Why? It is incredibly beautiful and hypnotic. There's extraordinary fishing on the coast around Cochin, with people dangling in the water and picking up fish, seemingly with their teeth, and chucking them into enormous nets. I also took trips along the backwaters where a series of small canals are filled with boats that make gondolas look like dinghies. Entire communities live on these stretches of water - so you pass locals doing their laundry in the river, schoolteachers taking classes on the banks, and so on.
The best thing? It's deep in the south of India and next to Goa, but thankfully the folk who like Goa haven't worked out that Kerala is a lot nicer and just next door. You do feel that you are discovering somewhere entirely new in Kerala. It makes you feel like you are on a totally different planet.
My perfect day: I would wake up around 10am and tuck into a delicious Indian breakfast of pancakes with lots of curry powder. Then I'd take to the backwaters for three or four hours before indulging myself with a massive lunch. The afternoon would begin with a few hours in a hammock, reading a good book, sipping fresh milk from a coconut through a straw, and end with relaxing hot-oil treatment. The oil is poured slowly across your forehead and it feels like a cow is licking you - this may sound revolting but actually it is really enjoyable. After supper, with plenty of beers inside me, I'd head for bed and put on an eye-mask so that I don't see any of the local spiders.
My advice: Take lots of camera film. I literally slept with my camera, and it can be quite tricky to get film locally. If you thought you took a lot of photographs before you went there, you'll go bonkers once you are there.
Getting there: British Airways (0845 7799977, britishairways.com) flies London-Bombay from around £305 return. Indian Airways (009 122/ 287 6161, indian-airlines.nic.in) flies Bombay-Cochin from £107.
Where was your best holiday? It was my honeymoon in Indonesia, when we spent half of the time relaxing at a hotel and the rest of the time trekking through the countryside.
What is the best hotel you have stayed in? Lake Vyrnwy Hotel in Powys, mid Wales (01691 870692, lakevyrnwy.com). I wasn't expecting it to be as wonderful as it really is. It has a massive Sleeping Beauty-type lake, with several terraces where you can sit and just take in the view. It's not poncey, it's not that expensive, and it proved to me that Wales rocks.
Where do you want to go next? I'd love to spend a month in China.
What do you never travel without ? Contact lenses, a good book, Nurofen and fake tan (just in case!).
· Claudia Winkleman is a contributor to Big Night Out (HarperCollins, £6.99), published on July 1. At least £1 from every sale will be donated to the international charity War Child (warchild.org).
