WINTER SUN IN INDIA
PHOTOGRAPH: PETER ADAMS/AWL IMAGES
The beaches and lagoons of Kerala are thought to be one of the original homes of the coconut palm, so if a northern winter sees you looking wistfully to these symbols of tropical ease, it makes sense to set course for the southern Indian state. Temperatures in Kerala don’t vary much through the year, but January and February are the months least likely to be disturbed by monsoon rains. Chief of all unhurried pursuits here is to take a kettuvallam (thatched houseboat) for a few days along the backwaters south of Kochi - the centuries-old Indian Ocean spice-trading hub formerly called Cochin.