More photos from Kodai to Kollam

OK, we're back on the road again! After leaving Trichy fairly early in the morning, we prepared ourselves for another day in the car as we headed towards the hill station of Kodaikanal. After a peaceful 3 days in Kodaikanal, we were back in the car once more for what ended up almost becoming the roadtrip from hell! You may remember our earlier blog about this adventure...we ended up having to stay overnight in Kovalam, as the 300 kilometre trip turned into a never-ending journey of mammoth proportions. Just a few more photos from Kodai and Kollam now...

A brief stop on the way up to Kodaikanal provided an opportunity to feed the monkeys...

And one even managed to jump in the car with us for the rest of the journey!

Kodaikanal was very cold and we stopped at our favourite eating spot for a ginger chai and bhajias (potato & onion mix deep fried in a spicy batter) at least twice a day!

Check out the size of these cooking pots! A small village we passed on our two-hour walk to Pillar Rocks.

The bike that rode itself!

At this restaurant in Kodai we were invited into the kitchen to learn about the different methods of making the traditional Indian breads - roti, chapati and naan.

We got into the habit of packing up any leftover food we had and buying extra rotis to give to any beggars that approached us. One night we still had some food left over so we put it outside in the cold (no fridges in the hotel of course!). The following morning we were wryly amused to see what had become of our well-intentioned offering!

The Indian method of cooling down a boiling hot glass of chai!

Another very satisfied customer. Shanks regularly consumed a couple of these massive dosas in one sitting!

No wonder the restaurant staff were so happy!

A view of Kodaikanal from our breakfast spot at our hotel.

Scenery on the drive from Kodai to Kollam

All smiles aboard our canal experience of Kollam

At roughly 3km an hour, our leisurely cruise through the winding canals was one of the most relaxing experiences we had during our travels

Onlookers!

A typical village dwelling on the embankment of the canals

Fishing on the river

A quick tour of some gardens with spice plants and tropical fruits and our three hour tour was over.