India
India is sometimes called a sub-continent because it nearly constitutes a continent in its own right. The province of Kerala, on the south west coast is one of the smallest states in the Republic of India – a strip of land 360 miles long and clinging to the coast. It is renowned as a coastal paradise and has earned it the name of “God’s Own Country”. Kerala is an educationally advanced, culturally unique and stable state. With a coastline offering access to many outside influences, it has developed independently but maintained its strong local traditions. Local culture is very colourful and flamboyant, exemplified in the April/May Pooram festival in Trichur with elephant processions. The traveller will encounter dance performances and have the opportunity to explore many fascinating ancient temples. The state is predominantly Hindu but Muslim and Christian communities worship freely and play a part in the local culture and relations between them are amicable.
Although it is a busy state with expanding and vibrant cities, Kerala also offers the peace of backwater village life and the tranquillity of the inland hills and Western Ghats. Kerala is a spice growing region and still a major source of the world’s pepper, growing in long pods on trees in the backwater villages. Local cuisine reflects the abundance of coconuts, spices and shellfish.
The standard of health care provision in Kerala State is very high. The state stakes a claim to having India’s highest life expectancy and lowest infant mortality and birth rates . In July 2002, the World Health Organisation gave Kerala the title of the world’s first “Baby Friendly State” since 80% of its hospitals actively promote breastfeeding . Most doctors are highly qualified and speak English, many having been educated abroad. For travellers in South India, vaccinations for Typhoid, Polio, Tetanus, Hepatitis A and B, are all recommended. Precautions against malaria are also advisable in Kerala. The particularly dangerous strain of falciparum malaria is on the increase in India.
The main features of Kerala are the beaches, backwaters and Ghats. At sea level, the coconut palms grow everywhere, beaches are sandy and the weather is consistently hot. The backwaters are home to a sprawl of villages interspersed with palm and pepper trees and have been described as one big village with an idyllic lifestyle. Inland is rich rainforest climbing up the sides of the scenic Ghats with national parks preserving the abundant wildlife. Cooler conditions prevail in the heights. A famous feature of the Indian climate is the annual monsoon season. This period of heavy rain occurs from June to as late as September and can make travelling difficult or unpleasant. It is advisable to bear this in mind when deciding when to go. The Kerala climate is generally very warm and humid although the hills are much cooler and very pleasant in March to May. Minimum temperatures at sea level are never expected to drop below 20 degrees centigrade all year round.
The local language is Malayalam that is closely related to Tamil and spoken by the majority of the population. There is a high degree of literacy among Keralan people. The visitor has small hope of learningn Malayalam but the official languages of India are Hindi and English. English has been introduced as a common language in a nation with many dialects and languages and so is widely spoken. The Indian Rupee exchanges at approximately Rs75 to the UK Pound. Travellers can expect to live fairly well on about £10 (US$20) a day. The historic town of Cochin is the location of the new Kochi International Airport and will be the first taste of Kerala for medical students and the central location for their medical elective. Set on a coastal spit of land halfway up the state, Cochin is the most important town in Central Malabar, the main pepper and spice growing part of Kerala. This busy town is actually built over three islands and two spits of land and consists of low historical and colonial buildings, interspersed with coconut islands around the bay. Life revolves around the water and the town’s importance as a trade and fishing port.
Medical students will spend their first few days in Cochin acclimatising, where they will also have the opportunity to take a Backwater cruise. This will take a whole day and consists of a 4 hour cruise on a houseboat through wide canals and lagoons, with excellent swimming and a Keralan Thali meal; followed by a 3 hour cruise on a country boat through the narrow canals of different villages. The house boat is a traditional ‘Kettuvallom’ made of hardwood and is about 70 feet long and 13 feet wide, while the country boat is a non-mechanised traditional open canoe rowed by two villagers. Students will see traditional coir making, and have the chance to see different spice plants like pepper, coffee, cloves and nutmeg, as well as birds such as kingfishers, bee eaters and cormorants. Students will also visit a traditional village where the main occupations are making rope from coconut fibre, straw mat weaving using wild pineapple leaves, collecting sand from the river bed, fishing and farming. This is a rare opportunity to see traditional Indian crafts in their traditional setting.
Medics Away have 2 cottages in Kerala, both have excellent facilities with en-suite bathrooms, a chef to cook typical, local cuisine and are great bases from which to explore the surrounding area. The first cottage is in Costa Malabari, a virgin beach in a secret location near Kannur (Cannanore). It is situated in cashew and coconut groves and has 2 private, golden beaches from which you can swim out to the mussel fisherman and the dolphins. In the surrounding area there are Theyyam performances, the ritual art of Kerala at Parassinikadvu Sree Muthappan Temple, it is also possible to visit handloom weaving centres, to see Beedi production, the fishing harbour, traditional markets, St Angelo’s Fort and an Ayervedic treatment centre. Students are free to do as they wish, there is no set itinerary. The second cottage is in the Waynad Wildlife Sanctuary, in the lower hills of Nilgris and offers a lush rain forest with rare plants, orchids and wild life. Animals to be seen include elephants, wild gaur, wild boar, spotted deer and sambar along with an incredible variety of birds. The cottage has five rooms and is situated just opposite the sanctuary, 40kms north of Kalpetta. There are jeep safaris into the forest every morning and evening as well as jungle walks. It is also possible to use the cottage as a base to go trekking in the hills, to visit Thirunelli and Valliyoorkavu Baghavathy temples, Kuruva Island or to visit plantations and tribal settlements.
Medics Away electives can be arranged for any duration. Students need to tell us how long they want to go to India for and how much of that time they wish to spend in the hospital, in the cottages or on independent travel. All students should have travel insurance and we only recommend the BMA Elective travel insurance which covers students for needle-stick injuries, HIV and in cases where a student fails their exams and can’t go on their elective. British, U.S., Canadian and Australian students will require a visa and will need to obtain a visa before leaving to go to India. All students should have the relevant vaccines such as Hep B, Hep A, yellow fever, typhoid, tetanus and polio; more information can be found on the Travel Doctor website. Anti-malarial will also need to be taken. Further details of all prophylaxis is provided upon reservation. For more information about India, our Indian elective or anything elective related then please go to the India Elective page, email us at or phone us on 01305 815231. We’re sure that you’re going to have a great elective and an amazing experience.