I have had a few lovely days in Alleppey: kayaking, long walks on the beach and generally chilling out.
Wednesday (19th)
Today I moved into an actual hotel / bungalow. They’re small with an attached bathroom made of brick and concrete with a cool wicker/banana leaf roof. After checking in to the new place I had an amble into town. Alleppey reminds me of when you see a small American town on TV or films, one main street and a few other streets coming off of it. In reality it’s nothing like that, but that’s just the impression that I got.
After a long walk around the town I decided that I wanted to actually see the proper backwaters and so booked onto a tour with a difference: Kayaking…I was half excited and half very very scared!
I sunbathed for the rest of the afternoon and ate dinner in the brilliant ‘Indian Coffee House’. It’s run and managed by the workers and provides really cheap, but very nice tea and coffee.
Thursday (20th)
Waking up at 5.45am this morning was not a pleasant experience. Nevertheless I got up and washed and readied myself for the adventure that I was about to begin: Kerala backwaters by canoe and kayak!
I was picked up by the owner on his moped. There were actually three of us on the thing! It was surprisingly fun! He drove and I was sandwiched in the middle. The moped drove right out to the backwaters and then put me and the other kayakers upon a small tourist covered canoe with six wicker chairs arranged out in two rows and a sort of spongy bed area which you can lay on. Classy.
After a short trip down a smallish canal, we picked up the kayaks and had the option to get into them then and there, but I chose to wait a little while and preserve energy! We were taken around some large canals that let into a lake and then we docked up to a little bridge so that everyone could get into the kayaks. I was petrified and really worried that I’d fall in.
I didn’t fall in!
It was nice to be taken on the tour by the man that I had talked about doing it with. He was extremely friendly and answered all of my questions, however silly they were! I learnt that some of the families live completely on the canals and waterways, using the water for washing themselves, cooking, drinking and cleaning their things. I saw a little jetty with lots of young children sitting on it; I was told that they were waiting to get picked up for school! The boat comes and collects them as it’s quicker than walking all around the canals. I thought that this was a lovely way of getting to school, though i’m not sure how children in England would deal with it, We’re very spoilt really!
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