Week 2! After Jack & Diya's beautiful Indian wedding, Andrew and I went on our "second honeymoon"! We say this because we actually took a shorter honeymoon after our wedding than we would have if we did not plan our two week Indian adventure. Sooo, we wanted to make the second week of the Indian adventure more romantic and relaxing that the first week of touring and wedding fun.
We took a short flight to Kochin and then a LONG 4 hour car drive up the mountains through tea and spice plantations to Thekkady. The climate here was much more cool (in the 60's - and nope, I didn't pack enough cold weather clothes!) and the landscape was lush green. We stayed 3 nights in an eco-tourist resort. There was no internet or TV. How refreshing it was to know we could go 3 days without being connected to the rest of the world! We spent much time sleeping, reading, and relaxing. We enjoyed some of the best Indian food we've ever eaten at our resort here in Thekkady. The resort grew much of their own spices and produce - we could taste the freshness! Did I mention that I made paper and we rode an elephant?!?
 |
| Porch of our villa |
 |
| Paper Making! |
After our stay in the northern part of Kerela, we drove 5 hours to the coastal town of Kovalam. The beaches of Kovalam are a popular tourist destination for Indians and specifically Indian honeymooners. We happened to visit at the low tourist season: the plus side - our resort was not at all crowded, the minus side - we did not actually spend that much time on the beach or swim in the Arabian Sea. In Kovalam, we spent much time eating, shopping, & relaxing in the pool. I loved listening to and watching the waves explode against the jagged, rocky coastline. We took a day trip to ventrure out to Periyar National Forest & Tiger Reserve where we took a boat ride to observe wild animals. Although we did not spot the coveted site of a tiger, we saw wild elephants, boars, deer-type animals and lots of birds.
 |
| View from the coast looking at our resort nestled in the palm trees (there's a little lagoon between the resort & the sea) |
 |
| View from the coast looking out to the Arabian Sea |
 | |
| Lake Periyar boat ride |
 |
| Touching the Arabian Sea |
 |
| Enjoying our best meal in Kovalam - spicy tomato aperitif drink (pictured) and fresh red snapper grilled on a mango wood plank with roasted veggies - words can not do this meal justice. | | |
|
|
Just to say I did it, I had a "Big Spicy McPaneer Wrap" at McDonald's. Ewh - it tasted like greasy, fried, artery clogging American McDonald's. That's one thing I surely did not miss about America.
Lessons Learned in India
1. We Americans take our cleanliness for granted. Pretty much, there is no form of waste disposal in the areas of India we visited. Trash just piles up in the street, between buildings, wherever it falls.
2. That being said, one minute you can be dodging a huge trash mound, then then next turn around to walk into a gorgeous five star hotel. India is a very diverse environmentally, as well as socioeconomically. Servants, maids, and drivers are common in the upper/middle class households. We were told that given our careers in the US, we could live a very luxurious lifestyle if we were to move to India performing the same jobs.
3. Space is very limited. Very crowded and congested. The big cities of Dehli & Mumbai were loud and busy (similar to NYC I suppose). They know how to pack a lot of people into small spaces and there are the smells to prove it.
All-in-all, our India adventure was the trip of a lifetime! We would not have traded going to the beautiful India wedding of Jack & Diya for the world. We learned more about the world and the India culture than we realize, and are blessed to share this experience with our friends and each other!
