December 30th From Pollethai to Kovalam

Today we drove from the Pollethai to the Taj Green Cove in Kovalam. It was a bit of a rushed journey because a Kerala wide strike (or bundh) had been called from 2pm until 11pm to protest against the hanging of Saddam Hussein. Having experienced strike behaviour in Bangalore we decided that getting to the hotel before we had the chance to discover whether this was a peaceful or a non peaceful strike was a priority. After the Pollethai it was a bit of a disappointment, it felt cramped and we were horrified to find that a bottle of mineral water cost Rs90!

We had a relaxing afternoon - Bethan slept - and ate in the hotel in the evening.