There are some of them-plastic, paper, steel, wood and so on. But long, long go –many thousands of years ago, there was a time when man learns how to make use of stones. That period of time in history is known as the Stone Age.

Neolithic man lived during the Stone Age. In some ways, he was like Neanderthal man, but in many other ways he was different. Neanderthal man lived many thousands of years before Neolithic man.

Neolithic man looked more like a man and less like an ape. He was both a hunter and a farmer. He grew crops for food and he domesticated animals that were useful to him.

He could make fine weapons and tools out of polished and ground stone. Do you know he polished a stone? He rubbed one stone against another very hard. He then sharpened the edge off the polished stone by chipping off flakes. In this way, he made axes. He could clear the forests now and grow his crops. He also made sickles to help him cut the harvest. When he went out to hunt, he carried a bow and arrow.

Neolithic man did not live in caves like Neanderthal man but the built huts out of mud and dried bricks. He knew how to make pots and pans and he could weave baskets. He could also and weave cloth out of flax. Thus he clothed himself better than Neanderthal man.

Poor Neanderthal man could only cover himself with animal skins. Though Neolithic man was very clever, like Neanderthal man he could not read or write.

Neolithic man did not know about God but he worshipped the earth which gave him food. He worshipped the sun which gave him warmth and made the plants grow. Sometimes, he worshipped even plants and animals.

One of the places where Neolithic man lived for over a thousand years was in the south of England, which was then known as Britain. These Neolithic men are still remembered because they built Stonehenge on the plains of Wessex. Even today Stonehenge attracts thousands of tourists.

Megaliths are huge, single stones weighting many tons. Neolithic man used thousands of these megaliths to build Stonehenge. These stones were of different sizes and shapes and set up in different patterns. There were full circles, half –circles within circles and horse-shoes. There were single stones and stones balancing on others. There were big stones, bigger stones and biggest stones- all standing tall and firm.

The men of Stonehenge believe that there was magic in these patters and so they carefully planned how they should be set up. The sites were also chosen with care. Stonehenge was not built n a month or even in a year. It took hundreds of years for it to be completed.

Was stone useful to the men who built? Some of the single stones stood over the graves of important men.

Other stones were used as altars where offering were made to the sun. The priests of these early men are called druids. They used Stonehenge as their temple. Stonehenge was also used as a kind of calendar. The druids were so clever that they could tell when the seasons would change by watching the position of the sun over these stones. They knew which was the longest and the shortest day of the year.

Have you over tried to carry a large heavy stone across the garden? It is not an easy task. And yet Neolithic men were able to set up these huge stones without the help of any machines. Some of these stones weighed more than five hundred tons and these stones were brought from very far-off places. We still do not know they did this.

Stonehenge must have looked very beautiful especially in the moonlight. Hundreds of huge stones stood up proudly against the distant hills and the distant sky. No wonder the men of Stonehenge were filled with awe when they saw these megaliths.

Like India, ancient china was a land of farmers. Every year a very important ceremony was held in the temple of heaven on New Year’s Day. Even the rulers took part in this. He thought it was one of his most important duties.

The Chinese were clever enough to learn how to write even in very early times. It started as simple picture writing and slowly changed to the writing of today. At first they made simple picture by typing knots in rope of string.

The Chinese must have also found this very difficult and so they learnt to cut pictures on bamboo strips. This is why the Chinese write from top to bottom. Later the Chinese wrote important records on silk with brushes made of camel hair.

The Chinese were the earliest people to make paper out of mulberry wood shavings or linen rags. These were crushed and soaked to make a paste, then spread out and beaten to thin sheets when these dried they became paper. The Chinese had many firsts. They were also the first to invent printing. Books were printed in china long before the rest of the world learnt how.

All things made of clay are called pottery. China or porcelain is a special kind of pottery. It is glossy and light can shine through it. The Chinese first found out how to make fine porcelain and they guarded the secret for years. Useful things like cups and saucers are made of china. Beautiful things like vases and figurines are also made of china. Of course, some things can be both useful and beautiful.

Imagine a wall broad enough for a lorry to ride on, and stretching for thousands and thousands of families over ills and valleys and plains. The Great Wall of China is one of the wonders of the world like the pyramids. To the west of China roamed the fierce Tartars. There were wild horsemen who loved hunting and fighting and it was nearly impossible to defeat or capture them. In fact was said that fighting the tartars was like fighting the wind. The Great Wall of China was built by Shi Huang Ti to keep out the Tartars.

