Kerala for Christmas

Kerala is in the far south-west of India. Resource-rich and more socially-minded, it is a more wealthy place - and tourist-friendly, mainly because it has better roads - by Indian standards. One of the highlights of Kerala are the backwaters, quiet canals that serpentine from the ocean inland. After a quiet night in Alleppy, we hopped aboard a house boat on Christmas Eve day to explore the backwaters in style. We spent the day and night lounging, reading, chatting, and eating, served by our staff of 3 including a wonderful and very sweet cook who made enough food for 10. Since Kerala has a good-sized Christian population, there was music all night, and Sarah and I slept under the stars. In the morning, we were graced by a lovely sunrise.

Men wear dhotis here, which are pretty much a bedsheet wrapped around the waist. It appears to be appropriate attire for just about anybody - laborer, businessman, hotel manager, though I have yet to see anybody riding a motorcycle in one. They are ankle-length, but are often folded up to the knees, and so look quite like wrap-around skirts. I have yet to be able to take anybody in one very seriously. Which seems ok around here because people are pretty happy and friendly, laughing and smiling a lot.

We are now in the mountains in eastern Kerala, where the vast majority of the country's spices are grown. The whole town smells like a mixture of cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. The mountains are small but beautiful - they're all pressed together with deep folds in between, and mist gathers in the valleys. We're hoping to explore some if we can figure out how.