Around India In 80 Trains

India and eco-friendly really just don't go together, so it's a bit of a shock to the system to find a resort that really does do what it says on the box. A two minute wander around Marari Beach resort and the giant recycling bins, the pond built for the resident kingfishers and the bright organic garden are testament to the culture of Marari.

Their villas are cool and fresh with bright red hibiscus dotted around the crisp white double beds – and there’s not one TV or iPod dock in sight. The attached bathroom is open overhead and filled with sunshine – its piece de resistance, a thumping power shower with smooth pebbles underfoot and tiny bulbuls chirping in the rafters, although it does feel a bit weird sitting on a loo with pigeons watching over you with interest.

Marari employs around 150 staff (all from local villages) for a capacity of 100 guests for their 60 rooms, but despite the volume, it's nice to find them slipping away into the shadows as fast as they appear to wait on you hand and foot.

Without a doubt, the best bit of Marari is their new outdoor restaurant, Farm Kitchen, where you can cook all the food you picked in their organic garden during sundown. And their two chefs Jishu and Nithin are like a little Laurel and Hardy comedy kitchen duo with a hell of a lot of patience with amateur chefs keen to learn the local Keralan cuisine.

The beach itself is a stretch of spotless, creamy yellow sand, shaded with coconut trees that are tied with nets should a coconut choose to fall on an unsuspecting sunbather, and is one of the few where you really can unwind without a soul around.

If it's absolute peace and quiet, sunshine and local cuisine that take your fancy, then Marari is probably a good place to start.