It took thousands and thousands of workers, and many, many years to build this great Wall. It was one of the greatest fears of the Chinese that they would capture and sent to work on the wall!

A word about Confucius, one of the noblest men of the ancient world, he lived about the same time as Buddha and was a great thinker. He was born into a noble family but when he was a boy, is father died and left him penniless. He had to do all sorts of humble jobs to keep in self alive. But he wanted to become a scholar and a teacher. In time wish was fulfilled and he was known far and wide as a great teacher.

But the last of his wife were sad. He was exiled by his ruler and for thirteen years he wandered the length and breadth of the country. At last, tired and weary, he returned to his hometown when he was nearly eighty-nine, only to die. But he followed his own teaching. `Do not do to others what you would not wish to be one to yourself’. He bore no man any grudge.

Here again we have to be grateful the ancient Chinese. They were the first people to make gunpowder and the first people to make fire crackers. In fact, the great space rocket of today is only an improvement on the fire arrow that the Chinese made nearly nine hundred years ago!

Nan, an ancient city known for its beauty is situated in the valley of Nan river of Northern Thailand. Nan is capital city of Nan Province, Thailand and city population consists of Laotians (Lan Changs descendants) and tribes (Thai Lue and Mlabri). The unique culture and traditions of these people such as, long boat races carried on Nan river attracts tourist around the world. The city is hidden in thick forest, but still is connected with nearest Thai cities such as Bangkok (668 km north) and Lampang (145 km northeast). The city is having proper roadways, railway lines and airways.

To travel through airways, at present there is shortage of direct flights from other parts of the world to Nan. But the scarcity has been covered with number of connecting cheap flights, which travel via Bangkok from major international airports to Nan. If you consider reaching Nan through cheap flight simply reach Bangkok from any international airport and catch a daily nonstop domestic flight. The fastest flight takes around 01: 20 to reach Nan from Bangkok. Thai Airway International (PB Air) is the only one major airway which is operating to and from flights to this city daily from Bangkok.

Nan airport, Thailand has been certified by IATA and ICAO with airline code NNT. The airports runway is 6561 ft long at an elevation of 699 ft above the sea level for easy takeoff and landing. The facilities also include efficient Instrumental Landing System and state-of-the-art Air Traffic Control System. Hence, it is a must to be visited city, when you want to travel Thailand

It was in January of 2006, that we went to Kerala on a pre-planned trip. I and my husband went there on a jolly trip. Our plan is that we visit Cochin, Munnar, Thekkady, Kumarakkom and then back to Cochin.
Kerala is well known as “God’s own Country” for its breath taking natural beauty. The Western Ghats, the Arabian Sea backwaters and the very rich culture in Kerala are worth seeing in ones life time. We boarded Sahara India flight at NTR International Airport, Hyderabad and reached Cochin International Airport, Cochin at 4 PM. The fly was over 2 hours and we had a good aerial view of the Western Ghats where we were to spend the rest of the week before landing at Cochin.

Kochi
Cochin is also very popularly known as “Kochi” and is nicknamed as the “Queen of Arabian Sea”.  Kochi was an important spice trading centre on the Arabian Sea coast since the 14th century. It was the first city in India that was occupied by Europeans by the sea route. The Portuguese under the famous voyager Vasco Da Gama marked the first European colonial settlement in India in the year1503. Kochi was the capital of Portuguese in India until 1530, after which they opted for Goa as their capital. The city was later occupied by the Dutch and finally by the British till India got independence in 1947.

As soon as we arrived at the airport, we were welcomed by our cab driver “Jinu”, who accompanied us through the rest of our trip. We drove down to our hotel “Bolgatty Palace” which was by the side of Arabian backwaters.

Bolgatty Palace
Bolgatty Palace is located in Bolgatty Island. It is the oldest existing palaces built by the Dutch in India, during the pre-British times. Kochi (referred to us by Cochin) has long been one of the important trading centers of India, attracting traders and seafarers from across the globe. The Dutch traders built this palace, initially as a villa. Later, the villa was extended and lush green gardens were added all around it.  Set in the middle of a fabulous garden, the palace has slowly metamorphosed into an esteemed heritage hotel. With the spectacular backwaters of Cochin as the background, the scenery around the palace is simply breathtaking. Hotel Bolgatty Palace is a two-storey building, with tastefully decorated bedchambers and a huge lounge, wherein historical portraits are displayed.

