Kerala Backwaters

So our bus left as soon as we arrived in the bus station in Kumily (as usual of course), and when we got to the ferry point we were told it was leaving in 20 minutes - which again gave us the perfect amount of time to grab a tasty thali lunch in the restaurant right on the pier.

The ferry left spot on time and set off for the 3 hour journey for Alappuzha (as it was a local ferry the cost was just 10 rupee each, about 0.16c). We set off from a narrow canal that was completely blanketed in gorgeous bright green vegetation (African moss), with lots of rather stupid egrets and other birds constantly taking off in front of our boat to just land directly in it's path 50 meters further along. The boat was a local ferry, but was almost empty when it left, so we all had great seats up the front away from the noisy engine.

So it was a really pleasant way to travel, just nice and relaxing, although for much of the journey we travelled along big rivers or lakes, which didn't have the same intimacy as the narrow sections of course.

So arriving in Alappuzha Sarah sorted out the accommodation again while myself and Roland chewed the fat over coffee, and then after a bit of a rest we all went out for a drink in the hotel bar. This was the first real 'local' bar I've been to in India, and it was pretty mad really (not unlike some of the less characterful, boxy concrete bars in rural Ireland). Sarah was the only female of course, but the locals weren't bothered, and actually 3 of them came over to us as they were leaving and chatted to us for a bit (they were all a bit drunk though - the last of them inviting us to his private club later that night, but we didn't go in the end!).

So going for dinner that night Sarah got duped by the 'price by weight' scam here (no prices for the fish, prawn or lobster dishes on the menu, and then a bit of a shock when the bill comes!). And the meal wasn't even that great - in fact so far the food down South hasn't been as good as up North, but it's still good of course.

Next morning, we all decided to hire a local boat to takes us around come of the smaller backwater canals in the area. We had the boat for 3 hours, but it didn't have a motor, so our 'captain' had to paddle us along. Roland is a kayaker though, and helped him along quite a bit. Unfortately we spent the majority of the 3 hours moving along the major water highways, along with all the big house boats that the region is famous for, but the couple of short side trips down the narrow canals were really lovely. We did stop for brekkie in a really cool little local cafe right by the water though. We had a huge breakfast there with just the locals (curry and paratha of course), and then back in the boat for the trip back to the town. It was a lovely 3 hours I must say (with our captain repeatedly telling Roland up the front to 'balance keeping' whenever he shifted position), and when we got back to the town I used to an Internet place to copy Rolands photos (as my camera is dead), before saying goodbye to him and updating this blog. Next stop is the beach at Varkala...