I ordered a thali for lunch and while I knew it was going to consist of a bowl of rice and some side dishes, I didn't expect the feast that was laid before me. A tray covered in a banana leaf was set with some dozen dishes; a dazzling array of colours and flavours.

Some I could identify as coconut, pineapple, banana, beetroot, aubergine, chilli, garlic, cardamom, clove and cumin, but not all. Some were hot and spicy, others creamy and cool. The waiter patiently told me the name of each dish, but I couldn't take in the details and asked him to write them down. To my surprise and delight, he arrived back with a carefully written description of the dishes, each of which contained about 10 ingredients.

Both the gesture and the dish summed up Kerala; throughout the trip we discovered that these friendly people could not do enough for us, even taking time out to write down recipes during a busy lunch service; it's a place of extraordinary people, colours and contrasts.

This time last year, I made a resolution to get out of my comfort zone, forget my fear of flying and see the world. I advise you all to make similar resolutions this year. Nothing invigorates you like foreign travel, and Kerala certainly shakes you up.

And what an antidote to the sodden country we had left behind. Ireland: grey, bleak; Kerala: sunny and teeming with an elegant people sporting hot pinks, reds and golds against a background of spinach-green countryside and silvery grey-green waterways.

Just like the rest of India, Kerala is struggling after years of oppression to drag itself into the 21st century, but it has more to offer than most Indian states. It's blessed with rich resources and awe-inspiring natural beauty.

Our tour took in spectacular mountains planted with rubber trees, tea, peppers, cardamoms and the ubiquitous coconut; visits to natural parks where tigers, elephants and buffalo roam; river trips on Kerala's famous Backwaters, and superb white-sand beaches on the edge of the Arabian Sea.

We flew into Cochin, a bustling port city, and immediate first impressions were of a world different to ours. The main roads were narrow, dusty, potholed, often dirty, with lurid signage everywhere, and as well as narrowly avoiding the many buses filled to teeming capacity, our van was as likely to swerve past -- and there was a lot of swerving to avoid shambolic traffic -- cows, goats and elephants. And, of course, automatic rickshaws -- what one rickshaw driver jokingly told us are called the 'Indian Ferraris'. These differences, we quickly came to enjoy. It was not like many other cities in the western world: there was no Starbucks, McDonald's, or Zara.

And in what other big city would you get to witness the populace dressed in their Sunday best for the annual elephant-versus-12-men tug-of-war? For the record, the elephant didn't even try. He allowed the 12 men to win hands down, and the excitement was palpable.

The people of Kerala are a mix of Christians, Muslims and Hindus, so historical monuments to visit include temples, mosques and Catholic churches. The proud boast of St Francis's Church in Cochin is that the Portugese explorer Vasco de Gama was buried in its cemetery, his remains removed to Portugal later. There's even a Jewtown, as it's called locally, and a synagogue in Cochin, though the Jewish community only numbers 32 now. There are also several palaces, but most are now museums housing historical artefacts.

One palace we visited, the Chittoor Palace, situated on a small island, was different. Though quite a big house, it was never lived in. It was just a resting place for the maharajah on his way to the temple nearby. Recently restored by business man Suresh -- a Ben Kingsley lookalike -- and his wife, a descendant of the maharajah, the Chittoor Palace is run as an exclusive guesthouse for the likes of honeymooners, who can stay in the sumptuous rooms of the royals and enjoy the idyllic surroundings and traditional entertainment such as Kathakali, a dance-drama form where every action, even the tiniest eye movement, has significance. All the parts are taken by men wearing colourful dresses and wigs, with their faces heavily made up.

The cuisine here is superb. Suresh gave us an array of delicious Indian treats, including an almond and coconut paste encased in a shell made of rice, wrapped in the ubiquitous banana leaf. It was absolutely delicious.

Among the most spectacular sights in Cochin are the Chinese fishing nets, which line the banks of the river and were first erected in the Middle Ages.

Each station consists of giant teak and bamboo poles, and cantilevered nets operated by a group of men. The nets are constantly lowered and raised, with the catch taken out every couple of minutes. We also saw men involved in what appeared to be a chanting ceremony in front of a pile of fish. This turned out to be floor trading of fish, the fish equivalent of a cattle market; Cochin is apparently one of the last bastions of this practice in the world.

In Cochin, we stayed at Brunton Boatyard, one of a group of eight hotels in the cgh Earth group. Brunton Boatyard is on the site of an old boatyard, right on the sea, but is more like your idea of a colonial bungalow: lots of long, open corridors, big spaces furnished with dark-wood furnishings and lots of crisp white linen. Like all the other hotels in the group, it prides itself on its eco-sensitive tourism, its fostering of local social and cultural values, and its true Keralan hospitality.

