Kerala – Judy and Valerie On the Road

Varkala – best dosa in town!

It seems to be the case that Dosas are only served at certain times of day – mainly in the morning for breakfast but we found one place in Cochin (Sri Krishna mentioned in a post right at the beginning of the trip) they were only served at lunchtime.

Today we really fancied a dosa for lunch but the Ootupura restaurant only served them up to midday. But the man there told us that if we really wanted a dosa we could get one in a little place a few minutes away in the main road. So we walked in the blazing sun, weak from hunger ( we’d got up very early so we could do yoga on the beach before the sun got hot), and eventually came to a little unprepossessing eating place at the side of the road. And there we had the best dosas either of us had tasted. Freshly prepared especially for us

and the two together cost 96 rupees (just over £1).

I don’t know the name of the place but it’s just further up the hill from the Krishna supermarket on the way up from the temple junction. Here’s a photo.

if you’re in Varkala it’s definitely worth a visit.

Varkala – Spice shop

Just down the road from our hotel is a delightful spice shop with spices from the owner’s spice farm in Munnar. We have stocked up with Masala spices but also have discovered Keralan raw chocolate – It is delicious !!!

But also he has raw cacao and I’ve discovered that it’s very good for you. You can buy cacao nibs back in England and add them to your breakfast. Yum

Varkala – Janardanaswamy temple

Near Varkala beach is the 2000 year old Janardanaswamy temple. When foreign tourists visit you have to wait at the bottom of the stairs while the man at the entrance sets off a fire cracker for each visitor, presumably to give warning of our visit.

The walls around the inner sanctum have hundreds of oil holders which are filled each day and the wicks are lit at 6:30.

Varkala – fishing village

We went for an early morning walk along the long long beach to a fishing village. The fishermen were hard at work bringing in their canoes.

We decided to explore the village and found a little place selling chai. So of course we had some sitting outside on the step. Then the lady suddenly brought out an appam on a plate for us, and then a second appam, and then some sambar. So unexpected and it was delicious

Takeaway thali for the train

Travelling by train today from Cochin down to Varkala – a four hour journey. Found a lovely veg restaurant which did us a thali takeaway (South Indian Thali Parcel it was called).

delicious and we managed not to spill any!

The restaurant is also part of a hotel and we’re going to stay the for our last couple of nights. Simple but clean rooms with a/c for £26. It’s called OYO Gokul Ottupura. The restaurant is lovely.

Wayanad wildlife national park

We went on a half-day jeep safari in one of the Wayanad national parks. The safari itself was a bit disappointing as we only saw monkeys, deer and bones, but the forest/jungle was beautiful.

Hana

Hana (Valerie’s niece) has been travelling in India since the beginning of November and we managed to meet up with her in Kannur. She was in Goa and managed to get the last ticket on the overnight train and we met up after breakfast and got the bus together to Mananthavady.

Hana is travelling for a further three months so good travels Hana x

Trek into the Forest

Went on a 16km trek in the forest. It was very hot with a very steep ascent. On the way we saw …

and

Varnam Homestay – Wayanad

Travelled to Wayanad from Kannur on the local bone shaker bus. Good air conditioning (no glass in windows) and an easy 3 hour journey.

Varnam is an organic farm and our host Beena is extremely knowledgeable on all the plants and trees on her land, together with their medicinal properties. Here are some photos of the farm.

Thottada beach

Stayed at the Blue Mermaid Homestay on Thottada beach close to Kannur. Delicious food, friendly hosts, lovely garden, and the other side of the garden is this beautiful beach