Munnar's estates run up to about 2,000 metres. We walked out before sunrise with the planter's son. The air was cold enough for a wool jumper. And watched the pickers start at one end of the slope. The leaves taste of the altitude when you brew them later.

The cardamom estates outside Thekkady are mostly small holdings. Families who have been growing the green pods for three or four generations. We walked into one. The picker showed us how to identify a ripe pod by ear. You flick it and listen for the seeds. The whole forest smells of cardamom oil.

The Kumarakom houseboats are smaller than the Alleppey ones. Better for couples. And the moorings are at the edge of the bird sanctuary. We watched a purple heron stalk fish along the bank for an hour before the cook called us in for lunch. Karimeen pollichathu, parboiled rice, kerala-style chicken.

The Cochin fish auction at the Chinese fishing nets in Fort Kochi runs from about six in the morning. The Chinese cantilever nets are still in use. About a dozen of them along the harbour wall. And the auction is a fast-talking gathering of restaurateurs and fishmongers. The catch is on ice and the bidding is in Malayalam, but the prices are written on a slate at the back.