Perhaps the most famous attraction in the state of Kerala is the backwaters, a large network of lagoons, canals, and lakes that flow into the Arabian Sea. It adds up to more than 900 km of waterways that run up and down the length of the state and there are many cities and towns that are points of entry. You can rent a boat for a half day, full day, or even hire a houseboat and live on it for a week or more (which is very expensive!).
Fort Kochi (also Fort Cochin) is the first city I visited in the state of Kerala. It’s really only known for the Chinese fishing nets that local fishermen use to catch a wide array of fish from the Indian Ocean, which they then sell whole to locals and tourists. After purchasing the fish, you can walk it a short distance and have it cooked at a nearby restaurant. Because these large, manually-operated nets are the #1 attraction in Lonely Planet, they have been turned into a bit of a tourist trap. If you walk near them, several fishermen will approach you and show you how the net works and allow you to operate it for a few minutes, and then turn around and ask you for a tip. Unfortunately, although Fort Kochi is a peninsula and therefore surrounded on three sides by water, there are no swimmable beaches in the city because they are all littered with either fishing nets or trash.
One evening in Fort Kochi (Cochin, Kerala) I decided to check out this cultural center that was advertising traditional Indian performances, specifically something called Kathakali.
All the advice online and in guide books for staying healthy in India says:
Mysore is a small city of 800,000 people (well, small for India) in the far south of the state of Karnataka. It is known as the City of Palaces and is also reported to be the 2nd cleanest city in India.
The overnight train was like heaven compared to the overnight bus. Again, we were assigned beds, each one about 6 feet long by 2.5 feet wide and we did NOT have to share a bed (yay! Team Train for the win!). The ride was pretty smooth and everyone was quiet as a mouse. Lights were turned off, but each bed had a personal lamp if you wanted to use it. Our coach also had AC and I was actually pretty cold, although we were provided with clean sheets, wool blankets, and little pillows. It was a MAJOR step up from the sleeper bus. Overall it was really easy, especially since my stop was the end of the line so there was no confusion about where to get off.
Just kidding. Hampi doesn’t have a zoo (and if it did, I wouldn’t go to it). But it does have tons of street animals. You literally cannot go down ANY street here without coming across the following types of creatures:
The Waterfall Adventure
A Night Out
The World Is My Boyfriend 