The high country of the Western Ghats impressed us very much. Topographically very rugged, steep mountains rise to 7000 feet. With double monsoon seasons, varied altitude, and the equatorial sun, this region possesses incredible diversity of flora and fauna (especially reptiles).
Elephant used for skidding logs out of the forest. The wood from the harvested eucalypse trees are used in the tea factories to power the tea leaf steaming,
Tea workers sorting their crops.
The vertigo inducing trail to Top Station.
Hiking through tea plantations outside of Munnar, Kerala.
Munnar at night.
Government bus between Kochi and Munnar.
The historic, coastal city of Fort Cochin. These men are working the traditional chinese fishing nets. They are stationary nets anchored along the shore that are lowered when the tide levels are high.
Net and boat catches are all deposited and auctioned off on the main beach in Fort Cochin. 
King mackerel.
Sole, sea perch, prawns, cisco, sea bass. 
Various tuna species.
The fishing and bidding starts before dawn and goes on until well after dark.
While I watched the fishermen Melissa took a private cooking class to learn how to make a variety of chutneys, vindaloos and chapatis. The well known teacher had never had never taught a chef of her skill level.
A backwater trip. Poling through the swampy canals past villages and plantations. 
Dead rat on the road.
Trying to determine the real price of a silk Kashmiri rug.
One of my favorite things about South India is going into a "Meals Ready" locals restaurant, ordering an all you can eat Thali which is dished to you on a wet banana leaf for 20 rupees (50 cents) and eating with your hands. Hand eating rice and sauce dishes is tricky at first, but as the indians proclaim, it is a much more intimate interaction with the food, and once you are accustomed to this the taste of silverware is repulsive.
A retired TATA "Goods Carrier" in Cochin,
A domesticated Brahminy Kite- a scavening eagle that is extremely common in the region.
All the cows, dogs, cats and goats, along with the ubiquitous house crows and kites, act as the garbage cleanup crews for all of india. Goats and cows, who often survive chiefly on old newspapers and banana peels, produce milk to residents. 
The most common, and most environmentally friendly method of pest control in tropical asia are the numerous geckos which emerge from the cracks in the walls. I hope to have at least a dozen on the walls in a room before I go to sleep.
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