Reviews

Most Inspirational Moment

Going over the Western Ghats with terrific views.

Thoughts on Group Leader

OK, but not at the top of the exodus pile. the information about the country, culture and history requested by different member of the group through the holiday was crammed into a 10 minute talk on the last day.

Advice for Potential Travellers

The food budget is well over estimate on the trip noted, so change up money as you go along. The optional boat trip on the last day, get a firm price from the group leader BEFORE you go. we were told it would be 300/400R each, on the day after a 30 min bus journey the boat hire chap told us it was 750R each, not an extortionate amount of money but it left many of the group feeling backed into a corner. Once on the 2 hour trip the driver wanted to stop at a cafe boat after 20 mins (which with the service times would have took an hour), it was only the group refusing to do this that meant we carried on with the trip allowing us to see numerous interesting water birds.

Suggestions

This is the first exodus trip, that I will not be recommending to friends or fellow travellers. A bit more on the price of this holiday would make a vast improvement to the quality and location of hotels.

Most Inspirational Moment

The walk in the tea plantations and hills around Munnar was exceptional.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Mixed - the group leader was unclear in terms if explanations and in a number of cases seemed deliberately misleading - for example, the trip notes referred to the wildlife walk in Periyar being before breakfast (which is what I would have expected to see animals), however the guide changed the time to late morning and when I challenged this he told me and the rest if the group there were no early walks. When we arrived at the park we met people returning from early walks. This led me to doubt the veracity of everything he told us thereafter.

Advice for Potential Travellers

For the walk in Munnar be prepared for an excellent but surprisingly strenuous walk. In Periyar take waterproof boots as the trail is very muddy and leech-infested - two of our group were bitten by leeches, one badly who was bleeding profusely. Be prepared for VERY slow service in restaurants and hotels - in Periyar we waited over half an hour just for a coffee at breakfast.

Most Inspirational Moment

I persoanally loved out bus trip from Cochin to Munnar, to the Tea Plantations in the Hill Station. The bus trip, thoug lenghty, was relaxing, and gave me the opportunity of seeing stunning country side I wouuld have been nable to see otherwise.The tea plantations were so green and lush. To be able to see the sheer size of the plantations so high up the hillsides, and see how hard the wowmn worked at so diligently taking the leaves was a sight I shall never forget. Visiing the tea museum,and watching the whole process of how tea leaves are processed from picking the leaves to tea cup , wasreally interesting. I have the greatest respect for the humble cuppa now      

Thoughts on Group Leader

Santosh was a superb group leader. He was so warm and friendly , and a walking encyclopeadia of knowledge. He made the trip so interesting, and added his little suprises for us along the way..Nothing was a bother for him

Advice for Potential Travellers

Make sure that your clothing is as  light as possible. Kerala is extremely humid, there is little escape from it. Drink plenty water at all times, and have a hat. Take India as you find it. It is noisy and chaotic in some of he larger cities, but it all works

Suggestions

Just enjoy the food, culture, and the lovely friendly people. It will whet your appeteite, and make you want to go back to explore more of India

Most Inspirational Moment

Enjoyed the contrasting experiences of floating around the backwaters in the houseboat and then manic Madurai and the beautiful Sri Meenakshi Temple.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Lukose Thomas was a most efficient and friendly tour leader.

Advice for Potential Travellers

It is very hot and humid with lots of mosquitoes - make sure you take plenty of repellent and a plug for your room.

Suggestions

This is a well paced tour with plenty of free time which you can fill with optional visits and activities or simply relax. We used the local bus to get into Thrivandrum from Kovallem to visit the temple and palace - which was well worth the effort. We did not manage to see much wildlife on our Periyar walk - so if you are looking for variety it could be worth the effort to take the boat trip which we didn't do.

Most Inspirational Moment

For me, the best bits weren't on the itinerary; they were the incidental adventures that inevitably happen when you leave the group behind and go and explore.  Having said that, the Munnar day walk is fabulous and a great contrast to the hustle and bustle of Cochin.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our leader, Jatin, was calm and professional. However, I did feel he took a very 'coach trip' approach, in that information was usually limited to how long toilet breaks where, directing us to shopping co-operatives and leading us to ok but very 'safe' restaurants for group meals.

