There had been some confusion; our flight out of Kochi was to be at 09h40 and we had been told that we would be collected at 00h30. By my calculation that would leave us sitting at the airport for seven hours and that wasn’t about to happen. Then I was told that the flight was…
And so to the final day of our holiday, always difficult knowing how to fill it. Over breakfast we discussed the options and realised that we hadn’t been off the compound so decided not take a wall and have a look at the local village. The first thing we found was a little shop selling…
Oh my word, we wake to another day of heat and humidity, so better make the best of it. Since you ask my shoulders are a little better but not much; I must take extra care not to over do things. The breakfasts here are really rather good with plenty of choice from the international…
A couple of unusual things happened today. The first is that I went for a swim; I don’t swim much these days as my orthopaedic surgeon suggested that it probably wasn’t the ideal exercise for a replacement knee and I’m not about to argue with him. The sea here looks wonderful but the beach shelves…
To be honest, it wasn’t a good night. By the time I went to bed I was feeling really rough as a consequence of the heat added to which I had started a touch of ” Traveller’s Tummy ” in Cochin. With the need to rehydrate and the result of that I was in and…
How nice, a bit of a lie in. After a delicious breakfast we were collected and driven about an hour and a half from Kochi to the jetty at Alleppey to board a houseboat for a cruise and overnight stay. Houseboat cruising has become a big tourist attraction in the area where there is a…
When Vasco da Gama, the great navigator, and his Portuguese ships arrived at Fort Cochin (now Kochi) in 1499 there were already Arab and Chinese spice traders here. For the first Europeans this place was of particular interest as it has a wonderful natural harbour and many spices were more valuable than gold. Da Gama…
I’ve said it before and will probably say it again but I don’t like early starts! Today we left the Royal Heritage Haveli hotel at six in the morning which at least meant it was cool and the roads, amazingly, were empty. A short drive took us to the airport where we reluctantly said goodbye…
Today has been extra special. Mrs Sixwheeler is tremendously fond of elephants and yesterday’s ride up to the Amber Fort on one was great fun. However today was planned to be much better. We were picked up by our driver and taken first to pick up a Rep from our tour organiser and on to…
Today we were given a real rest as we only had to be ready for 8.30 this morning; our wonderful driver was ready for us along with a new guide for the day. It had been thunder, lightening and rain all night but it had mostly stopped by now. Sunday morning brought a novel experience,…
The Sixwheeler Chronicles 