Flavours of South India

Many thanks for such an amazing tour, "Flavours of South India". Walkabout covered all bases fabulously. The hotels were so comfortable and a retreat each day from the heat and business of downtown. I particularly enjoyed "The Spice Village", with all its ecofriendly systems in place without any compromise to comfort and luxury. Our 3 drivers who transported us safely with such skill on roads where road rules appeared to be non-existent, was indeed a blessing. It was great to see how over the 2 weeks on tour the Spice Walkabout girls all appeared to become relaxed on the road trusting our drivers to weave in and out with expert precision, avoiding head ons. Nissar saw to our every need, especially keeping us well hydrated with the welcomed bottle of ice water, and the great effort he made for us girls to be able to purchase our other drinks of choice, namely alcohol, quite a challenge in Kerala, as we found out. The food, WOW, that was amazing. And to be invited into the home kitchens of Nimi and Nazeema was a real honour. I've already attempted a few of their recipes, not quite up to standard yet, I just need to keep practising. I loved the Tiger Reserve, to watch the animals in the wild, and to see the tribal people just going about their daily activities, was great. The guides were fabulous, taking awesome photos with Trish's camera, and so knowledgeable about the reserve's fauna and flora. I always love to visit the local markets, and these did not disappoint. What a hype of activity, and abundance of amazing produce. And visiting the school and the walk in the Tea plantations, just wonderful, and, most important, the people. Oh my goodness, huge brown eyes and what beautiful smiles. These lovely faces will remain in my memory for a long time. The beautiful Sarees, the colours, a feast for our eyes. To finish off the last couple of days on the Backwater was so relaxing. Watching the locals attending to their laundry, bathing, swimming, fishing etc in the river joined along with the cows coming down to cool off was fascinating. Again, there was no compromise to the dedicated attention and food quality on board. Fabulous. Walkabout Spice Girls, what fun we all had, such a great tour. And to spend this quality time with Trish and to share her birthday, has been such a blessing for me.

When I told my wife that our tour was going to be 2 men and 3 ladies, she became very suspicious! However, once I explained that we were to be the Guinea Pigs on WGA's first trip to India all was forgiven. We had an incredible time and were taken well care of by Gabriela, Christiana and Nastassja as we ate our way through "gods own country", Kerala, the land of coconuts. The area we visited was very different than I had imagined, the water ways were captivating and the tea country was spectacular. The "jungle" area was lush with rowing hills of cardamom, rubber trees and coconut palms. All this made for very fresh ingredient for the food we ate along the way. We spent possibly a little too long in the city of Cochin learning about its history and rich culture but at the same time the Raj Hotel as our best accommodation. We were also treated to a very special degustation meal in the old town. Munnar was our next stop and was highlighted by our cooking class at Nimi's Culinary Adventure and a great walk through tea plantations. We were also given a cooking demo at our hotel which was very interesting well explained. A very memorable experience awaited us at Thekkady when we embarked on a walk in the Periyar Tiger Reserve, no not tigers but two small herds of elephant in very close proximity along with a troop of Black face monkeys. Here we visited the spice farms and markets and could only dream of where we could buy such fresh produce when we returned home. As we neared the end of our tour we were treated to a night of a traditional houseboat on the backwaters of Alleppy. Our fish for the evening meal was caught the same day and prepared by the crew... what a treat but it was over too quickly and hopefully the next tour group will spend 2 nights unwinding to take in the view and the fascination of life on the backwater. While there many great experiences and places that we visited, I will always remember our shared lunches. Always a wonderful array of curries, rices and freshly baked breads. Very memorable experience and one I will never forget.

My cousin and I had an absolutely wonderful time touring South India. We loved the adventure walks and really enjoyed the cooking classes - they were a highlight. Accommodation was first class and the Aleppy houseboat trip was fantastic. Such a brilliant way to see life in Kerala up close and personal. We were so lucky to enjoy the company of the other tour guests - such a great bunch of people and so much fun. The gentle and genuine warmth of the people we met all over Kerala was a sheer delight. Thank you for a wonderful trip!

Really enjoyed the trip. Great places visited and excellent accommodation. Good introduction to India if someone hasn't been to India before. Great traveling companions. Good fun with cooking classes and great food everywhere. Very interesting history.