Our South Indian Itinerary

It may seem that the last few weeks of our trip took in a giant zig zag- and it did. In a way, we were running from the extreme heat and in another way, we were settling into the spontanaiety of Indian travel.

This was our itinerary once we landed in Fort Cochin, Kerala:

• Fort Kochi, Kerala

• Cruising the Backwaters via Alleppey, Kerala
• A one-night stay in a backwaters town with the family of Manesh, our boat's captain
• Two nights in Amma's Ashram in Amritapuri, Kerala. I wish I had pictures, it was such an interesting experience! You can look her up at: http://www.amritapuri.org/. One of her signatures is her hugging when she gives darnas or blessings. The claim is that she has hugged 29 million people!
• Munnar, Kerala (Hill Station town known for its Tata tea plantations)
• Munnar Hills - this area is lower and known for spice plantations
• Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu - known for beautiful hiking and a prestigious international school. Very popular for Indian honeymooners
• Mysore, Karnataka (after some LONG bus rides and one stop over in Coimbatore). This was a busy town, but not quite big enough to have an airport by Indian standards. I (Sara) did many yoga classes and nearly killed myself. Indian teachers tend to push students MUCH harder.
• Mammalapuram via Chennai.
  

It was a bumpy, indirect route, but it satisfied our desire to avoid the heat and get a good feel for the South of India. We had the chance to get some amazing ayurvedic massages and treatments and really connect with the people. I would strongly recommend a stay in an Ashram. It didn't necessarily stir my spiritual soul, but it certainly stirred my sociological side and I admired all the good works being done by Amma. I hope to get my hug when she comes to Toronto this Summer!