To choose the next place to visit we pulled out the map. We couldn’t decide on a place we wanted to go so we looked around and saw that Iduki was a cool name. So that’s where we where to go. In a split second decision we left the Yi Fan and jumped onto a public boat from Alleppy to Kotayam. It was a big old boat with a huge extremely noisy motor inside the boat. It was so noisy the driver was definitely deaf and had we not stuffed our ears with tissue paper we would have been too. The scenery was great, we passed small villages, people washed their colourful cloths directly in the river, swinging them wildly and slapping them onto rocks. The people looked up as the boat passed but paid little real attention. Some had erected nets in the water around where they where washing perhaps to prevent weeds from entering or their cloths from escaping. Other people washed their dishes or bathed in similar ‘enclosures’. There where many water birds some with long legs and necks designed especially for precision as they strike down to guzzle up a small fish or animal. Water lilies float around some with their striking purple flowers in full bloom. Fisherman in long black slender canoes watched cautiously as the boat passed, the wake was quite big so a bad angle could see you capsized. Errosion is clearly becoming an issue. Necessity is the mother of invention, stone walls are being erected along the banks, one big excavator had literally been chained to a very small barge that could have been made from big barrels and rope. The public boat pushed on, stopping at every warf that had a waving customer signaling for it to stop. Considering the size of the boat it moved swiftly and had a tight turning circle and could stop very fast when the driver jammed the boat into reverse. After about 2 hours we reached Kotayam. After several unsuccessful attempts to catch a bus we took a rick to the bus station. Unfortunately there was no direct busses to Iduki so we first had to go to Thodupuzha. Lunch at the bus stand we took the first bus to Iduki. Up up up, we were winding up through the mountains. We had no idea about this town, it was in no guide books just that it was high up (we could see this from the maps). We passed something that resembled rainforest and a big sign telling you to leave the wild elephants in peace. Small villages wizzed by. We passed rushing rivers that looked as clean as the countryside air we where in. It was a pleasant change from the crowding of Allepy. We passed what appeared to be an enormous dam. We climbed higher and higher finally coming to a peak and then began to descend. Several minutes later we arrived in a small hill station where some of the people we had befriended said “this Iduki Sir you down now” we hopped off and I went hotel hunting. Extremely crap small mosquito filled rooms at low low prices. No options that where even remotely good. Clay had got talking to some local youths and they suggested some guest houses we had passed at the top of the hill. We jumped in a rick and went to the PWD government guest house. The view was amazing. The architecture was weird. Massive echoing entrance hall with no purpose, marble floors and staff sort of scooting around wearing white shirts and bow ties. I asked to talk to the manager, “all rooms are full sir” we couldn’t see anyone else around. There where no cars in the parking lot and I walked into the resteraunt and it was empty too. The whole place had a strange feeling about it. I told the manager all places in the town where full too, he suggested some more I hadn’t heard of and I pretended we had been there and they where full too. Then he said we should try the PWD government rest house. That’s right not guest house but rest house. Back in the rick, it was about 500m away down a small road. We arrived at the rest house, it had the same weird architecture, big entrance ways with no purpose everything echoing than your average echo chamber. We where met by a man in a sarong who told us in broken English that there is no rooms here they are all booked. This time we really could see NOBODY around. We told him everything was fully booked, he suggested the PWD government Guest house, “full full full” I exclaimed. Then I asked if we could sleep in the garage. Then he said ok one moment. Out of thin air he produced a key to a room. I went with him Clay still holding the rick driver. Down huge stairs all echo echo echo with every step. Down through a high ceiling hallway. The room was enormous. It really could have been divided into 4 and still been an ok size double room. It had a balcony and a bathroom that had its own massive lobby. It was plain with nothing on the walls and there where no other guests we could see a trace of. The place was very weird. It would make a great set for a horror film.