Hi Treesa
From start to finish the holiday was superbly organised, relaxing and varied. Our wonderful driver, Babu, was extremely safe, knowledgeable, helpful and always ready to assist or fit in with whatever we wanted to do. How he drove on those busy roads I will never know but we never once felt in danger with his careful driving.
Our 16 days felt like 16 months in terms of relaxation. The resorts recommended were truly superb and the MAP meal plans with breakfast and dinner provided worked extremely well for us because we never had to worry about where or what to eat - no stomach upsets for us which was a miracle! It would be difficult to pick out bests in the holiday but definitely Kumarakom Lake Resort with our own swimming pool in the room and the great buffet food (so many dishes to choose from) and lovely sunset cruises with local music was a definite No 1 closely followed by the beautiful Niramaya Resort in Kovalam - what a beautiful setting and rooms with own private beach!! The Rice boat on the Alleppy Backwaters was also truly relaxing with our own chef and fixer to make our 2 day stay as comfortable as possible and the upper view deck was an unexpected but, we thought, necessary bonus from which to view the local riverside life - fantastic. 2 days was a very necessary time on the boat to fully appreciate the life in the backwaters and the great service provided by the crew.
Definitely it was a wise move to stay at the Old Harbour Hotel in Old Kochin because it is so interesting in that small area and infinitely better than staying in a more modern hotel in the newer parts of town - you then would have to face the traffic to get in to the old town to sea the chinese nets, fish market and old quarter. The hotel made our 38th wedding anniversary truly special with flowers and a special table by the pool for a great dinner. All the resorts had a cultural programme of music and/or dance every night so every meal was entertaining.
The tea estates of Munnar and the jungle area of Thekaddy were very beautiful too.
It was in a nutshell (or more appropriately a peppercorn) a wonderful holiday and someday we will probably be back for a winter sun holiday from the UK, using Kerala Holidays of course - we have given your name to quite a few people already, by the way, so we hope something comes your way.
Best Regards and Thanks again
Alan and Gill Marchant
