GOC Holidaymaker

A brochure- online or print?

Every summer we have the same conversation about whether or not to produce a printed brochure. More and more of our customers use the internet to book their holidays and do everything online. This suits us better than having to cope with the delays of the post etc., but there are still some clients who prefer to have a printed brochure to look at as they compare trips and prices.

I must admit to being one of the latter. I can take out all the information and not only compare offerings, but gloat over the one I have chosen when I am not in reach of my computer. A phone doesn't cut it with me!

Making the combination of text and images on the page is a real pleasure, getting over the richness and beauty of the places we visit is a challenge when deciding which of our thousands of photographs to use, whether on the page or on the web.

Of course, we want the best of all worlds which is why we have decided this year to provide our page-turning brochure in a way in which clients can print the pages they are interested in quickly and effectively. You can still download the whole document, and, of course, we will send a print version if you need one. but we are pleased at the amount of paper we can save doing it this way too!

Reviews of hotels in Alleppey

Trip Advisor is featuring hotels in Alleppey. Check it out:

http://view.e.tripadvisor.com/?j=fe5b1574776301787312&m=fef213777d6601&ls=fde715727c6303787c167873&l=febe1c7974650d78&s=fe371072746d0578741570&ju=fe27157674640378721178&jb=ffce15&r=0

Trip Advisor is a really great way to keep up with what is going on around the world in your avourite hotels. We know that hotels change and that a good experience one day can be followed with a bad one when the management changes. Just a word of caution: look at the dates of the posts to make sure that the recent ones are good, and remember that people from different countries have different expectations. Look for recent reviews by people from your own country for a real sense of what you are going to experience.

Tiger-spotting at Ranthambore

Visitors to India who take a wildlife safari usually want to see tigers. The tiger is now rare and hard to spot, but Ranthambore offers one of the best options to see this sadly declining animal as the few remaining tigers in the park hunt by day and are unfazed by the many jeeps which trawl the park looking for them. 

Safaris leave early in the morning or in the afternoon and last for three hours. The demand is high, and it is best to book as far in advance as possible. At peak periods it is only possible to book for a fifteen-seat jeepny rather than a jeep. A quick straw poll on our last visit showed that you have about a 20% chance of seeing a tiger, and many are disappointed when the creature fails to show. The park, however, is so much more than a tiger-spotting experience as the huge variety of birds and animals which are seen make any safari worthwhile in spite of tiger failure. The landscape, dotted with the ruins of hunting lodges, is beautiful. Leopard, spotted deer, sambar, bear and a variety of smaller mammals are seen, even by day.

Sitting on the veranda of our lodge at the edge of the park we saw hundreds of birds and a visiting jackal, and a jungle cat hunted right under our noses. One morning we saw the pug marks of a leopard inside our resort and the hotel next door had a visit from its own tiger. The animals often hunt outside the park now, as it is easier to catch a domestic goat or cow, endangering themselves even further from angry humans.

VAT and Customs Duty

Don't forget the VAT!
On two occasions now we have been asked to intervene after clients have had goods sent home by shops in Kerala. The prices quoted are inclusive of carriage, but do NOT include our own VAT and import costs. As the shopkeepers don't know about individual country's import laws, they cannot advise on this, and it is a shock to recive an extra bill when the goods are delivered. This usually amounts to about 25% ofthe costs of the items, perhaps more where antiques are involved. The calculations are complicated, but a reasonably easy-to-understand guide can be found here.
http://www.ukimports.org/how_to_calculate_uk_import_duty_vat.htm

Duty may not be payable on antiques over 100 years old, and it is important to get a valid certificate from the seller to say this, and also to make it cler that the antiquity can be exported legally. VAT may still be payable, however.

http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageVAT_ShowContent&id=HMCE_CL_000280&propertyType=document#P24_1436

is fairly lucid on the rules.In any case, do not assume that all costs are pre-paid when sending goods home- check first!

