Abraham's Spice Garden/Connemara Tea Plantation

It was an enjoyable morning visiting a spice garden and a tea plantation. Krishna was my guide at the spice garden and he showed me many of the spices and native plants of South India. It was very interesting to hear how each of these spices/plants are used not only in cooking, but also how they are used medicinally to treat many ailments. I also had a tour of the Connemara tea factory where we got to see the process of how tea is manufactured right from the picking of the leaves to the packaging of the leaves and powder. The tea industry employs about 2 000 000 people in India with about 80% of the tea remaining in India. The Indians love their tea, however, most enjoy the powdered tea that is stirred into hot milk and it is sweetened with sugar. This is not my favourite way to enjoy tea and it is difficult to get a good cup of loose leafed made tea. The women work very hard picking the tea leaves in the fields. They work 8 hour days and for this they receive 20 rupees (50 cents) per day! A very hard life they have!

Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary

Had a great day at the Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary! Periyar is South India's most popular wildlife sanctuary encompassing 777 square kilometres. It contains a 26 square kilometre man-made lake created by the British in 1895. I took an 8 hour hike through the jungle with an Ecotourism company. It was 5 hours of trekking and a 3 hour paddle on a bamboo raft. Some of the wildlife we saw included elephants, wild boar, bison, sambar, monkeys and 2 mating cobras! There are approximately 40 tigers within the reserve but they inhabit the part of the sanctuary that is off limits to people. Only about 60 sq. km. of the 777 sq. km. sanctuary is available to explore. A highlight of the day was a visit with some of the tribal people who were fishing in the lake. As you can see, they use pretty primitive methods for catching their fish. They catch a variety of very small (minnow like fish) which are then dried in the sun and brought to the market to be sold late in the day. Typically they can catch 3 to 4 kilograms of fish per day which they can sell in the markets for 120 rupees (3 Canadian dollars) for the whole family! These were obviously very poor people and lead a life that it hard to believe!

Thekkady

I had a very nice week in Thekkady! Thekkady is 185 km inland from Cochin and is 2700 feet above sea level. I stayed at the Club Mahindra Tusker Trails and stayed in my own hut designed in the traditional Indian "machan" style. It was situated in a thickly wooded plantation of coffee, cardamom, pepper as well as teak and fruit trees. I was quite entertained all week by the monkeys that swung from tree to tree above my hut even though they were early risers and could be quite loud so early in the day. It was a great place for walking and visiting the spice markets in the village. There were some great restaurants where I enjoyed many fabulous Indian foods. I also took 3 cooking classes but you'll read about that later. The temperature was also very nice being at such a high altitude. I enjoyed escaping the high temperatures and extreme humidity of Cochin.

Mysore

I just spent a fabulous 3 nights/4 days in Mysore! Mysore is an one of the most incredible cities in South India and has a population of just under one million people. It is well known for its bustling markets, monuments and friendly people. I agree! It is also a centre for the production of silk, sandalwood oil and incense. I stayed at the centrally located Parklane Hotel and it was a great place to not only stay but to eat at the restaurant. The food was absolutely delicious! The state of Kerala is well known for its vegetarian cuisine so I have been doing my share of this type of eating (okay I'll be honest, it has more to do with the state of how the cows and chickens are raised here than being in a vegetarian state!). I spent a whole day exploring the sites having Raymond, the rickshaw driver as my guide. I hired him for 8 hours and it cost about $5 to have him show me around. We started the day at Cafe Coffee Day, where I began all mornings, and then we explored places like Government House, the markets to see silk and cashmere shops, the Government Silk Factory, a sandalwood oil shop and of course, a ride up Chamundi Hill! Chamundi Hill stands 1062 metres above sea level and is located 13 km south of Mysore. The highlight of the drive up and down the hill was driving the rickshaw! Part way up the hill Raymond asked me if I would like to drive and of course, I'm always up for the challenge! I drove most of the way up but had to pull over near the top before we entered the area where the police hang out. I guess having a rickshaw license is important here. Also, once we passed the steep part on the way back down, Raymond let me take over again. I guess he wasn't totally confident as he didn't let me do the steep part. He actually stopped to show me an area of the cliff where all the rocks were knocked through. Apparently, a driver had gone over just the day before!! Only a broken arm however! I also spent the next couple of days visiting St. Philomena's Cathedral which was built between 1933 and 1941 in a neo-Gothic style. It was a beautiful Cathedral! Sorry Mom, but English mass was at 7:00 a.m. so I didn't make it! I also strolled through the markets and purchased smelly spices (sorry honey!), went to various museums and visited Mysore Palace. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me on Saturday evening when they lit up the whole palace for a half an hour. Magnificent! I would have loved to have a photo of this to show Lauren and Cameron! Anyway, a wonderful time in Mysore!