Day one, Kochi. Chinese fishing nets at sunset, a Kathakali performance where we arrived early enough to watch the make-up being applied, and a hotel courtyard with a frangipani tree in it.
Day three, Munnar. Tea in every direction, in that particular green that photographs never manage. We walked a level path through the estate for an hour and stopped four times, which was three times more than necessary and exactly right.
Day five, Thekkady. Cardamom, pepper, clove. Our guide crushed a leaf between his fingers and held it out to each of us in turn.
Day six, Alleppey, and the houseboat. I had thought it would be a gimmick. It was the best night of the trip: the engine off, the water flat, somebody’s radio playing two boats away, and dinner cooked on board by a man who had been doing it for twenty years.
Day eight, home. I have been to Kerala three times now. I will go again.
