Incredible India (Part 3 - The Keralan Backwaters)

We had another beautiful, but life threatening (!) drive down from the hills to a city called Kottayam. Kottayam is listed in the Lonely Planet guide as being a hub for backwater cruises to start so this is where we headed. 

We arrived late-afternoon and headed to the Ambassador hotel (again recommended by the Lonely Planet guide, despite feeling a bit like a prison camp - Thank you Lonely Planet!). Not knowing anywhere else to go and the city feeling rather intimidating after the peace and quiet of the hills, we decided to stay here anyway as it was only one night. 

After dumping our bags we went for a walk to find this 'hub of cruises' and hopefully get some information or arrange something for the morning there and then. After walking for a while, we had not seen any other tourists, any travel agents or the river itself and could not find anyone who seemed to understand the word river!! This was not going quite as planned....and it was getting dark! Just as we were starting to panic, we see what seemed like a 5 star, 'leading hotel of the world' looming in the distance (in hindsight it was probably more of a 3 star but it was the most luxurious hotel we had seen in a while!)- being the daughter of a hotelier I knew we would find a sanctuary here! We almost sprinted through the front doors much to the alarm of the security!

The manager was most helpful and kindly informed us that we were in the wrong place for backwater house boats (Really Lonely Planet!?!?) and that we would need to get a bus 10km away to Kumarakom where we would find boats. Unfortunately it was too late to travel that evening and we had already paid for the delightful Ambassador Hotel which coincidentally was only slightly less than this Hotel Arkadia which was much nicer and even had a pool.Of course Su & I then managed to find our way to the hotel bar for a few mojitos to lighten the situation. As soon as Lex leaves us we end up in totally the wrong place!! Come back Lexy!!

Surprisingly for a hotel bar in the middle of Southern India where we had still not seen another tourist, this bar would not have looked out of place as a London club and reminded me very much of good old 24!

 Is it 24, is it Jalouse? No, just the hotel bar!

You would have thought after Lonely Planet's recent run that we would have learnt our lesson, but no we went to a Thali restaurant on their recommendation. Drum roll please......the restaurant was closed!! Luckily there was an open restaurant upstairs.

Moral of the story - give Kottayam a miss and head straight to Kumarakom or Alleppey to get a backwater cruise tour! 

The next morning we headed bright & early (we couldn't leave Kottayam soon enough!) to Kumarakom by bus. All was not quite plain sailing from here - the bus dropped us off on a dusty road seemingly in the middle of nowhere!! No sign of any houseboats, rivers, tourists, or anything really! Luckily a tuk tuk driver happened to pass and coincidentally had a friend who had a houseboat. What a beautiful boat it was! Our luck was changing and we managed to bargain him down from £80-£60 for an overnight trip including all meals from Kumarakom and ending in Alleppey on this floating palace! 

The backwaters are a network of 5 large lakes, numerous canals and 38 rivers all interconnected in all more than 900km of waterway which extends almost half the length of the state of Kerala. Vembanad Kayal is the largest of theses lakes covering 200km squared, and this is where we were. 

The houseboats are local boats called Kettuvallams which were traditionally used as rice barges transporting the rice harvested alongside the backwaters. More recently, many have been converted into luxury floating cottages as above with upstairs and downstairs seating/dining areas and air conditioned luxury rooms. 

As soon as we set off, all the tensions of getting there and actually finding a boat immediately melted away and you could not help but feel completely tranquil. The lake was stunningly beautiful and so quiet we wiled the afternoon away just watching the scenery pass us by.

It was hard not to be utterly relaxed and completely contented to do nothing but watch the world go by. Such a welcome compared to the contrasting London life. We stopped on a riverbank and a feast was served for lunch!

After lunch we carried on cruising until sunset - there were so many birds to see that Susan has become quite the bird watcher (if you know Susan, you will be able to appreciate quite how funny this is!). She was almost squealing with delight every time an eagle passed overhead.

At sunset we took a walk into the paddy fields & watched the show in it's full glory surrounded by nature with not a car, building, or any wifi in the vicinity. It was wonderful! Unfortunately sunsets never look as good in pictures, the huge blazing orange ball of sun becomes this tiny orange thing - I must invest in a good camera I apologise!!

Susan has spotted a bird!

 Of course, I couldn't resist doing some yoga in such a beautiful setting!