We had chosen a lakefront cottage along the edge of the backwaters. It is a great view of the backwaters from our room. We went on steam boat in the backwaters for a ride in the evening and also in the next morning and enjoyed the beauty of the Bolgatty islands. We had purchased Sony Digital camera the latest version at that time 7.2 Mega Pixel; prior to this visit and we knew how much worth it was going to be to have all the sceneries captured.   

The Cochin Shipyard & Fishing Harbour
In the evening we visited the Cochin Shipyard, which is one of the largest shipbuilding facilities in India. We also visited the Cochin fishing harbour, which is located at Thoppumpady. This is one of the largest fishing ports in the state from where fish is exported. At this place we can witness the Chinese fishing nets which are called “Chinese Fishing Nets” or “Cheena vala”.
These fishing nets are fixed land installations for an unusual form of fishing where in the nets are operated at the shore. These nets are huge around 10 meters in height and 20 meters in breadth and require five to six fishermen to operate them. No clue as to why they are referred to as “Chinese” fishing nets but looks like there is a Chinese connection some where back in history.

St. Francis Church
St Francis church was built in 1503 is the oldest European church in India. It is at this church that the great Portuguese explorer, Vasco Da Gama was buried after his death in Kochi in the year 1524. He was on his third visit to India and also the Governor of Portuguese in India under the title Viceroy at that time. We were told that his remains were later moved to Lisbon from this church.

Munnar
After a fabulous day stay at Cochin, we set off for Munnar the famous hill station in the Western Ghats. On the way to Munnar, we came across many beautiful types of scenery that were breath taking and worth a photograph. There were a couple of natural water falls that were very beautiful to watch. We noticed the sign boards by the side of the falls mentioning not to pollute the water as the water was pure drinking water.

We reached Munnar post lunch time after a treat to the eyes. We were put up at Hotel “Tea County” in a room right up the hill. The view was beautiful from our balcony in the hotel room. Munnar is a hill resort and probably the must visit hill station for any visitor to Kerala. It is one of the most popular tourist destinations in India. Besides being a hill resort, Munnar is known a center for tea trade too. There are over thirty tea gardens in and around Munnar. The ghatty road that reaches to Munnar is full of tea estates. Tata Tea estates were among the many we noticed. It is a great sight to watch the tea plantations on both the sides of the road as we travel by the ghatty road.

The hill resort of Munnar derives its name from the fact that it lays at the confluence of three mountain streams. Literally in Tamil “Munnar” means "three rivers”.
The hill resort has been the place for summer retreat and tea plantations since long. Digging the past of Munnar reveals the list of tea planters that visited Munnar. With the passage of time once the forested and home of wildlife; Munnar turned a perfect place for tea plantations. In the hill resort of Munnar we get to bask in the beauty of nature. There are the gorgeous greens that rejuvenate all the senses. 

Tea Plantations
Amongst the must visits in Munnar are the lavish and splendid tea gardens. The tea producing Munnar is the right place to know the tea processing mechanism. Right from picking of the tealeaves in the estates and the gardens to the packing in the factories, we can see it all. There are guided tours to the factories at the hill resort of Munnar. We may even pick up freshly packed tealeaves as souvenirs from the factory itself.

The Christ Church
The Christ Church of Munnar is another landmark of the hill resort. The church has been since the pre-independence days. Now the Sunday services are held here. We were told that the Christ church is the place to be in case we visit Munnar during Christmas.  

Devikulam Lake
Close to the marvelous hill resort of Munnar is the Devikulam Lake. The cool breeze and the very attractive scenery at this lake make it an ideal spot for visitors to unwind and relax. We may even be at the picturesque island in the lake with prior permission from the authorities. There are many places in Munnar that require prior permission for photography or taking videos. Most of the places require us to pay to carry either a photo or video camera. Fishing is good option to have fun at this lake. We also witnessed people doing paragliding at this late so a good place for adventure seekers.

The Mattupeety Lake
Mattupetty Lake is the Indo-Swiss project, taking care of over 100 varieties of high yielding cattle is one of the largest of such ventures in India. It is one of the major tourists attractions around Munnar. The Lake at a distance of thirteen kilometers from Munnar is created by a small hydro electricity dam and is flanked by steep hills and woods all around. This is one area where in you must take a photograph of yourself by standing on the dam with the stunning beauty as the background which has the lake, several mountain ranges and lot of greenery. This area is a vintage point around Munnar that offers panoramic views of the lovely landscapes and the valley. We can also find the Indo-Swiss cattle-breeding centre cum dairy project in this area.

