India Itinerary

My mom and I are flying to Mumbai direct from Joburg, we land there at 5 minutes past midnight on the 29th of November. Overnight at the Eastern International Hotel on Juhu Beach, possibly take in the sights of Mumbai before winging our way to Trivandrum, capital of the south-western state of Kerala.
We then spend 2 weeks at the Sivananda Ashram on Neyyar Dam. There is a strict daily schedule which includes a 5:30am wake up and 4 hours of yoga practice. I can't wait! If you've read Yoga School Dropout (loads of fun :)you'll have a better idea of what we're in for.
My dad joins us at the ashram for our last 3 days and then -- Yippee Yay Yay -- we pick up J at the airport in Trivandrum on the 15th of December. The four of us then work our way up the coast. First 2 nights in Varkala -- my folks get to stay at the gorgeous Villa Jacaranda, while J and I stay at the less gorgeous Sea Pearl Chalets.
Then we board a swish rice boat at Alumkadavu and cruise the famous backwaters for 3 nights. This looks incredible! En route to Allepey we'll visit the Hugging Mamma, ancient temples and just soak up the timeless ambience so beautifully captured in The God of Small Things.
We disembark and spend two nights in the Keraleeyam heritage cottages that provide ayurvedic treatments. Sigh. Yes, it's tough, but someone's gotta do it ;)
On the 22nd we board an overnight train to Chennai and we'll spend a day and a night at the YWCA there before catching a flight to Port Blair, capital of the Andaman Islands in the middle of the Bay of Bengal.
We catch a ferry to paradise island Havelock and spend Christmas and New Year at Barefoot. My parents leave on the 1st of January, J and I on the 5th.
Jason heads back to Afghanistan on the 6th, while I spend the month hopping about -- possibly Pondicherry before departure from Bangalore on the 2nd of Feb. Flying via Bahrain and will be back in South Africa on the 3rd of February.
Fun fun fun :)