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Fine yellow dust billowed off the roads behind and before us as the sun beat down on everything in it's sight. The humidity also increased steadily as were grew closer to the famous backwaters of Kerala.
When we entered the town of Alleppey, I was a little dismayed to find it quite a commercial zone with all kinds of shops and other trimmings of modernity violating one's vision with their garish colours. This was soon to change however, as in a short while we were out of the commercial zone and entered the areas closer to the backwaters, where the landscape started changing to more rural and natural scenes. The above picture of a domesticated elephant was taken just before this change took place.
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Our vehicle wound it's way through narrow roads lined with coconut trees and other kinds of coastal fauna. Small, one storey-two storey homes peeked out from behind their lush gardens. When we finally stopped, we were informed that we would have to walk down a narrow path alongside a canal, in order to reach our resort, Keraleeyam (left).
Keraleeyam turned out to be a charming old home built in the typical Kerala style about 75 years ago. It was converted recently into a resort-cum-Ayurvedic spa and has rooms within the main building along with several independent cottages. The food is absolutely amazing (you need to place your orders at least 2 hours in advance since they never serve pre-cooked food, but it's well worth the effort, believe me!). I've never eaten coconut rice and vegetable stew as tasty as what was served there, by the attendants attired in traditional Kerala-wear. Further, Keraleeyam is situated right on the edge of the backwaters and so you get an ideal view of the overwhelming contrast between urban and rural Alleppey and you also get to see why those backwaters are called the "Venice of the East".
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On the evening of our first day in Alleppey, we were hailed by a solitary boatman, Girish Kumar (right), who offered to take us on a small trip of the backwaters for a nominal fee (this happens to be quite a regular feature in Alleppey, where villagers often give tourists a canoe ride, to make a buck on the side!). In a short while we were touring the backwaters, making conversation with Girish in hideously broken English and some sign language because there was just no way he could understand a coherent sentence! In his chirpy style he showed us how villages have sprung up on narrow fingers of land that form the sides of canals.
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Rural Alleppey is an extraordinarily beautiful experience. Sunny skies sport the fluffiest white clouds you could imagine...and when you look at the shades of green that explode all along the shorelines, you can't help but think that green is God's favourite colour.
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On the second day of our sojourn in Alleppey, we left Keraleeyam and embarked on a day and night of cruising on the backwaters in a rented houseboat, the Goldencap. In the care of Captain Ajaykumar (right) and his crew, we relaxed completely in the quaint luxury of that experience. There are few things you can do in life that can surpass the experience of living in a houseboat, literally waited on hand and foot, by the staff. We flopped in huge cane chairs as Captain Ajay navigated the 102 feet long houseboat through the tranquil waters, pausing every now and then to tell us something new about the lifestyle of the villagers. At mealtimes, we anchored in some place where the crew provided traditional Kerala cuisine prepared in the Goldencap's private kitchen. My dad also managed to haggle admirably with a local fisherman to come back with 4 huge lobsters for dinner!
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When it was time to sleep, we lacked for no comfort in the surprisingly well equipped and spacious rooms, which were air conditioned and had private toilets. It's something else to be lulled into slumber by the gentle rocking of your boat by the waters on which she is moored. I hope you get to experience this sometime! God bless and until my next post, au revoir!
1 comment:
Backwaters of Alleppey is one of the most enjoyable thing which the most of the tourist go to see. I like this place very much because the climate of this place is very much suitable for the tourist to visit during the days of the holidays. Thanks a lot for this lines which you have shared among us about the
Kerala .
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