Travelling to India is not something that you can do without any preparation, and especially not when there are kids towing along. Ironically, for a place that requires the most preparation, I spent the least time preparing for it. Up until 6 May 2014, I had no idea where to go for our annual holiday in Snufkin's birthday month in June. Then, I was browsing through AirAsia destinations and saw Cochin and with a bit of research realised that this was the gateway to Kerala, one of the places in my bucket list.
An hour later, we found ourselves with flight tickets to Cochin for 21 May, which meant that I had 2 weeks to prepare for the trip. Naturally I was running around like a headless chicken trying to get the things below in order:
1) Itinerary
I had zero knowledge of things to see in Kerala. I only knew that I wanted to stay on a houseboat. But thanks to the forums on Tripadvisor and the power of Google, I decided within a couple of hours that our itinerary would include the hill station of Munnar, the backwaters of Allepey and of course Cochin itself.
Here's our Kerala itinerary for 6 days:
22 May - Cochin Airport to Munnar. Overnight Munnar
23 May - Overnight Munnar
24 May - Munnar to Allepey. Overnight in an Allepey hotel
25 May - Overnight Houseboat
26 May - Allepey to Cochin. Overnight Cochin
27 May - Fort Cochin. Night flight back to KL
There are many Kerala tour packages from Malaysia and I'm sure from other countries as well, but with a bit of research and with a car and driver at your disposal (see below), I think it's more satisfying to explore Kerala on your own.
2) Car rental
We sent requests for quotes to a few tour operators / car rental agencies and the best deal was from Experience Kerala - a chauffered Mahindra Logan for Rs1,750 per day (extra km payable ar Rs12/per km), inclusive of driver, fuel, toll, permit and parking fees.
The cheapest rate was for Tata Indica (at Rs1,600 per day) but this was a small hatchback car so comfort-wise we reckoned the Logan would be more suitable. Bear in mind that they usually do not have car seats for kids/babies but at the very least we made sure that there were seat belts at the back.
All responses from Arun at Experience Kerala were prompt and very courteous so we thought that we would have no problem with the car/driver. Alas, that was not the case (see here).
3) Visa
To apply for a tourist visa to India from Kuala Lumpur, the application form had to be completed electronically first at http://indianvisaonline.gov.in/visa. We then printed the forms, signed, glued/stapled 2 inch x 2 inch photos in the designated boxes and submitted the forms at the Indian visa outsourced centre in KL (together with supporting documents - confirmed flight ticket, photocopy of passport). Address as follows:
IVS VMS Sdn. Bhd.
G-01, Ground Floor, Straits Trading Building, No. 2, Lebuh Pasar Besar, 50050 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 603 2692 2692 | Fax: 603 2698 2692
Only one of us needed to go to submit the application but I believe this is no longer possible. With effect from 2 June 2014, capture of biometric data is being made mandatory for all Indian visa applicants (exempted for applicants above 70 years and below 12 years old). This means that all non-exempted visa applicants need to personally be at the visa centre.
For a child, the supporting documents are the same with the addition of photocopy of birth cert and parents' passports. You would also need to have a stamp pad at home to insert his/her thumbprint in the form.
Make sure that your signature is exactly the same as your passport's and is within the box. I heard that they are quite sticky on the most trivial things.
4) Vaccination
We already had Hepatitis A and B jabs so the only additional one that we took was for Typhoid. I called a few clinics and apparently it was not that easily available. Damansara Specialist Hospital (DSH) was the easiest as they did not require for appointments to be made. The clinic for the vaccination was located on the Ground Floor next to the Pharmacy and it cost RM81 per jab.
Snufkin got his Typhoid jab from his pediatrician also in DSH. The doctor advised that food and drink wise, the child should be okay as long as we stick to the tour group. I restrained from telling him that we would be on our own.
I think it's also important to make sure your child's and your your health are in top form. We started taking probiotic supplement and grapeseed extract in the days leading to and during the trip itself.
5) Malaria and dengue prevention
There is a high risk of malaria in certain parts of India but based on my research, Kerala has a low risk of malaria. Which was just as good as I was not keen to give Snufkin anti-malarial tablets. Still, there was always dengue to avoid so we took all the necessary steps to limit our exposure to mosquito bites.
We only packed light-colured clothes (also good for the hot weather) and brought at least 5 types of mosquito repellant - Mosi Guard spray and roll-on, mosquito patch, Parakito repellant wrist band and Buds Organic Mozzie Clear lotion for Snufkin's face. We have used Parakito in Laos, Cambodia and India and found it to be quite effective.
6) Travel insurance
Travel insurance is always important, but more so for India. As usual, we got our travel insurance from Tokio Marine, 6 days for Zone 1 cost RM148 per family.
7) Medicine supply
Stomach upset is synonymous with travels in India. Prevention is always better than cure but if the former failed, it's comforting to know that you have the means to cure common ailments that might come your way, Delhi Belly included. Our DIY first-aid kit bulged more than usual, filled with plasters, antisepctic, oral dehydration salt, paracetemol and cough syrup (for adults and kids), lozenges, charcoal tablets, Gaviscon and prescribed antibiotics. It felt like being in a mobile Red Cross team.
We also brought enough hand sanitiser and anti-bacterial wipes to sanitise an entire village for a month.
By 14 May, I already got accommodation and points 1 to 6 sorted, but my paranoia went on an overdrive with more reading and research. I came across stories about flesh-eating bugs, landslide in Munnar, houseboat fire, houseboat sinking, diseases that went undiagnosed and other stories that could only fit in the annals of 100 Reasons Why You Should Not Travel. At least 2 friends regaled the stories of how they knew someone who went to India and came back with a disease and died. Okaaay.
But it was too late to turn back and I was glad we did not. Kerala turned out to be an enriching holiday, perfectly safe and suitable for young children and the time on the houseboat was one of my best travel experiences.
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