WINE DINE & TRAVEL MAGAZINE SPRING 2014
This issue features stories that illustrate a range of emotions. From death on the Ganges River to the joy of renewal in Utah, the stories in this issue are entertaining and thought provoking. WDT takes great pride in our wonderful writers and gives them the rare opportunity these days to write in-depth length stores rich with information, detail and personality. Our many thousands of our readers have come to expect this kind of travel journalism and if you’re reading this, you probably do too. We’ve grown again with this issue, publishing more than 90 pages of solid editorial content. We’ve grown because WDT is fortunate enough to attract some of the very best travel and food writers in the industry. In this issue, the talented writers who have contributed since our inaugural issue last year are joined by some veteran talent making their WDT debut. Among them are two Brits, Mark Moxon and Amy Laughinghouse, evocative writers who can make you laugh out loud or maybe just reflect.
This issue features stories that illustrate a range of emotions. From death on the Ganges River to the joy of renewal in Utah, the stories in this issue are entertaining and thought provoking. WDT takes great pride in our wonderful writers and gives them the rare opportunity these days to write in-depth length stores rich with information, detail and personality. Our many thousands of our readers have come to expect this kind of travel journalism and if you’re reading this, you probably do too. We’ve grown again with this issue, publishing more than 90 pages of solid editorial content. We’ve grown because WDT is fortunate enough to attract some of the very best travel and food writers in the industry. In this issue, the talented writers who have contributed since our inaugural issue last year are joined by some veteran talent making their WDT debut. Among them are two Brits, Mark Moxon and Amy Laughinghouse, evocative writers who can make you laugh out loud or maybe just reflect.
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Kerala has a cell phone and Internet connection,<br />
and its literacy rate (90.92 percent<br />
for all people there) and life expectancies<br />
(68.23 for males and 73.62 for females) are<br />
well above all India levels.<br />
We stayed at the Trident Hilton in Cochin,<br />
an excellent hotel with beautifully<br />
landscaped gardens on Willingdon Island,<br />
about 20 minutes from the city center.<br />
One of its finest features is its Ayurveda<br />
Centre that offers many single or multipleday<br />
treatments.<br />
Ayurveda is an ancient healing tradition<br />
that began in India about 600 B.C. It seeks<br />
to achieve an optimum balance between<br />
mind, body and spirit. Ayurvedic procedures<br />
are done either to detoxify the body<br />
or to help strengthen its immune system.<br />
I experienced the rejuvenation massage<br />
and steam bath wherein two masseurs<br />
massaged my body with special medicated<br />
oils before securing me in an herbal steam<br />
bath. It was a unique massage experience.<br />
The Kerala experience was surely the most<br />
relaxing way to begin a journey to India.<br />
IF YOU GO<br />
Check availability at Oberoi Hotels’<br />
web site for its M.V.Vrinda: http://www.<br />
oberoihotels.com/oberoi_vrinda/. A<br />
two-night, three-day cruise is about<br />
$750 for two people, all meals and excursions<br />
included.<br />
The Trident Hotel, Cochin: http://www.<br />
tridenthotels.com/cochin/hotel.asp. A<br />
single night begins at about $100 in<br />
this elegant, contemporary hotel with<br />
77 rooms and eight suites.<br />
To hire local guides throughout India,<br />
including Cochin, go to http://www.<br />
coxandkingsusa.com and find the best<br />
local experts available.<br />
Top: We transferred to a smaller vessel to cruise the<br />
narrow canals of Kerala, where we got really close<br />
observations of the traditional ways of life there.<br />
Middle: The 100-man crew in a snakeboat gets<br />
ready to race on the waters of Kerala in southern<br />
India. Bottom: Traditional rice boats are common<br />
sights on the waters of Kerala in southern India.<br />
46 Wine Dine & Travel Spring <strong>2014</strong>
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