For Christmas vacation we headed out on an amazing 15 day vacation to the beautiful country of India! We visited 4 different states during this vacation: Kerala, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan. We spent the first part of our stay in Kerala with our good friends the Traynor family volunteering at a convent and visiting some of our limousina friends. The second part of our trip, we spent exploring the northern part of India. Mami and Papi decided to surprise us and meet us there. It was so fun exploring and experiencing this with them.
Day 1: Our recoup day!
We arrived very early on Saturday, Dec. 26th. It took us a while to get through immigration and to the hotel so once we arrived at the hotel, we just crashed, ate room service and relaxed.
curries? yes please!
Cochin, near our hotel
Day 2: Exploring Fort Kochi, first day at the convent
On our first official day in Kochi we decided to explore the city a little. We visited one of the oldest Catholic churches in Fort Kochi, than visited the Chinese fishing nets. Kerala was colonized and influenced by many different countries and cultures such as the Portuguese, French, Dutch, Danish/ Norwegian because of their bountiful collection of spices, teas, and trading goods. It was also a very accessible port.
One of the oldest Catholic churches in Kerala
The Chinese fishing nets were very cool, and contradictory to what is believed they were not introduced by the Chinese but by the Portuguese.
The system of the Chinese fishing nets is sufficiently balanced that the weight of a man walking along the main beam is enough to cause the net to descent into the sea. The net is left for a short time, possibly a few minutes before it is raised by pulling ropes. The catch is usually modest: a few fish and crustaceans which are sold.
A little shopping, mingling with locals and making new friends!
"Lunch, party of 13!"
We were continuously amused at how cheap we could feed our families. It was a continuous joke at the end of every meals to guess what the grand total was.
We visited the Dutch Palace
Kristy set up a 3 day service project for us at a local convent "Cottolengo Special School for Intellectually Challenged Children" that took care of children and women with disabilities. We had a wonderful time getting to know these wonderful sisters and the girls that resided there. Our first day, we just talked to the girls, sang songs and got to know them. We than followed them to mass and participated in their service. This was our first time assisting a Catholic service.
Day 3: Cottolengo Convent, tuk tuk experience, Kathakali and Kalaripayattu performances
On our second day at the convent we made crafts with the girls they can sell to raise money for the convent. They had so much fun!
We also did a little gardening
The sisters showed the boys how to husk and cut open coconuts. The boys love that of course!
And I loved drinking the sweet coconut juice and tasting the delicious tasty coconut.
After volunteering we spend some time in Fort Cochin for more souvenir shopping and some delicious Indian curries! I had the best paneer masala! It was so so good!
Once we got home, Jon and Kevin took care of the kiddos while Kristy and I ventured out to find a grocery store! That was a serious undertaking! We had not found one in the 3 days we were there, and we needed some juices, and snacks there children would enjoy eating between meals. It turns out it was on the third floor of a shopping mall!?!?!? We also had our first tuk tuk ride experience!
We had so much fun!
That night we went to Green Village and enjoyed a kathakali performance which is Kerala's character dance, Kalaripayattu which is the traditional martial arts of southern India, as well as other Indian dances.
Waiting for dinner is hard to do when you are hungry! Luckily this restaurant had a carousel the children could ride on to keep their minds off of their growling tummies!
Day 4: Last day at the convent and visit to Midhun's house!
On our last day at the convent we decided to pamper the girls a little by painting their nails.
The boys also did a little yard work!
Saying goodbye was bittersweet! We were excited to go on our next adventure but were sad to leave the sisters and the girls. We grew attached to them and they attached to us. They asked us to come back every december! Who knows, maybe we will be back next year!
After much driving and much anticipation we arrived at Midhun's house!
We were all very happy to meet each other. They welcomed us with fresh coconut from their garden.
Midhun had promised the boys tp take them on his motorcycle so he did! They all loved that!
Midhun's family prepared a traditional malabar dinner (kerala food).
It was very good! Kiki and Eden loved eating the little bananas!
We than exchanged gifts. We had brought dates and arabic coffee for his parents as well as a Silver Museum earrings for his sister and girlfriend. Midhun gave us a beautiful woodcarving of a snake boat race. He than rode with us to Munnar.
Throughout our trip to Kerala and even to the rest of our vacation we used a lot of these bags for the people with churning stomachs being impacted by the winding roads and stop and go traffic!
Day 5: Munnar with Midhun and drive to Alleppey!
Midhun planned our entire day visiting Munnar with him and some of his friends. Sadly we were only there one day so we were limited in what we could visit. He took us to Eravikulam National Park, the drive there was stunning, with lots of hills covered with tea plantations, waterfalls, and greenery. The park was beautiful as well. Wild goats were roaming around the trail, the kids loved seeing them!