Magical skies at dusk (above) & dawn (below)

After another huge feast for dinner and a quiet night, we woke up at 6am to see sunrise. The world was so still & serene, it is one of my resolutions to see sunrise more often (and not by still being awake!).

Unfortunately for us, the cruise was only one day and night and we had to say goodbye to complete serenity and our floating palace. 

If you are going to South India, this is an experience you cannot miss it was so, so peaceful, such a gentle pace of life which we often forget exists. Even though we were delighted with the boat and trip we had, I would recommend starting the cruise in Alleppey where there are many more boats to choose from.

We spent the day in Alleppey waiting for our overnight train up to Goa, it's a sweet town but not a huge amount to see!

Next stop Goa!

xx

Incredible India (Part 2 - Periyar National Park)

Having been gently broken into Indian life by Fort Kochi, we set off early the next day to Thekkady and Periyar National Park a 4hour drive into the hills.

There was an option to take a bus of course (a 6hour ride), but being three of us and still feeling flush at the start of the trip we decided to treat ourselves to a taxi which cost £30 total for the 4hour journey. In London you can just about get a taxi from Bayswatet to Brixton with that! 

The drive was breathtaking, partly for the beautiful climbing scenery of tea plantations and spice farms but equally because of the breakneck speed we were flying round corners and overtaking with! Sitting in the front was a real life roller coaster I had to keep closing my eyes as it was too much to watch! For a while we thought maybe the bus might have been a better idea until we saw it screeching round corners too. It was our introduction to Indian driving! 

The beautiful drive

After finally arriving in Thekkady alive (!) we found a "Wild hut" to stay at on the edge of the park with views over the park too for a bank breaking £7.50 a night for the three of us at Coffee Inn. It was a super basic wooden hut, and doesn't quite look like the pictures on the website, but it did the job! Apparently there were two huge cockroaches sharing the hut with us too but thank goodness I did not see them and wasn't told about them till a few weeks later!!

     

      Vrksasana (tree pose) overlooking Periyar National Park

The town is pretty much a one street town which lives off the tourist trade to the park. Periyar is famed for being home to 35-40  tigers, although we were not lucky enough to see one, and even locals we spoke to had never seen the elusive creature, it is still a beautiful place. 

The Park itself is 777sq km of land with 26 sq km man made lake in the middle created by the British in 1895. We got up early the next day to catch one of the first few boats and hopefully see some wildlife! 

Periyar's lake, pretty chilled! 

The boat ride round the lake is about an hour long, and although we did not see a huge amount, it was very beautiful and serene. If you do ever go there, there is a great walk back through the park to the gates which you shouldn't miss! 

We found a great little place called Frenchies for lunch run by such a warm, friendly couple called Reggie & Supah. Supah fed, watered and delighted us with her stories so much so that we decided to book a cooking class with her that evening.  This cooking class was one of the highlights of the trip for me - we bundled into a tuktuk with Supah and her son and set off to her little pink house! That's one of the things I love about India, all of the houses are painted bright colours - pink, orange, blue, yellow, green. Walking down the street is like walking through a rainbow and you can't not have a smile on your face.

The class was a very informal class in Supah's kitchen - we chatted and cooked and chatted and cooked. On the menu was Dahl fry, Okra masala, Aveel vegetable curry, Coconut chutney, chappati and an Indian sweet  named Kesady (I will do a separate post on these, don't worry!). Supah spoke to us about life and love and gave us a fascinating insight into Indian family life. 

                  

After learning to cook this feast with Supah, we were then allowed to eat it. This was without doubt one of the best meals I had in India! I could not reccommmend Supah's cooking experience enough! It was £5 each for the whole evening and dinner too. 

             

                Supah's super smile! 

We also had the chance to visit a working tea factory and spice factory nearby. The tea factory smelt amazing! We had a very jolly guide called Benny showing us round. Although Benny was clearly very knowledgeable and charming, unfortunately it was rather hard to understand him so we are still a little hazy on the whole tea making process!

        Tea plantation! 

Next up was the spice plantation where we saw pepper drying and being made, curry leaves, all spice, tea tree, cardamom, stevia leaves and many many more delicious spices! It was super interesting to see - especially the pepper drying and crushing process as so much work goes into it. I appreciate every sprinkle of pepper so much more now! 

