Alleppy

Any Keralan will tell you about the Alleppy backwaters if you let them know your headed to their province. We had heard so much about this landscape, but very little about what it was. So we headed back down to the coast to check it out.

Our journey from Thekkady was quite a pleasant one. We got on the bus to Kottayam, and that was a fairly enjoyable journey weaving down from the mountains to the hills. We had a nice lunch in Kottayam at a hotel near the boat jetty, and then boarded the ferry to Alleppy, and this is where our journey really started.

This ferry took us for a long and slow through the backwaters. We carried on through the middle of the canals, changing channels every so often for a larger one. Near Kottayam there are a few drawbridges. The ferry sounded a horn, and then a local would haul on a rope to raise the drawbridge manually. The system seemed solid. It was only then that we finally realized what the backwaters were. Its a complex of canals through various islands, on which people live and farm.

The ferry ride was lovely. We saw some buffalo having a bath, some people having a bath, people fishing, birds fishing, everything. The canals are all lined with a stone wall, upon which the houses and land sits. In the canals is a murky green water, sometimes covered by water lilies. For a good portion of the journey, the entire canal was covered in water lilies. The motor got clogged a few times, so we were stuck while the crew sorted it out.

Eventually the water lilies and canals opened up, and we got to see the commercial aspect of the backwaters. Here, hundreds of identical bamboo clad houseboats were aimlessly sailing to nowhere, with bored families scrolling through their phones, trying to enjoy the experience. It looked like they all felt like they got conned. The ferry was the way to go.

As we got closer to Alleppy, we made many detours and lots of stops to let people on and off the ferry. This was still public transit after all. The stops were easy, and most were drive-bys. The boat crew would get off, ensure the boat didn’t run away, and after the passenger got on or off, jumped back on the boat to continue on their way.

We made it to the city. Alleppy itself wasn’t anything too special. We had an okay dinner at a western Indian fusion (our only attempt in the country), and went to check the beach out after.

The beach was an interesting experience. The beach itself was beautiful. A long sandy flat between the overhead highway construction and the ocean had all sorts of beach games going. Volleyball seemed to be the local favorite. The waves were only 3-4ft high, but the flags were red and lifeguards were aggressively whistling anyone who got into the surf too much. I guess the stereotype of Indians can’t swim is taken very seriously in India.

We spent our next day on a backwater canoe trip with Leon and Harriet, a British couple that was staying in the room above us. The excursion here was a lovely intimate view at life in the backwaters. We started with the local ferry with our guide, who referred to himself as Sarge, as he took us to his home. The whole group was 13 or so total.

Sarge and his family lived on one of the larger islands in the backwaters. In front of his house was a large open lake. Behind it was the ‘Rice bowl of Kerala.’ One of many large paddies that served as the main Kerala rice growing region. (Kerala rice is different than the Basmati most of the rest of India has. Kerala rice is a lot thicker, and a bit shorter grain. It was reminiscent of the Andean rice that we ate in Ecuador. Both Kerala and Basmati rice are common in Kerala). On either side were Sarge’s neighbors, all with the same lifestyle. The village houses over 2000 people, with all houses bordering the water.

The water here is the core of the lifestyle on the backwaters. People bathe in the backwaters. People wash their clothes. It’s where all of their cleaning water comes from. And due to the influx of people and tourism in the region, the waters are becoming more and more polluted. There is the first problem of littering in the water. The bigger problem though is all of the motor oil from the houseboats that gets leaked into the water. And there are a lot of houseboats.

Our canoe was a little smaller, and we could get away from the main channels and onto the little boat only channels. Leon bought a coconut beer, which was some sort of fermented coconut tree sap concoction. It tasted like yeast. He somehow powered through the whole litre.

We again had lunch at Sarge’s, which was a nice thali on a banana leaf. We got to try pickled mango here, and that became an instant hit. The thali’s are great, because they are essentially unlimited food. The hospitality to eat until your full is certainly something to get used to.

We had dinner with Leon and Harriet, which wasn’t eventful. The walk back though, was.

See, we were having a lovely time chatting at the restaurant. Which was indoors. But outside, the wind started picking up, like there was a storm coming. Someone made a comment, but it was mostly dismissed by the group. Eventually the wind outside looked scary enough, and we started the 10 minute walk back to the homestay. Sheet lightning helped with the fright.

We left 10 minutes too late. It started raining shortly after we left. We tried to flag a rickshaw down as we speed-walked back to the homestay. But everyone seemed intent on finding shelter. The rain started coming harder and harder, the lightning brighter, the thunder longer and louder.

We were near a jog when a massive flash of light and crash of sound occurred seemingly right on top of us. The four of us collectively ducked for cover, unsure what to do. We rendezvoused in a closed tax office (we think), sheltering with a woman who had some late night accounting work to do, and a hospital worker. The rain really started coming down at this point. The lightning would go for multiple strikes at a time, and the thunder would roll for 20 seconds or so. There didn’t seem to be any respite, so we settled in for a show just 5 minutes from the hotel.

The near miss lightning strike collectively spooked us. Harriet was the most visibly shook, but Cam was freaking out internally. She’s never one for storms. We eventually decided the lightning had hit ~100m north of us as our best guess. There were power outages at this point along the streets as well. The hospital worker got a call, apparently the hospital had lost power. He then disappeared into the rain to get to the hospital, we just waited.

We stayed in this little tax office for 45 minutes or so watching the storm, waiting for it to clear up enough for our sprint back to the homestay. Eventually, a mix of a thunder break and impatience sent the group out on a brisk jog back. The roads were fairly deserted at this point. We later learned that these types of storms are very rare in the area, so everyone was sheltering.

We sat on in the safety of our porch to watch the end of the storm, and some electrical boxes arc and blow. Power was intermittent throughout the night. The grid here isn’t ready for a bunch of city based lightning strikes it turns out.

Overall Alleppy was lovely. We took the train back to Kochi the next morning, again with Leon and Harriet. We chatted with locals on the train about Canada, the standard topic, and the storm the night before. They were all bewildered by it. Kochi the second time was mainly for planning and resting. We checked out a Naval Museum to escape the heat. Went to our favorite restaurants for some dosa and curries. But nothing really too exciting.

That’s it for Kerala now. We have a 2am flight to head up north, for an adventure we have been looking forward too for a really long time. We will see you there!