Backwaters of Kerala

After our Kumily adventures we decided to come back from high altitudes (fresh air) to extreme humidity and what everyone says is one of the best experiences in India. We decided to cut our trip into two segements and make the last 2,5 hours to Alappuzha by a public ferry through beautiful canals lined with coconut trees. The sunset we witnessed was one of the best I have seen in my life. I hope the pictures can convey what we have seen.

Arriving anywhere in India is always an experience of the same sort - and everytime we arrive we fool ourselves that we will manage it better. This time for the second time in a row we pushed ourselves through hoards of rickshaw drivers trying to take us to some kind of a hotel, just to go the opposite way we initially wanted. After 30 minutes walk we gave in - and succummbed to the temptation of one of our faithful followers - good choice - though accidental and initially we felt that we are again being cheated. We ended up in a beautiful home stay with the best value for the money so far and right next to a harbour which we discovered during the day. The harbour is the home of dozens of wonderful houseboats...

Anyway the next day after our arrival we decided to take a lesuirly boat ride through the backwaters. We hired a little boat with a guy rowing it for the two of us. Anybody knows what the ultimate pleasure of enjoying life feels like? We thought it must be something around the sensation we had for four ours on the canals.

The next day we decided to move one step further and checked in for a 22 hour house boat trip which was my birthday present. In short we got a cabin on a bamboo boat with all amenities you could imagine. All in all there were five of us on the boat. The captain, the cook, the mechanic and the two of us. Pure pleasure again for a bit more than regular Indian price but far from what would need to be paid in any Western country. I think that so far it was the most relaxing day of our trip. Most of the day we were cruising through the canals, reading books, playing chess (thanks Ania!), eating the best Indian food we had so far (seems that in Kerala the food is not as spicy as everywhere else) and indulging ourselves in the hardly sought out bottle of Indian red wine. Now buying any kind of alcohol in India is an adventure in itself. First of all in some places alcohol is banned as such (e.g. Hampi) or you have to somehow locate the only one store in town and push yourself through the crowds. The act of buying alcohol feels like commiting a crime and is kind of regarded as such by Hinduism (one of the themes in Mahatma Gandhi's autobiography I am reading). Anyway I managed to get myself behind the counter so that I can in peace choose from rather limited choice of Indian and Indian wines.

One more little story for anybody wanting to send a parcel by post from India. Remember that you have to have your parcel no matter how big or small wrapped and sewn by a tailor before you show up at the post office.

I mentioned some time ago in my Mysore post the "smell of planned economy" - it was definitely in the air and only in Kumily made itself visible. The picture by Rita with the red flag and hammer & sickle on it does not show the extent of the penetration but they were everywhere. Actually later on we figured out that Kerala is governed by the first ever freely elected in 1957 and ever since in power communist party.