                 

                                     This lemon at the spice farm was bigger than my head! 

Unfortunately we had to say our goodbye (for now - don't worry she will be back later!) to Lex here, as she sped off on Reggie's motorbike to the bus station.

The last thing we did in Thekkady was head to Elephant Junction on the recommendation of a good friend of mine who had just been. We chose to have an elephant ride, and to wash and shower the elephant. I am not always a fan of these types of places given the conditions the animals are sometimes kept in, but these elephants seemed well cared for. If you are tight on time/money I would skip the elephant ride and just do the wash and shower. Su & I thought we would just be helping to wash etc the elephants but unbeknownst to us we were going to be getting a very powerful shower ourselves!! Su went first and her face says more than any words could!

No words! 

The best power shower I've ever had!

Needless to say we both ended up soaked and with big smiles on our faces! If you do ever do this make sure to take a dry change of clothes!

Next stop....The Alleppey Backwaters

xx

Incredible India (Part 1 - Fort Kochi)

I'm sorry I have been a naughty blogger, but I have good reason for it, I promise!

After finally giving up my old job (you can read about that here), I went on a little 7 week adventure to India to travel and do a 200hr intensive yoga teacher training course (YTTC). The YTTC warrants a whole (very long!) post of it's own, but before that I did a bit of travelling around South India with one of my favourite travelling buddies Su, and my amazing cousin Lexy joined us for parts too.

Susan and I have been on 6 adventures together through Brazil, to Thailand, Dubai, Malta, Barcelona and Istanbul and when she decided to join me at last minute for adventure numero 7 I couldn't have been more delighted! We both needed a break from the chaos that comes from London life and this was perfect.

Meeting at Heathrow on a rainy, windy & freezing February evening we were like two giddy school girls delirious with excitement!

Of course, we had to have a glass (or 2) of bubbles to begin the latest adventure, and naturally to help us get some kip on the 9hour flight.

On arrival in Mumbai we transferred straight through and onto Kochi. For anyone travelling through Mumbai airport, I had been warned that it would be total chaos but I was pleasantly surprised by how easy it was so don't worry!

Kochi is in the southern state of Kerala - nicknamed "God's Own Country" and for good reason too, it is beautiful! We headed straight to Fort Kochi. 600 years ago Fort Kochi was established as the gateway to India, it was from here that the colonization of India actually began. The town nowadays is a sleepy melange of worldly influences: Portuguese churches, Anglo-Dutch houses, Colonial buildings and Chinese fishing nets. 

 Our first Indian sunset over the Chinese Fishing Nets

We were hoping to wash the sunset down with a nice cold beer, but after fruitless effort to find one, a local kindly told us that the 1st of every month is a dry-day where no alcohol is available anywhere. Ah!

Luckily Lexy then appeared from the distance on the back of a motorbike, with a huge grin on her face. Lexy is one of the most amazing people you could meet! She has been on a journey herself travelling solo through Nepal, Sri Lanka and now India, a very seasoned traveler who steered us fresh faced city girls in the right direction!

We even found our way to a temple festival in a village outside Fort Kochi. We had been told there would be fire and elephants there, and although these were no where to be seen, it was still a lovely occasion and it was beautiful to see all the ladies dressed up in their colourful saris! There was a beautiful young girl who had jasmine flowers decorating her hair, she was very shy but let me take a photo! 

Although Fort Kochi was a visually beautiful little place, there was not a huge amount to do here and we found our 2 nights & 1 day was plenty. We visited the Kochi Flower Show, however this was less Chelsea Flower Show, more walking round a Homebase store! Although they did have this very cool bean man! 

Fort Kochi is a lovely little place to stroll around and watch dolphins playing in the mouth of the river, it was a perfect transition from London chaos into South Indian life. There is some delicious food too - if you happen to find yourself in Fort Kochi don't miss Fusion Bay for some great Keralan specialities, and Kashi Cafe & Art Gallery for breakfasts and amazing cakes!

Next stop Periyar National Park.....

xx

Yoga Flash Mob!

London Yoga Flash Mob!

Last Friday, with the elusive London sunshine gracing us with it's rays, I participated in a Yoga Flash Mob on Piccadilly Circus organised by the lifestyle brand Lululemon Uk.

