Colombo, Sri Lanka
There's a pagoda beside the jetty of Philipkutty Farm that has a view I'd be happy to call paradise, and when I emerge from our cottage at 6.30am our yoga teacher, Surdeep, is setting up mats in it facing the lightening sky.
I walk over to him and introduce myself in the quietness of the morning and he takes hold of my arm and looks at me very intently, asking my name. I tell him and he beams at me. "You are a man of great peace, Mr William. I see it in your face, I see it in your eyes. You are a happy man, a wise man! It is my pleasure to meet you."
Blimey! I'm not sure if he's giving me a bit of spiel but his grip and his gaze seem deeply sincere and when Imogen arrives a couple of moments later he gives her a straight forward greeting with just the usual pleasantries, none of the rather reverential attention he's bestowed on me. Lord knows what's going on.
Our yoga class is almost two hours long and full of both heavy physical exertion and deep breathing techniques. As Imogen and I have been practicing yoga for a while now he gives us the no-holds barred experience and it involves many techniques I'm not familiar with alongside others I can do with ease. My body is quite literally stretched to its limits.
The most incredible thing however is the fact that we do it all facing the beautiful sun-rise and finish with a powerful meditation. It's all very spiritual and feeling at one with my surroundings I decide to take a dip in the lake, immersing myself into the warm, fresh waters like a baptismal pilgrim.
I hop out again pretty damn quickly however when my feet touch the bottom and sink deep into an incredibly slimy bed of mud at the same time as some kind of creature slithers against my leg. God knows if it's a fish or a snake but it breaks my blissed-out trance and has me back on dry land within seconds.
After breakfast we sadly have to pack our bags and leave all too soon. Our fellow guests are all staying for a number of nights and we are deeply envious, wishing we had opted for more time here and just done an afternoon cruise rather than staying overnight on the houseboat but it's all been a wonderful experience; truly beautiful and deeply relaxing.
At 11.30 the boat takes us to the mainland and Tensing drives us the two hours back to Cochin airport where we say farewell and check in to our Sri Lanka Airways flight to Colombo.
Once through a very swift immigration process we find ourselves in a truly bizarre duty free experience. Here you can buy fridges, washing machines, food processors, televisions and so much more. It transpires that there is a hefty government mark-up on electrical goods so Sri Lankans often buy these at the airport on the way back from foreign trips to avoid the taxes.
We decide to stock up on wine instead as it's proved to be a expensive indulgence in India and we expect Sri Lanka to be the same. What the hell, we'll throw in a litre of vodka for good measure; a wise choice as we discover the following day.
In the arrivals hall is our guide and driver holding up a sign for us. He introduces himself as Kingsley and proves to be both a wealth of information and extremely talkative. This could well become a double-edged sword as we will be spending a lot of time with him over the days to come and if our drive from the airport to hotel is any indication, we will have a non-stop commentary to accompany us.
Part of this involves his career history, having been recently made redundant after 26 years at the Mount Lavinia five star hotel in Colombo, and we're also told about his last guest who didn't tip him enough. Looks like our ground rules have been set!!
Darkness falls as we drive into Colombo and suddenly hundreds of fruit bats fly overhead, setting off for their nocturnal feasting. Traffic starts building up as we approach the centre and all of a sudden we're driving through the old town which is thronged and chaotic, a Saturday night in full swing. Neon lights and street traders, crumbling buildings and crazy traffic all provide an overwhelming sense of a throbbing metropolis that could be a third world city anywhere from North Africa to South East Asia.
It's a bit of a shock after the tranquility of Kerala, and not quite what I was expecting having heard that Colombo was very much racing ahead into modernity. Most tourists don't bother visiting Colombo preferring to just go to the resort of Negombo on the beach near the airport and laze around but this is one of the most exciting cities in the world right now, although we are wondering what the hell we've let ourselves in for.
We crawl through the city districts of Pettah and Fort, driving up Main Street and eventually hitting the sea front where all the big international hotels are situated. We carry on past them driving for another mile or two wondering where our hotel can be.
We've chosen a unique and boutique residence called Casa Colombo, a 200-year old private mansion that's reputed to now be one of the funkiest hotels on the planet and is part of the reason we've chosen Colombo rather than some luxury beach resort for our first couple of nights.
Eventually we turn down a tiny inauspicious alley, and there before us is Casa Colombo. By God, it doesn't disappoint. Colonial and old the building may be but it's been redesigned to an incredible degree and our suite is a great place to stay for a couple of nights.
It's full of hi-tech electronic gimmicks and quirky touches including a hidden stereo system, computerised lighting, an enormous copper bath in the main bedroom, a very high, ornately decorated ceiling and a separate bathroom divided into three sections, with angular concrete structures. Named The Schofield Place, after a 19th century governor of Sri Lanka, it's pretty jaw dropping. We even have our own butler, called Gayan.
By now it's 8pm and we're pretty tired, but a glass or two of duty-free vino tinto and a bubble bath later and we're all set for dinner in their restaurant, called Haven. Bizarrely for a Buddhist country, one entire wall of the restaurant is covered by a mural of four Hindu holy men floating on clouds.
But the most surprising thing is not the decor but the prices - curry leaf mojitos are just £3 while our utterly delicious main courses of ginger and lemongrass chicken on coconut risotto and an artichoke and mushroom crumble with mango salsa are just a fiver each. This may be the swankiest joint in town but at these prices we can live like kings.
Replete, relaxed and ready for sleep we ascend the antique staircase and fall straight into bed. Tomorrow we hit the city to discover what Colombo is really about!
