to complete  the process though.
Still, we have made it to our Colva Beach hotel and will kick back for a few days now.
Photos later when we have done some exploring.

London

Arrived in London late Friday afternoon after train delays and proceeded to find our hotel in Southall. We arrived at the Southall station and were ask by an Indian chap, 'have you been on holiday', we replied by saying that we are in the middle of our travels and that India is next, his response was, 'you have found India right here', he was correct, Southall is predominantly Indian residents.
Saturday morning and after an hours travel on train and tubes, we arrived at the Borough Markets to meet and have breakfast with Caitlin and Gub, friends of Gabe from school, it was great to see them. Next was a walk over London Bridge to the Tower of London where we spent several hours delving into London's history and looking at the Crown Jewels etc.  The Yeoman Guard who took us around should have been on the stage, good value, but also got lots of information across as well.  Unfortunately it was all so interesting that the next destination was closed when we got there, so we had another beer, booked 'Stomp' tickets for Sunday and went home. Somalian for tea.
Day two started with a 1 hour wait to see the changing of the guards, we got sick of wating so we started our sightseeing of the famous 1 sq mile.
Stomp at 3pm (great show) and dinner in Soho.
Day three started with another Cathedral, St Paul's. This place was really impressive but you can't stop thinking of the people all that money could have helped at the time of its construction.  Dave did really well and managed to make it up to the outside viewing platform.  I was impressed!
We had a pint at the Old Swiss Cottage and then off to Abbey Road to walk over the zebra crossing with everybody else. Indian for dinner at Southall and an early night as tomorrow's Heathrow check in is at 8am.
India here we come...

Heading North - Part 2

First stop Melton Mowbray, for a pork pie,  which we found at a car boot sale (in a cafe, not a car boot, I hasten to add). Then on to Newark on Trent where there was a great castle ruin alongside the river.
Next stop, Lincoln, for yet another amazing cathedral, which dated back to the 9th century in some parts.
After that we headed for Edwinstowe (chosen purely for the name- Edwin is a Hopper 'family name'), and close to Sherwood Forest.   When we arrived we discovered that it was Robin Hood's town and the 29th annual Robin Hood Festival was on.  Just to top it all off we were put in the Maid Marian suite!
Unfortunately we were a bit early at Sherwood Forest in the morning, saw a few people already dressed in character, visited the 1000 yr old oak tree, then left to carry on our road trip back up to Upholland (our English home base)
We came across Ashford in the Water (got to love the English names!) which was actually a lovely little village of stone cottages which apparently get snapped up by Londoners for holiday homes.
Next stop was Macclesfield, which wasn't so gorgeous.  It was one of the main towns for work houses and textile mills (especially silk), I guess it's not a coincidence that the two went together. Then we hit the motorway and back home to relax. A few days to unwind, book tickets for India and home and just kick back before London.  Did a trip to Liverpool one day and Southport another but not a lot else, which was great after the road tripping we had just done.

England heading back north (1)

Left Weymouth heading north again.  First stop was Old Sarum a site that had been occupied since BC.  All the civilisations seemed to  have taken a turn there. Romans, Normans, Saxons.  There wasn't a lot left to see, mainly outlines on the grounds.  You could look across the Salisbury Plains though and see the Cathedral that was built in opposition to the existing one at Sarum.
Continuing north, we had been recommended a visit to Avebury Stone Circles as an alternative to the usually packed Stonehenge.  As it turned out, we drove past Stonehenge on our way, so I took a couple of photos out the window.  Avebury is reportedly the largest stone circle area in Britain.  Mind boggling imagining how, and why, they manoeuvred all those stones without the benefit of modern technology.  Lunch at a lovely thatch rooved pub next to the stones, then on up to Witney, just out of Oxford, for the night.
Oxford the next morning.  We wanted to visit the Pitt River museum and some pubs I had read about, so we didn't really explore the old university halls.  Also it is the summer break, and the town is full of tourists rather students. Pitt River museum defies description really.  You could lose yourself in there for days and still not see everything.  It was started from one man's (archaeologist / anthropologist) collection of 20, 000 items, and has continued to grow with other people's donations.   Anything from old toys to shrunken heads to feather and bead work to hunting and fishing gear to snuff boxes..... you get the idea! After that we found the Eagle and Child- where Tolkien and CS Lewis used to hang out, then The White Horse, a medieval pub dating back to early 1600s,  we had a pint there and then headed off for Stratford Upon Avon - Shakespeare's home town.
S U A had a lot of lovely old buildings, plenty of photo ops,  and we managed to locate his birthplace, then visited his grave in the church as well. After a pleasant couple of hours wandering around we drove to Earl Shilton, nothing remarkable there.

England and Wales going south

Taking advice from Chris, the first stop was Chester an historic walled city with yet another amazing cathedral. After that we headed on to Llangollen for our first night in Wales.  Old country pub with another Cistercian abbey ruin from the 1200s nearby.

Heading south the next morning we discovered an amazing aquaduct for canal boats, it was pretty high up, Dave wasn't comfortable going more than a few steps onto it.  I was fractionally more brave, actually managing to step out and take some photos.  Drove down through the middle of Wales and made our way to Chris' sister's house for the night. We added ourselves into their local pub quiz team, but that didn't do anything for their results! Not last, but definitely not first either.

Next morning we saw Caerphilly Castle then headed on to Bath. £5.60 for parking! Lots of  lovely sandstone buildings and the Roman Baths of course. Not overly impressed. Carried on our road trip heading for Wellington.  Stopped in a country pub for lunch and caught a bit of the Somerset drawl.

Next day we back tracked up to see Dunster Castle. Well 'preserved', it was more of a stately home than a castle.  The snooker table played very true as Dave discovered when invited to have a hit. The village alongside the castle was very quaint, plus there was a delicious fudge shop.  Left here and headed off down the coast road towards Cornwall. Seriously underestimated the amount of time required to wind through all  the country roads so we didn't get as far into Cornwall as we were hoping to, only got to Wadebridge then started heading across Devon towards Weymouth.

Arrived in Weymouth and found our hotel.  Thought we had been time warped back into the 50's.  Penny arcades, amusement parlours and even donkey rides on the beach.  The place was packed with holidaymakers though, UK is having its best summer for years apparently.

Scottish road trip (part 2)

Leaving Inverness travelling south the first stop was Culloden, an insight into how men got themselves killed on the battlefield. The Jacovites charged through swamp and thick heather towards a well equiped and organised English army, they didn't stand a chance.
Just down the road to Aberdeen we stumbled across an abbey ay Kinloss where we found some NZ airmen graves (2nd WW stuff).
Stayed the night in Aberdeen at the Thistle, what a treat with swimming pool and a good breakfast.
The next morning we visited Dunnottar Castle, neat old ruins on a cliff top dating from 1100s but mostly from 15/1600s.
Mist was rolling in from the sea as we arrived (see photos). Next stop was Carnoustie golf course to see an Open venue, looks hard enough to play when placid, let alone when the wind is howling in off the North sea.
Edinburgh the next morning and walked the royal mile up to the castle. The outside grounds were all set up ready for the military tattoo. Edinburgh is a lovely city but a bit "brown". Went across the border the next morning and spent some time meandering through the Lakes District.