Advice for Potential Travellers

The trip is billed as 'leisurely' - and I'd just say be mindful of the type of people this may attract.  If you want to look at India through a coach window, be shepherded around and not have to think for yourself, and complain about not getting biscuits with a cup of tea, you'll be in your element.If, like me, this is not your thing, use the trip as a means of having your  transport and accomodation arranged, then take yourself off on your own, open your ears and eyes and get set to have the most fabulous adventures.  A word about meals: while the group dinner arrangements are handy in places like Munnar and Madurai, there are MUCH more exciting places to eat (for a fraction of the price) - so I'd urge you to get a guide book, look at the local recommendations and venture out.  As the trip notes warn, the service in restaurants is painfully slow, so the group dinners actually made for quite a painful frustating experience with 14+ people ordering, fiddling with bills etc. I'd also suggest that if you want to make the most of your time in Periyar, book extra activities in advance. It's a fair old drive to get there, so it was desperately frustrating to find, on arrival, that all of the extra hikes/safari options (other than the boat) were booked up.  We did manage to book ourselves on to an extra day hike and a hight hike too after a lot of fluttering our eyelids, but it was quite a stressful doing so.  Skip the stress and book ahead. Oh - and the morning hike arranged with the group isn't much to write home about, so if another activity clashes with the times (like the all day river rafting option, for example) I'd skip the morning walk and get out on the water. Do explore in Kovalam too - there's a much nicer beach than the main one lined with all the shops past the LightHouse - it looks like it belongs to a hotel, but it doesn't. Get yourself up the lighthouse and you'll see the track leading you down there.  A great place for watching the sun go down.

Suggestions

Go to the temples (ladies - take a shawl/scarf for shoulders for all, and you'll need full length trousers or a full length skirt for the Madurai temple - you won't be allowed in otherwise) and take it all in.  They're just mesmerising - but you need to spend time there to absorb it; a whistlestop tour won't cut the mustard.  Explore, get off the ubiquitous streets selling tourist tat and let things happen. Yes, be sensible with sanitisation but don't let this put you off having fun discovering new fruits in the markets, sipping coconut water and ordering dishes you've never heard of for the sheer delight of trying something new.  Wander, chat, ask and try - it's all there, you just need to let it happen!

Most Inspirational Moment

I was inspired by the Keralan backwaters as it is hard to find places to completely unwind and simply drift along in the sunshine with not a care in the world, only think about where you will find your next coconut to drink.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Ajith is a wonderful human being, very caring, intelligent and openminded. Nothing was too much trouble for him and he surpassed all expectations. He probably knows more about history and culture than the local guides!

Advice for Potential Travellers

Feel free to scream as much as we did during the jungle walk through leach infested bush. I am sure it is very therapeutic and funny afterwards! If you are offered leach socks, take them and the leach powder. Yes, elephant droppings that are damp usually mean that there could be one in the vicinity. You are not in a safari park.

Suggestions

I was somewhat disappointed with the standard of spoken English by the local guides at the historical and cultural places such as palaces, temples and dance/martial arts displays. I found it frustrating to not understand what I was experiencing without getting irritated. Our tour leader Ajith would have done a much better job.

Most Inspirational Moment

The panaramic view of the tea plantations

Thoughts on Group Leader

Ajay Gupta was an efficient leader but with little passion or interest in the area - South India.He is probably more at home in North India where he comes from.One of the things that struck some of our group was his complete lack of understanding about where we came from so that he had no point of reference to know where our interests may lie.  One thing Exodus should consider is letting all their long-service guides visit the UK - it would help the guides understand the people they are dealing with.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Don't take much in the way of extra clothing as it really isn't required.  Get a good road map of the area to be visited as the Indian ones are poor.  If you want some decent drinks - gin, vodka etc., buy at the duty free in the Indian airport of arrival prior to customs.

Suggestions

The local Exodus reps should spend 3 minutes checking every hotel room their group is going to use which would overcome the problems of naked wires in the bathroom, broken bulbs over sinks & dirty toilets.On the boat we had an aircon unit the sprayed a fine mist of water droplets over the bed - hasn't anyone heard of legionaires disease?Some of the worst breakfasts I have ever had anywhere in the world in hotels. 

Most Inspirational Moment

The trek we did Munnar overlooking valleys of tea.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Excellent. The best tour guide who accommodated all 15 of us according to our needs, but also by going went that extra mile to help everyone that he was in contact with during the tour - the Brick makers, the Dhobi Wallas, the rubber tree harvester.

Advice for Potential Travellers

The cost of meals varies tremendously depending on where you eat. Make sure the group leader gives you choice of the cheaper as well as more expensive restaurant/cafes. The taste of indian food is often better in the cheaper places!

Suggestions

Even as somebody on a 3 month independent travelling trip, I thoroughly enjoyed not having to think about where to stay, how to travel places, where to go, or what to see for the full 2 weeks. This made travel in India very easy. There are not many things that can do this.

Most Inspirational Moment

temple of Maduraiseeing rubber being harvested

Thoughts on Group Leader

excellent and knowledgeable