The Nilgiri Steam Railway

The BBC have come up with another series on India which is a gentle reflection on the lives of the people concerned, this time three programmes on the hill railways which were used to transport people and goods to the hill stations ofthe Raj. Last night's was about the Nilgiri railway which pootles its way up  to Ooty, one of the richest and most select of the hill stations.
The deisel trains aren't powerful enough to tackle the steep inclines on some of the route so steam trains are still used, some 100 years old and the railway has been named by Unesco as a World Heritage location.
Rock falls, rain damage and the odd wandering elephant make the efficient running of the railway a daily challenge. During the tourist seaspn tickets are nearly impossible to buy and it is the highlight of many people's visit to Ooty.

Last November landslides took out several stretches of the railway, and it is difficult to find any information on the current state of the track. This is nothing new:

"23rd October 1865:
        Worst Storm on record occurred around ooty and Coonoor. Coonoor Railway station was covered with water up to five feet deep. In Ooty Lake rose up to top of willow bound and threatened to breach it."

http://nilgiris.nic.in/DISASTER_MANAGMENT.htm

The roads too suffer from regular landslides, but it is usally possible to get to the resort from one side or the other. Ootly remains one of the favourite resorts in the Nilgiris and last night's film gives you a taste of why. A good climate, wonderful location and gentle people with the simple aim of doing their jobs as well as they can and a pride in what they do. Watch it again on 27th February, BBC 4, or on i-player.

This  short You-Tube video is a good taster.

Video

Bombay Railway

After the depressing series of Channel 4 programmes in the "Indian Winter" season, it was refreshing to see a repeat of the BBC's Bombay Railway programmes this week. A well-researched, beautifully filmed and editied programme about the way in which people in Mumbai go about their daily lives, from the workers on hte railway to the hawkers who play cat-and-mouse with officials on the trains, it was a delight to watch after the patronising attitudes of the Channel 4 offering.

See it on

BBC i-Player 

Kevin McCloud demionstrated a great deal of integrity on his visit to the slums to find something noble in the poverty, but Gordon Ramsay's macho postering, foul language and arrogance was embarassing. Most Indians hate swearing and don't welcome informal contact, especially physical. He did exhibit great enthusiasm for the knowledge, skills and sheer hard work of the chefs he worked with. Let's hope he learned some sensitivity and manners as part of the package!

Discovering Chettinad

Discovering Chettinad

Once again we visited Visalam, CGH Earth's hotel in Kanadukaithan, near Karaikuddi in Chettinad. This is fast becoming my favourite hotel in the whole of India, not only because of the huge, sparkling rooms, large pool, frie

ndly service and passion for good food, but because the management of Mr Jonny is truly inspirational. If you want something, they will do their best to provide it, and even arrange a surprise. One of the nights we stayed was my birthday and I was presented with a cake, complete with a candle, and a  rendition of "Happy Birthday" by staff who looked as though they were performing in the West End in terms of their seriousness and desire to get it all right. The extra surprise came when Mr Jonny called and sang Happy Birthday to me over the telephone, all co-ordinated by Ramu, the under-manager. This was not a put-up job. The reception staff had seen my date of birth in my passport and it was all done without giving my partner any clue.

A bicycle ride around the village reminded us that this is indeed a land of rare treasures.
Ramu took us to see his family home and we were awed by the richness of the carving, all the pillars round the atrium being carved Burmese teak. There are over 30,000 palaces remaining in Chettinad, most of them in dire need of renovation and preservation. A similar building in another village is being converted into another CGH Hotel, with the usual care and attention to detail. The famous egg-white plaster will take 18 months to complete. 
Chettinad is only beginning to reveal itself as a fascinating and beautiful area. The landscape is flat, and  what looked barren last April was now under water as the rains begin.
The most beguiling part of the journey was the discovery of a very old temple at the end of a long avenue of terracotta figures, put there by worshippers for the protection of their village. Anywhere else and this would have been a major tourist attraction. Here it was simply part of the village, and it was the villagers who showed us round, a small child appearing at the right moment to translate for us. We barely had enough small change to give everyone their share! The journey to the temple was through a traditional village where the ancient buildings, chicken coops and granaries begged for us to stop and find out how it all worked. Alas, we had to move on. We are sure that we will be sharing this experience with customers very soon as Chettinad develops.