Echo Point
As we move ahead from the dam we come across what is called and “Echo point”. We can see lot of tourists at this place shouting out loud to hear they voice back. The area gets its name from the natural echo phenomenon that can be witnessed here. The area is beautiful by the side of a natural lake on the edge of mountain ranges. It is an amazing experience to be there. It was here we ensured to teach our driver how to use our camera as we could not afford to miss out on the snaps that would capture the stunning beauty of  the place J

Top Point
Top point is the highest point on the Munnar-Kodaikanal road. We can spot the state of Tamil Nadu on the eastern side of the Western Ghats. We can also view the Arabian Sea from this point. The view was beautiful with the Western Ghats around you.

Rajamalai Wildlife Sanctuary
Rajamalai Wildlife Sanctuary is situated at a distance around seventeen km from Munnar. On visiting this sanctuary we can spot a variety of animals including the “Nilgiri Tahrs”. This sanctuary also offers wondrous vistas of the valley. For all those who want to be adventurous there is a trekking activity that can be availed. We chose to stay away from adventure and preferred to enjoy the natural beauty around us.

Ernakulum National Park
Another lovely place to visit to witness wild life is Ernakulum National Park. This park is nineteen km away from Munnar. The sanctuary is renowned as home to the mountain goat of the Nilgiri Tahr and is just close by the Rajamalai Wildlife Sanctuary.

One of the other options to explore the beauty of the Munnar is by riding on a bicycle. We can pick one at the hotel if it provides you a bicycle or hire bicycles in the hill resort. In fact there are several bicycle riding routes that are popular with the tourists.

Time flew by and we had to move on to other places that we intended to visit. We set off downhill to the wild life sanctuary at Thekkedy. The route was spectacular. The entire route had wondrous valleys, ravishing rivers, tea estates and cardamom estates and sandalwood plantations that offer spectacular sights.

Thekkedy & Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary
The road from Munnar to Thekkedy is a very ghatty one.  Our cab driver had given us a caution to keep our tummy empty in the journey on the way to Thekkady, as we may feel like vomiting due to the ghatty area. On the way, we can witness tea and cardamom plantations apart from the beauty of the Western Ghats. Thekkady is famous for its spices and is also home to the Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary.
Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary is situated on the banks of the Periyar lake - an artificial lake, at Thekkady.   We reached Thekkedy at around noon. We were put up at a hotel that was located inside the sanctuary area. The name of the hotel was “Aranya Nivas” which suggests that we are living in a forest. The sanctuary hosts some of the rare animals that Indian forests can boast of; the elephants, sambars, tigers, gaurs, lion tailed macaques and Nilgiri langurs. The sanctuary is part of the Western Ghats and full of dense green trees and grasslands. This place offers a lot of things. Elephant rides, cruises on the lake which were free of cost for the residents of Aranya Nivas.
The Periyar Widlife sanctuary is spread across 360 sq km is thick evergreen forest. It was declared a Tiger Reserve in 1978.  It is one of the world's most fascinating natural wildlife reserves. The splendid artificial lake formed by the Mullaperiyar Dam across the Periyar River adds to the charm of the park.  This is the only sanctuary in India where you can have the unique experience of viewing wildlife at close quarters from the safety of a boat on the lake.  The greatest attraction of Periyar, however are the herds of wild elephants that come down to the play in the lake. We could spot one wild cat, a herd of deer drinking water from the Periyar lake, also a herd of Nilgiri langurs when we were out on our cruise.  Unfortunately, we could not see any herd of elephants in spite of going on the boat cruises twice. The sanctuary offers the unique opportunity to watch and photograph wild animals at close quarters. We can carry our both photo and video cameras by paying the respective amount before moving on the lake area.

I still remember the night stay in Thekkady. We can hear the voice of the animals and birds in the forest. The early morning cruise was a good experience as we found a very think layer of fog on the waters. Also, it was very cold and the visibility of the Western Ghats was very poor.