The call to practice was sent out via a cheeky little Instagram post from their account @lululemonuk:

  Yogis from all corners of London united in what was to be an unexpectedly serene class. Being in the middle of London on Piccadilly Circus, with thousands of people passing by and traffic beeping I was expecting a fun class, but did not expect to truly be able to concentrate on my yoga. I was amazed by how easily I zoned out and managed to forget the staring, photo taking tourists and really get into the flow. Practice was over before I knew it! 

Although there was one dog who was clearly very confused by the yoga, and had a little barking episode which slightly disturbed the flow! 

Aside from this little canine, the class was amazingly serene and we even managed to practice shavasana on Piccadilly Circus, although sadly I have no photos of this. I left happy with a big smile on my face for the rest of the day.

Good work Lululemon! They are organising regular yoga flashmobs so keep your eyes and ears peeled and you may hear about the next one. Let's do this London!

xxx

Our Daily Bread....

Poor little bread really has had a hard time recently at the hand of the carb nazis, totally undeserved too. Widespread belief, thanks to diets such as the Atkins diet, is that carbs will make you fat, and must be avoided at all costs if you are ever to look like Gisele. However, the truth of the matter is that carbs actually have just 4 calories per gram, whereas fat has a whooping 9 calories per gram. It is not eating carbs which will lead to weight gain, it is over consumption in general which makes you gain weight. 

Diets like the Atkins work by seriously restricting calorie intake so that the body has to look elsewhere for energy and starts to burn body fat. This is a process called Ketosis, which incidentally also has a side effect of bad breath! Atkins and other similar diets are completely unbalanced, and are actually very unhealthy in the long run as they promote a high intake of saturated fats (the baddies) which can lead to a higher risk of heart disease.  

There is no need to go to such extreme lengths as completely removing whole food groups from your diet in order to stay in shape and healthy - especially bread which actually has many nutritional benefits! Bread is actually a great source of protein - it contains 12g of protein per 100g - this is a fair amount considering an egg has 13g of protein. It also contains iron, fibre, magnesium, calcium and zinc - all nutrients which can be lacking in modern diets. It is also a great source of B vitamins which support your brain, nervous system, energy levels, moods and keeps skin and hair glowing. 

If consumed in moderation (like all good things!) bread really can contribute to a healthy, balanced diet. It has been eaten for centuries, and forms a large part of the healthy Mediterranean diet so many of us strive for. When choosing breads, it is always important to choose a wholegrain bread with seeds (white bread is nutritionally rather empty after the bleaching process it undergoes to become white). Wholegrain breads with seeds are also low GI which means their energy is released slowly, leaving you satisfied for longer. As with all products, labeling can be very deceiving so make sure to choose a bread labeled as 100% wholewheat or wholegrain, and check the ingredients carefully as even breads which claim to be wholegrain can contain enriched bleached flour.  

Being healthy and staying in shape is not about going on extreme fad diets which cannot be sustained and ultimately only lead to temporary weight loss, it is about making small positive lifestyle changes such as switching from white bread to wholewheat bread, exercising regularly, and eating in moderation. 

See, you can have your bread and eat it!

xx

Where the magic happens..

As hard as it is not knowing what is going to happen tomorrow, or where something will lead us, sometimes we must have faith and trust that there is something greater than us out there, and that everything happens for a reason. Sometimes it is hard to see the reason at first, but this force will guide us and help us through even the hardest of times. 

For a while now I have been asking myself, 'is it really worth it?'. A life in the corporate world, a daily, miserable commute, sitting behind a screen all day feeling my back tighten and tension forming with every new email into my inbox, inwardly counting down the time until the 'working day' was over. This really cannot be what life is all about, surely there is a better way..

Being just about to take a leap of faith into the unknown, I have found myself being incredibly indecisive, anxious and doubting every single step. Even though I know that deep down that this is what I want to do, it's still not easy! What if it doesn't work? What will I do? How will I pay my bills? Doubts fill my head trying to sway my heart, and at times almost managing..but deep down I have this little voice that can barely be heard telling me to take the leap. The doubts continually morph and come and go, but the little voice is always there. 

So I have finally decided to honor that little voice and put my corporate job on hold. I have just paid the deposit to do an intensive yoga teachers training course in India. It's a big step giving up financial security in pursuit of a passion, but I feel a huge relief in finally having taking the decision, and I hope I will be able to find my way and follow my path to transform from a corporate caterpillar into a yogi butterfly! 