It was so great to see Midhun and spend some time with his family and friends.
He is such an amazing person!
On our way to Alleppey we stopped by an herb garden.
I always love going to those and learn more about the medical use each plants have.
Day 6: Houseboat in the beautiful backwaters of Alleppey!
Being on the houseboat was definitely one of the highlights of the trip! The boat was fully staffed and had four bedrooms with their own bathrooms, a lounge on the upstairs deck, and a dinning and sitting area on the main deck as well as a kitchen. It was a pretty big boat. It was very relaxing to just sit and enjoy the scenery.
The captain of the boat was very cool and let the kids steer the helm, and you can imagine that the children loved that! He was a pretty great babysitter too!
We enjoyed a nice traditional lunch!
I'm not one to venture out and eat things that look like they could still be alive but the fish was actually very good.
We stopped at a little fish market and picked up our dinner: Prawns!
We also got some ice cream to cool off from the heat!
The kids enjoyed playing card games, coloring and mingling.
Oh the beautiful sunset!
That night Kristy and I took over in the kitchen.
The kids wanted some plain boring American food.
The chef thought it was pretty funny to have us in there cooking away.
And it was fun for us as well.
Day 7: Relaxing at Punnamada Resort
Jon and I woke up early and enjoyed the most beautiful sunset! The scenery was breathtaking. I could not stop taking pictures! As the sun was breaking at the horizon radiating beautiful colors, it was a testament to me of God's love for us. He created this beautiful world for us to enjoy and be a part of.
Being on the houseboat was very relaxing and a lot of fun. All of us agreed that next time we need to stay for at least 2 days.
Breakfast!
Our awesome staff
After docking both families went their separate ways. The Traynor family headed back to KSA and we spent a few more day in a nice resort in Alleppey.
Punnamada Resort was very charming, it had a pretty colonial feel to it.
On our first day there we just spend time relaxing in our room and dipping in the pool.
Outdoor shower, my favorite!
Pool time!
Day 8: Marari Beach and some shopping
Today we decided to visit Marari Beach. It was a nice quiet beach. There was but a few tourists there perhaps 3 families, the majority of the people there were locals. Julien and Logan enjoyed jumping and crashing in the waves while Kiki and Eden had fun digging in the sand. They also had fun taking care of the hermit crabs Julien and Logan were bringing back.
After the beach we headed downtown Alleppey for some shopping!
That was a lot of fun!
Jon bought a lot of banana chips, he loves that stuff. They flavor the chops in many ways so they don't really taste like bananas but more like flavored crunchers. My favorite however are the tapioca chips.
One of the highlights of today was shopping for a saree. We went to a local silk shop and shopped for fabric and for some reason Logan had forgotten his shirt in the van so here we were the only westerner family in the entire store with a teenager shirtless walking around looking for fabric. We got a lot of looks, stares, and followers. Logan was so embarrassed, he was walking around with his arms wrapped around his chest. It was pretty funny to watch. We then hurried and found a shirt to buy so he could cover himself up.
Once I had picked the fabric we went to a seamstress who took my measurements and make me a beautiful saree in under 1 hour. She was very fast! I was amazed at how inexpensive it was! Between the fabric, tailoring, and tip, I believe we paid less than 1200 rupees which is about $15. Not bad for a custom made outfit. Jon and I also took a tuk tuk back to the car which was a lot of fun!
Eden having fun splashing around in the shower!
Photoshoot time!
I just love these cuties of mine!
Julien
Logan
Kia Ora
Eden
Jon
Day 9: Varkala and visiting Sree Kumar
Our Varkala day was long! The traffic in Kerala is pretty bad because the road system is not good. It took us several hours to get to Varkala beach, but once we got there, the scenery was beautiful. Varkala beach is surrounded by red rock cliffs. The contrast in colors of the ocean, white sand, red rock, green shrubbery and palm trees agains the baby blue sky and while clouds was stunning. We enjoyed spending time relaxing on the beach. Jon and I both agreed that next time we visit Kerala we need to stay a few days in Varkala. It is a pretty cool town.
Julien found these cool cooking pots in the ocean
While we were in Varkala we were able to see Sree (one of our limousina drivers), and meet his family. Sree is so nice. His flight got delayed and he arrived in Kerala a few hours prior. Eventhough he had not seen his family in 2 years, he still made time to meet us for a few minutes. He even brought us coconuts from his garden and some nuts. It was very thoughtful of him.
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