[bennett]

Kerala is certainly extremely beautiful but it depends really on what you are looking for & how long really you want to stay. To get a decent grasp on the place if you have never been I would recommend staying a few nights in Cochin , the airport is quite nice & only about an hr away from the town, taxi?s are cheap. You can book a hotel online, [I liked Fort Cochin] The town is very historic but all of this you can find out in the Lonely Planet Guide. The town of Ernakulam is a very cheap ferry ride away & worth a quick visit if only to get a feel of life in an Indian mini city, [if its a quite & peaceful time your after stay away from built up area`s]. You must take the backwaters tour, that leaves from Allepey an hr south of Cochin or better still book online to stay at a residence on the backwaters, [Emerald isle] is a nice homestay, run by a very nice Syrian family, you can find them online]. If it is a quiet & peaceful beach you are after that gives you nothing to do but imagine you have drifted back in time 100 yrs & doesn?t cost that much then I recommend taking an 8 hr train ride from Ernakulam [ there are 2 stations so watch out that you are at the right one] North to Tellicherry or Thallasary, [same place] then a 10 minute tuk tuk ride to Muzhappilangad beach. The tuk tuk can drive along the beach until you come to The Beach Pavilion homestay, when there ask for Mohan the owner,[ tell him that Paul recommended him & you may get a discount] The beach is approximately 2.5 miles long, wide with gentle surf, the water is quite warm & very safe although after the rainy season can get a bit polluted. Although cars etc can drive along the beach they are rare except on holidays usually you find just the fisher men hauling in their nets & local boys playing cricket [after school]. The homestay provides meals which are basic but not bad & you get some wonderful characters staying there long term, i.e. Geri the German, Big Brian the English man & his Norwegian girlfriend Ingeborg [February- March]. You wake up to the sound of the women beating up the washing on a rock then walk down to the fishermen?s hut where you can buy a cup of Chai for about 3 rupees or stay in bed until one of the staff wakes up & opens up the kitchen. Its a funky place & you may find a property to buy on the beach & end up living there [the worlds cheapest beach property] the Indians with money prefer to live close to the road [go figure]. There is a very good Indian restaurant in Tellicherry on Logan st called [Ra Ra Revis] don?t ask me why. Good luck. Mysore is a nice city the others are best avoided until you are used to India. Don?t drink the water but you knew that. When in Alleppey, there is a cafe next to where you catch the boat for the backwaters cruise, DO NOT EAT THERE. [ I did unfortunately it ruined the next two days.
Thanks
Bennett