Monday, June 2

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On Friday (5/30), we spent a night on deluxe house boats in Kerala.  The boat was pretty nice and the bugs were not as bad as my professor made them sound.  The group was split up into many smaller groups based on the size of the boats; my house boat included my roommate Eric, two other second-year University Scholars Rachael and Allison, and Dr. Iacono, the director of the University Scholars program.  We had a good time relaxing and chatting while the boat toured the man-made canals.  The food and service on the house boat was great—there were three “staff” for the five of us.

The next day, we had breakfast on the house boat then drove to the Leela Hotel in Kovalam.  We stayed at the Leela from 5/31 to 6/2 The Leela is located on the southwestern coast of India.  It is in the running for the fanciest hotel I have ever stayed at.  The hotel had a private beach on the Arabian Sea and an infinity pool that overlooks the ocean.  I got my only sunburn of the trip swimming here on our first full day.  We went into town for a quick shopping trip on the second day.  I bought a bunch of fresh mangos that were delicious.  At night, it was the perfect temperature to sit outside; I did lots of my writing assignments sitting on my room’s porch.  Some of us played beach volleyball one afternoon.  I look forward to playing again sometime because diving on the sand to reach the ball is really fun.  The group needed a couple relaxing days before heading for Delhi.


I will post again within 24 hours about the last portion of my time in India.  Here are a few pictures:


Kerala House Boat




 Picturesque benches at the Leela



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