We stayed in three other hotels in the group: the Spice Village in the Western Ghats, a four-hour drive up through mountainy switchbacks; the Coconut Lagoon in the famous Kerala Backwaters, which link rivers, lakes and the sea; and the Mariki Beach, set right on the beach at Kumarakom.

They had many qualities in common, each spread over acres of beautifully landscaped grounds with accommodation comprising little en suite bungalows, each complete with its own veranda, and each with a similar programme of events. You could lounge at the pool, or join the resident wildlife expert in a nature walk -- both the Coconut Lagoon and the Mariki Beach have butterfly glades which are home to hundreds of species, while the Spice Village is set in a superb national park; or, alternatively, you could have daily Ayurvedic treatments. Every one of the hotels provides a full complement of massages and treatments based on this ancient Indian philosophy -- if you like a robust massage, you will enjoy them very much. You could make the whole trip a spa experience as the menus are heavy on the kind of vegetarian food so beloved of spas.

But there were differences between the resorts: the sun setting over the Arabian Sea at Mariki was a highlight; the bullock cart-ride at the Spice Village was another, bringing us through the mountains of the Tamil Nadu region and giving us an insight into the lives of ordinary Keralans as they toiled in the fields, collected firewood and worshipped in their temples. It was early morning and none of us had showered, so we weren't allowed to enter the temples. These people are poor but have a real dignity, the men in their dhotis, a length of fabric which they wear knee- or ankle-length and which they seem to use to fan their lower limbs; the women, even working in the fields, in full saris.

Boats are a big feature of tourist life in Kerala and we had many long, lazy boat rides. One such boat ride was on the Periyar Lake in Thekkady, near the Spice Village. The lake is surrounded by forest, and is the oldest and largest tiger reserve in Kerala. Here, we were advised every few hundred yards about the dangers of tigers in the vicinity but, to our universal disappointment, we didn't see any. Apparently the area is also home to 62 different species of mammals, 320 species of birds and 45 species of reptiles. We did see lots of interesting wildlife, including turtles, river snakes and other reptiles, but a tiger would have been the icing on the cake. We spotted elephants, but they're pretty common anyway; we even came across working elephants as we travelled through the Western Ghats, where they are used to keep the hedgerows at manageable height.

Along with the spectacular wildlife, we also encountered the insect life in the guise of the mosquito. The great thing about Kerala is it's not a malaria risk area, but that doesn't mean that there are no pesky mosquitoes. This means packing some absolute essentials: long-sleeved, cool, loose tops and trousers, Fucibet cream and some Deet. In between meals, spectacular sights and boat rides, we talked rather a lot about the state of our bites, and every so often the calm was punctured with the wail: "Who has the Deet?"

Another boat ride we took consisted of a trip in a kettuvalam or traditional rice boat, which is like a houseboat with a thatched roof. This took us through the Backwaters and allowed us to absorb the superb lakeside scenery and the peaceful waters dappled with the dancing sun, and quietly observe the Keralans living along the banks as they went about their daily rituals, hard physical chores, preparing meals, looking after children and washing clothes without any modern conveniences. If they spotted us, they never failed to smile and wave a greeting.

These were the poorer Keralans: we met many middle-class Keralans when we visited 'home stays', a type of accommodation similar to the Irish guest house, and they were always eager to chat about the Keralan way of life.

The caste system is something we couldn't figure out -- everyone told us it's been abolished, yet everyone seemed to know everyone's caste. Suresh of Chittoor Palace proudly told us that even though his wife is a royal, he is a Brahmin, and therefore of a higher caste.

One custom that shows no sign of being done away with is that of arranged marriages -- we met lots of professional, highly educated people who told us very cheerfully that their parents had arranged their marriage and everything had worked out fine. Apparently parents use a website called www.shadi.com, a web-based marriage introduction service.

We met one lovely, 21-year-old girl who had met the man the parents had chosen -- she liked him, and was looking forward to the marriage. She had a third-level education but wasn't planning to work after the wedding; she wanted to look after her future husband and have babies. A thousand guests would be turning up for the big day -- a varpu is the traditional dish used to feed the multitudes.

Food, of course, was a highlight and as well as superb meals, the hotel chefs gave a cookery lesson every evening. I took down tons of recipes; I bought all the spices -- one spice, cokkums, was slightly elusive, but I eventually tracked it down.

Sadly, I haven't managed to recreate the sublime flavours of Kerala. Perhaps a refresher course in the form of a return visit is required?

Mary O'Sullivan travelled to India courtesy of Sunway and India Tourism. Sunway has a range of holiday options to India including the 'Golden Triangle and Rajasthan' and the 'Essence of India' tour. The 12-day 'Kerala' tour operates year round and starts from €2,130 per person sharing, including flights, accommodation, all tours, an English-speaking guide and all taxes and charges. For all details of India and Sunway's 70 destinations worldwide, phone Sunway, tel: (01) 288-6828, or see www.sunway.ie

- Mary O'Sullivan