Sometimes you need to take a leap into the unknown, and hope that magic is waiting for you on the other side! If it is not, all is never lost, and I have faith that I will be able to put myself back on track, a happier, healthier person for having made this leap and done the course. 

I will, of course, keep you all updated on my progress throughout the course - which by the way is 6am-6pm daily with multiple yoga sessions, yoga anatomy, yoga history, philosophy, meditation and teaching, and that's just the start. Anybody who knows me knows that I have trouble rolling out of bed at 8am, never mind 6am, (in fact one friend who I recently shared my plans with almost fell on the floor laughing that I would be up at 6am!) so this is definitely going to be a challenge. I have no doubt it will be exhausting, and at times painful, but I am looking forward to every minute of it! 

As Neale Donald Walsch once said, "life begins at the end of your comfort zone", so here I go! What are you waiting for?

xx

Detoxifying my bathroom

With a society so obsessed by eating organic, and staying fit and healthy it is amazing how many chemicals we haphazardly slap onto our body without even a second thought as to what side effects these chemicals may have on us. Modern city life has become dependent on so many products - mascara, foundation, eye cream, moisturizer, perfume and lip gloss, to name a few, that it is almost impossible to completely eliminate chemicals from our daily routines without going totally make-up and product free (Nooooooooooo!). 

In order to try and start detoxifying my bathroom, I am going to start with a basic: Shampoo. Most shampoos, soaps, detergents and toothpastes often contain these three nasty chemicals:

-Parabens : These bad boys act as a preservative prolonging the shelf life of many of our cosmetic products. Recent studies have linked Parabens to certain types of cancers, most significantly breast cancer as it increases levels of estrogen. Aside from this, Parabens also rather ironically contribute to hair and scalp problems such as removing the protective cuticle and making hair dull and brittle. Why would we want our shampoo to do that?!

- Sodium Lauryl Sulphate (SLS): SLS is used as a foaming agent. Unfortunately, not all of its effects are good, and it is actually known to be irritating to the skin and is even used as a standard skin irritant in clinical studies! Again ironically for a shampoo, SLS can cause scalp problems such as an itchy, flaky scalp when used frequently. SLS has also been linked to other undesirable effects such as its ability to penetrate the cornea of the eye, even if absorbed through the skin, where it can accumulate and then be released slowly. No thanks!

-Phthalates: Phthalates act as gelling agents, and in fragrances to make the smell last longer in many cosmetic and beauty products. Phthalates are known as "endocrine disruptors" which mimic the body's hormones and have, in laboratory animal tests, been shown to cause reproductive and neurological damage. Excessive exposure to Phthalates has also been linked to weight gain in adults and children. 

Aside from the very serious cancer links with these chemicals, I personally have enough trouble keeping away from the chocolate without my shampoo contributing to weight gain too! Many chemicals can and do penetrate the skin, and with these three nasties floating around, I am trying to detoxify my bathroom products as much as I can. 

First on the list is finding a good SLS, Phthalates and Paraben free shampoo.....(drum roll please).......Jason Natural Care to the rescue! Jason have been providing "natural products containing only pure, nutritional, and organic ingredients". Given my naturally wavy (read frizzy) hair, I decided to try their Smoothing Sea Kelp Shampoo at £6.29. Like any seasoned shampoo-er, I enjoy a good lather in the shower so despite the clear benefits I would get from an SLS free shampoo, I was not looking forward to giving this up. Luckily this product still manages to give a great lather and smells delicious. After using this shampoo for a good month, my hair feels moisturized, much smoother and I have much less breakage. 

Although Jason is SLS, Phthalates and Paraben free and it is a definite step in the right direction from other mass-produced super market brands, despite their tag line ("natural, pure, nutritional, organic")  it still does have a few chemicals in it. 

This is one of the hardest things about detoxifying your products - labeling does not always clearly show what is in the product, and unless you have a science degree they can be hard to understand. Labeling laws should be much stricter on this issue so ingredients are completely transparent for users. Labeling on food items is much stricter, yet food must go through the whole digestive system (which can eliminate chemicals) before reaching the blood stream, where as any products applied to the skin go straight into the blood stream. Thus I shall continue my search for the perfect 'free from' products and keep you guys updated!

If you have found any excellent 'free from' shampoo or other products, I would love to hear about them!

xx