On lighthouse beach we watched for over an hour while two teams of twenty fishermen hauled on ropes, one either end of a vast net.  They chanted and sang as they pulled the rope and took a step backwards, as each man reached the coil he dropped the rope and went forward to haul some more.  They moved back and forth along the beach to coax the net around the headland. 

It was so exciting for us to eventually see the white floats of the net come into view in the far distance and know that their labour would soon be over.  They are paid 25 Rp (50 cents) for their hours of backbreaking work + a share of the catch.

As the net came close to shore 3  men leapt into the sea slapping the water to drive any would be escapees back into the net. 

At last the brown net rose from the water and was gathered up to reveal on this occasion a paltry catch.  The smiles had gone and we were heartsick for the singing haulers on rope.

Along the beach other teams were still trawling and I wondered how many more would come in as empty as 'ours' and how often this happens.

Considering that Kovalam had the first topless beach in India these young ladies were a little overdressed for a morning dip.

'Arabian Sea', it sounded so exotic, I knew I had to go.   A tuc tuc driver advised us to head for Kovalom as the others beaches were 'for the young people'.  But it was Carol and Graham whom we met at Olive Brook in Munnar who were really responsible for our choice and for the pleasant little resort hotel we found ourselves staying in.

Talk about culture shock, the whole place seemed to be occupied by Brits on a fortnights vacation with 'My Tours' from Manchester at a cost of only 250 GBP.  Even the local touts had Mancunian accents which they certainly didn't get listening to the BBC World Service.  It made it difficult to remember we were still in India when it sounded more like Blackpool.