Image from Kerala (God's Own Country)....

This was supposed to be a quick blog about one image that really touched me from my trip to Kerala with Mum earlier this year.  But when scrolling  backthrough the pics, there were so many images that that reminded me what a rich and vibrant country this is so here they are, in no particular order..... except the last photo, which is the one that inspired this blog in the first place!

a tea picker in Munnar

 

very Christian community

Mum holding a slipper flower

Tea plants are actually a variety of camellia!!!

on our tea factory tour, this guy, our guide, was like a tv evangelist
 preaching the wonders of the tea process (can't remember a word he
said cause I was too busy sniggering at his lecturey style!

an auto overflowing with pineapples, the scent was overwhelming

jammed on the roads

and THIS is how a cashew nut grows!

yummee carrots

this wild honey seller had Mum and I in fits, I had to buy some of
his disgusting honey because he was so entertaining (and grubby)

chai wale
YES ..... THAT'S AN URN OF BOILING TEA ON THE BACK OF A SCOOTER!!!!!!

Kerala Trucks are gorgeous!

these boys had made their own go karts

Patients should be reported?

 

bangle spying

is that really a word? (seen on an ageing "machine" within a
tea processing factory")

Shah Rukh Khan was EVERYWHERE!

Chinese fishing nets near Fort Cochin

happy, smiley kids on the school bus

I've always been fascinated with the obvious sense of pride that truck & bus owners must possess.  Their vehicles are decorated with intricate designs, that usually reflect their beliefs (don't look inside them, cause they are usually a complete cesspit which ruins the beautiful external imagery!)

in a street procession we happened to stumble upon, this man's costume was
 so striking I couldn't get my camera out fast enough ... and then, he
looked right at me just as I clicked!

we met Adam who was COMPLETELY, I MEAN COMPLETELY
enamoured with the Kathakali drummer (he had a six pack to die for!)
and couldn't believe it when his camera battery died BEFORE he'd managed
to take a happy snap!  So, seeing his distress, I took it for him
(Adam is now my newest Facebook friend!)

the female in the Kathakali dance performance

the star of the show, the Kathakali dancer applying his makeup

can't remember hearing Mum ever squealing in delight as she did when
our elephant moved and startled her (she didn't want to touch him
near his mouth as the muthoot suggested) 

in the tea plantations of Munnar, they appear to mark the tea plants for picking on a certain day, this was the ONLY place we saw it

Munnar & Thekaddy seemed to the THE honeymoon destination.  All the new
brides were proudly wearing their wedding bangles, faded henna stained
feet & hands on show and once I realized jUST how many of them they were,
I made it my mission to take as many bangle shots as I could
(another blog in the making)

and finally, this man, so serene, sleeping under a tree in the sticky heat of a Kerala noon sun with his sweet, calm face cupped with his hands despite the noise & bustle around him .. I can only wonder who he is, what he does, what he's dreaming about..........