Cochin Airport- Update

The International Terminal  at Cochin Airport has reincarnated itself into a modern facility a far cry from the
old area, with its upholstered chairs, one coffee stall and a meagre duty-free section. Some of the tatty chairs remain, but the new, expanded terminal with its increased number of gates, is clean and bright and the plastic chairs are actually comfortable. The duty-free and gift shop are now adequate, and there are a number of places to buy a drink or snack. There are still no restaurant facilities, but a least it is possible to survive flight
delays without hunger pangs!
The toilets have not undergone the same upgrade, the gents being still unpleasant and wet, but the ladies is
spotless.
After only four years the exterior of the building is beginning to degrade and Cochin still has the feel of a
very small local airport rather than an international terminal. There are still few direct flights, most international flights originating from the gulf states, but given the overstaffed and paper-based nature of security it is generally a pain-free experience.

Small Hotels and Homestays

The Government of Kerala has made the decision to encourage the development of small home stays and local places to stay rather than allowing the larger chains a free hand. The previously quiet and undeveloped area of Marari Beach is going to be developed and there are plans for some larger resorts along the coast there. This will change the area enormously, but there is little danger at present of a concrete wall going up all along the beach. The Tsunami made people very cautious about beach-front development, and most of the buildings will be well back behind the small palms which front the sand.
During peak times accommodation in the better-known hotels is very difficult   to find, and indeed, for most of the year there is a dearth of rooms in larger hotels.
Travellers often prefer the thought of small, more intimate places to stay, and in these Kerala abounds. Some are famous across the world: PhillipKutty's Farm on the backwaters, Malabar Escapes and Serenity, and others which have only three or four rooms but offer the standards of luxury of a five-star hotel.
We are sometimes asked to book homestays, and where we can we will, but we, as agents, have problems with the smaller businesses which have mushroomed in places like Periyar and the backwaters.
We need to be absolutely sure that bookings don't get lost, that we can make email contact and that payments are acknowledged. Unfortunately, some of the newer business people are not as efficient as we need them to be and "Home Stays" don't live up to expectation.
There are a number of very small places which we can use with confidence, and we do book these for customers who want a getaway, or to get closer to the way in which people live in Kerala. This number is growing all the time and the home stay experience is just one which makes Kerala really special.

Rain Trees

One feature of Cochin which remain in the memory are the huge Rain Trees which provide shade and shelter in the streets of Fort Kochi. They are not indiginous to India, and were brought from the Americas at some time in the past. We have been told that Vasco da Gama was responsible for their introduction, but it is unlikely that they were planted so long ago. Others say that the British brought them, but again they are probably not the responsibility of the East India Company. Whoever planted them, they are a wonderful addition to the city.
From a distance their canopies spread like umbrellas. From the front in Fort Kochi the islands of Bolgatty and Vipeen are outlined by their shapes. Close up, each tree is its own world with an ecosystem all its own. A large variety of birds and insects live amongst the fruit and flowers, and their branches are festooned with ferns and other parasitic plants.
I was staring up into the top of one huge Rain Tree when a local man pointed out that if the plants which grew into it were cleared, the tree would die. He told me that they were supposed to be cleared every year. Again, I don't know whether this is true or not, but they are much loved by tourists and locals alike.
 The trees look old and fragile, but it is hard to see just how poor their condition is. A storm in April 2009 brough down more than one huge branch from the trees which shade the edge of the Parade Ground near St Francis's Church.