India
New Year’s Day 2013. We set off at 10 a.m. after a rather disappointing breakfast considering the banquet offered the previous evening! The staff seemed a bit subdued as well! John bought a Ganesh wooden statuette and got on the internet to post 2 blog items and get emails. Unfortunately in the time Face book refused to load the video of the greeting to Ciarán. It was another long scary drive with a stop at a fascinating Orthodox church with murals well explained by the resident guide who quite unashamedly asked for a donation. We had coffee and vegetable snacks at a touristy café which was a bit overpriced. When we finally arrived at the town for the Periyar reserve we found we were at a hotel in the town. The room was described as a jungle lodge with a balcony view over a flooded waterway and various hotels and distant hills. It was clearly run down and not up to standard. I spoke to the driver and the local agent and to Anthony who explained that air con was not available at this...