Kerala: Jan 18 - 29

Thiruvananthapuram - Varkala Beach – Kollam – Allepy (by houseboat) - Kochi – Thrissur – Calicut - Kalpetta (by bus) – Kannur - Kasargord

The Keralan Panorama

Kerala’s is a conflicted identity.

The wealthiest state in India is simultaneously the site of the world’s first democratically-elected communist government and a tourism board that proclaims it “God’s own country".

Tamil Nadu: Jan 4 - 17

Chennai - Mahabalipuram - Pondicherry - Chidambaram - Tiruchirappalli - Dindigul – Madurai – Virudhunagar – Tirunelveli – Kanyakumari

A Sense of Things

Naivety dies a quick death in Tamil Nadu.

My conceit had been to imagine I had any idea of what was coming.

I had anticipated colour: the explosive red of drying chilies, the alabaster white of ancient temples, the rust-mottled carriages of skyblue trains in front of swollen green foliage.