Kumarakom
On our way down to Kumarakom from Thekkady we started to feel the change in climate. We got used to the cool breeze that Munnar and Thekkady provided us.  We were now heading down to sea level and the climatic changes were obvious. It was an unforgettable experience as we were stopped a few times due to vehicle strikes that were going on in Kerala state which were not aware of. Some how we got away with the agitators after being stopped many times during the course of the journey. On arriving at Kumarakom too we were stopped by the agitators, who were not allowing the vehicles to proceed by stopping them. Our cab driver Jinu did have a role to play in explaining the protesters regarding our case as we were tourists.
In Kumarakom we were taken to our resort “Water Scapes”. This is one of the best resorts I had seen so far during the tour. The resort has individual hut shaped cottages situated in between the backwater canals of the Vembanad Lake. The cottage was raised at around 15 feet above the ground and was surrounded by beautiful gardens. This cottage is located inside the bird sanctuary, on the side of Vembanad Lake. Vembanad Lake is the largest fresh water lake in the state of Kerala.  Kumarakom is famous for its mangrove forests, emerald green paddy fields and coconut groves interspersed with enchanting waterways and canals adorned with white lilies. Situated on the Vembanad Lake, in this small water world you'll come across plenty of traditional country crafts, house boats and canoes that will take you into the heart of the scenic lake.

The Vembanad Lake
The region of Kottayam is a vast network of rivers and canals, which empty into the great expanse of a backwater called the Vembanad Lake. The lake is bordered by Alappuzha, Kottayam, and Ernakulam districts. It lies at sea level, and is separated from the Arabian Sea by a narrow barrier island. An enchanting picnic spot and a much sought-after backwater tourism destination, the lake provides boating, fishing and sightseeing experiences that are truly exhilarating. Stretching about 110 km and spanning three districts, the Vembanad Lake is at its widest point at Kumarakom. The serene lake comes alive during Onam with a spectacular regatta - the world renowned Nehru Trophy snake boat race. 

Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary
Located on the banks of the Vembanad Lake, the Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary, an ornithologist's paradise, is a favorite haunt of migratory birds. June to August is the breeding season of resident wetland birds like Siberian stork, cormorants, white ibis, egret, darter, heron and teal. Between November and May, one can witness here migratory birds like pintailed duck, garganey teal, spot billed duck, osprey, marsh harrier, steppe eagle etc. The bird sanctuary is well within the premises of Waterscapes resort and can be visited between 6 AM and 5 PM. Its very good experience to be there listening to variety of birds.

Canal Cruise (Boat ride)
Your stay at Water Scapes provides many opportunities to enjoy the best of backwater experiences. One such experience is the cruise on the labyrinth of canals in and around the property. Guests can really go for a quiet and relaxed cruise, taking in the myriad forms of green. The canals easily take one close to many rustic backwater villages in Kumarakom, enabling one to observe the many facets of backwater village life.
We had a great fun in the boat ride. It’s a steam boat, where there were only 3 families on the boat. A small kid of one of the families is very funny in the boat. She was running here and there, sitting in my lap, jumping over. It was very nice to watch the backwaters there. We happened to see a house boat passing by our boat. Our boat then went through the village boarder, where we can find every house has a two-wheeler, four-wheeler and a boat too as their vehicle. Just as we have a car shed back in our home towns you can find every house by the side of  the canals having a boat shed. Found many citizens carrying there daily works like washing clothes in the lake, traveling through water transportation. Found it to be interesting thing to watch.  

Driftwood Museum
Water Scapes is located close to many other interesting destinations in Kumarakom. The historic Baker's Bungalow and the Bay Island Driftwood Museum. Here, one can find a fairly large collection of superior quality driftwood articles of very high artistic value, crafted through a rare and innovative modern artistic approach. 

Pathiramanal
Pathiramanal, a small island in the Vembanad Lake is a haven for hundreds of rare birds migrating from different parts of the world. Surrounded by the Vembanad Lake, Pathiramanal is accessible only by boat. The green island thus forms an ideal place for a break in the journey while on a backwater cruise. We just went around that island to find a variety of the birds.

Our way back to Cochin
We were now coming close to the end of our one week visit to Kerala. We did get to witness the famous Kathakali dance at Waterscapes resort in Kumarakom late in the evening which meant we had seen it all, a full circle to witness the great culture of Kerala. It was an enchanting experience to see this beautiful state and yes it is worth its name as the “God’s own Country”.  We started back to Cochin in our cab, to reach the airport directly. On the way, we stopped at the beach side and had some coconut water. Something which we wanted to do all the time we were in Kerala just to taste the water there. We all know of the people of Kerala using Coconut in most of their daily food. So, we expected coconut water to be very cheap there. We were surprised to find it expensive but the water was worth the money. Jinu dropped us off at the airport and we expressed our heart felt thanks and gratitude to him for seeing us through the entire trip. With lots of happy moments and memories, we flew back to Hyderabad.