Joan's visit - 09 March to 08 April 2013

Joan and I walking near our house in the tea plantations

Our housekeeper, Papathi, arranged a home cleansing puja for our house

March 20th, we started of on a road trip, beginning with Wayanad Wildlife Preserve, which was closed.  So we decided to see an old Jain temple in Wayanad District and then head for Kerala and the coast on the Arabian Sea.  ( Joan isn't in many of these pictures because the pictures are all from her camera.)

Sulthan Bathery Jain Temple, Wayanad

This temple is one of the most important among a series of ruins spread across the state of Kerala that testify to a period of a strong Jain presence in this region.  Believed to have been built in the 13th century, it served as a HIndu shrine, an important center for commercial activity and eventually as a battery (ammunition store) for Tipu Sulthan's marching army.

Gopal at the Khozikade beach across from our hotel, our first stop on the coast

Raintree Lodge, Ft. Kochi

Kathakali dancers putting on their makeup

Kathakali dancers

Kathakali is a stylized classical Indian dance drama noted for the attractive makeup of characters, elaborate costumes, detailed gestures and well-defined body movements presented in tune with the anchor playback music and complementary percussion.  It originated in the country's present day state of Kerala during the 17th century and has developed over the years with improved looks, refined gestures and added themes besides more ornate singing and precise drumming. (Wikipedia)

We continued south along the coast of Kerala to Alappuzha (Alleppey) where we met operators of a backwater houseboat, who had seen us in Kochi, tracked down our driver and guided us to their boat.  Hmmm.  Lots of competition.  We spent two days on this houseboat.

The Kerala Backwaters are a network of inerconnected canals, rivers, lakes and inlets, a labyrinthine system formed by more than 900 km of waterways, and sometimes compared to the American Bayou. (Wikipedia)

It was wonderful!  I had sprained my ankle badly in December and was still having trouble getting around.  So, laying back with my feet up as we glided along the backwaters was wonderful.he