India – Wander With Stella

The Backwaters of Kerala – don’t miss this experience in India

Every guide book and every hotel pamphlet and tourism booth and Tuk Tuk driver will tell you the “Backwater” experience is a must in Kerala and I couldn’t agree more. What could be better than a day on the water in one of the converted Kettuvallom boats that were used to transport goods in the many waterways winding between islands and the mainland, There are several places to start your Backwater Cruise, but I chose Alleppey. (Allapuzza another one of its names) Lucky for me the skies were clear, it was hot, but at 7:00 pm the a/c comes on in your cabin about the time that the temperature drops to a comfortable 33 degrees Celsius.

My boat was lovely and had an upper and lower fore deck, with a dining area and the rest was individual state rooms. Mine had a double bed its own bathroom and windows out to the water on both sides. The other passengers were Indian families for the most part. There were only about 12 of us altogether.

For the most part people sat close to the fans suspended to the dining room ceiling as we cruised along enjoying the views and life along the banks of the waterways. I was sitting enjoying music that was playing on a set of very large speakers when the parents of some teenagers left, leaving their prodigy behind. Immediately the music and volume changed and I realised that the teens were blue-toothed to the speakers. I thought hmmmmm…. I then blue toothed to the speakers pressed play and before I knew it Pavarotti won the cage match of music styles and the teens exited the dining room. I didn’t actually intend to play some opera but it was in the queue so it just happened. Sorry teenagers!

These houseboats are remodelled versions of Kettuvalloms that were once used to carry large amounts of produce. With the changing times, they have now evolved into literal hotels on the water that are equipped with all facilities that one can find on land. The view of rural Kerala from the houseboats is spectacularly serene and pastoral in contrast to the mayhem of road tripping.

Multi-day, Overnight and Day-Trippers Pass in the Channels

Some Boats More Resplendent than Others (Day-Trippers)

Fish Market & Grocery Store – Life Along the Canals

After drifting along for several hours we stopped at a fish market and the boat’s cook was there to say that if you wanted seafood to go ahead and buy it and he would take it back to the boat and prepare it for dinner. I bought prawns and treated myself to a small Pepsi of all things. That’s what thirst will do to you in a hot country.

Brilliant Green Rice Paddies Peak Out Along the Shores

Canals Lined with Homes, Villages and Farms

A lazy day of floating along staying cool in the air stream of electric fans, we watched the sun set beneath the palm trees.

Sleeping on board was peaceful, quiet and the sky was star filled. So nice to rock to sleep looking out across the water at the lights of settlements. After breakfast we returned to Alleppey and disembarked where my fearless driver Srihari was waiting to take me further south to Varkala and Novalam the beach destinations situated outside of the capital of Kerala, Thrivarnum.

Varkala & Narvalam – Beach Towns

Having one night in Varkala seemed enough, as pretty as it was and how nice the beach was it seemed like too much of a backpackers destination, without enough Indian flavour for my liking. The handful of people that were on the beach were European.

Thirarnum & Narvala Beach

So I took a Tuk Tuk the next day to Thirarnum had a bit of a tour of the city and headed to Navvarlam where I indulged myself in a upmarket hotel situated right on the beach. The hotel had such an interesting turnover of Indian guests: wedding guests, Hindu Pilgrams, Valentines sweethearts and family groups from all parts of India. I took the half board food package, meaning I had a buffet breakfast and dinner and I must say both meals were quite delicious and I was able to sample a huge variety of dishes all with English name tags which was very helpful.

Although Indian English is a different dialect from my English, it is the common language for a country with over 700 languages according to a linguistic survey that I found on Mr. Goggle. For this reason I met a lot of people in Kerala who spoke English and their own language (Malayalam) but not Hindi as you might expect.

Leaving Trithurnam by Train

I had purchased a first class air conditioned train car to travel the three hour trip back to Kochi Airport to fly on to Sri Lanka the following day. The train car was fabulous I was taken to my seat by a porter who hoisted my luggage into the overhead racks, then the natty conductor in full conductor dress came by to greet me and welcome me, with a hand shake no less, to the train, then I was given a large bottle of water and a red rose and received a large tray of snacks, including pastries and chocolate. Quite the service and the seats were comfortable and the views inviting. I would highly recommend the train trip between Kochi and Trivurnam if you get the chance. A taxi to the President Airport Hotel from the train station and I am settled in for my overnight flight to Sri Lanka. So excited for this next part of my journey but a little sad to leave Kerala, God’s Own Country indeed.

The drive from Munnar to Thekkady takes about three hours and continues to be as awe inspiring as the drive from Kochi to Munnar. The picture below gives a good idea of the Shola Forest predominant in the Ghats.

Botanical Garden but No More Flowers…I Promise

Thekkady is quite distinctive from Munnar, has more of a National Park Vibe than does Munnar which for its part is really just a jumble of a town that straddles the highway for the purpose of commerce. The area around Munnar is what makes it a destination whereas Thekkady itself has some actual charm. The big draw for me was Periyar National Park, famous for its flora and fauna. It is also a Tiger Reserve and a great way to see the Park is on a boat cruise. We got extremely lucky by all accounts as we cruised Periyar Lake seeing bison, elephants and deer, all relatively rare sights given that it was a midday sailing.

After paying a bus fare that got me into the park and up close to the lake I purchased a ticket for the boat cruise and while I waited I had some fun people watching and some monkey antics as well. On the cruise I came to regret my decision to be lazy and leave my Nikon with telephoto lens at home. My iPhone just doesn’t cut the distances and my animal shots would have been much more satisfying.

These ladies happily agreed to have their photo taken

Seeing this and not to be outdone these ladies volunteered to be photographed. I love it!

I did alert the owner and he shooed the little fellow off…

Wow just wow! Everyone on the boat was excited.

Cruise over and bussed back to the entrance, I met up with Srihari who took me to my Hotel. Really nice rooms and pool and I had a few hours to relax before the evening activities of a Kalaripayat Martial Arts performance followed by a performance of Kutiyattam the traditional dance of Kerala.

The arena where the martial arts demonstration happened was packed and by an enthusiastic audience of all ages. I sat beside an elderly woman who didn’t hold back when demonstrating her approval, clapping and yelling when something exciting happened. It was really fun. A combination of Kerlalan traditional martial arts and weapons, with extreme yoga poses and acrobatics it was quite entertaining and I was glad I went and equally glad that I avoided the audience participation part as seen below, although I did suggest that the avid older lady fan beside me volunteer which elicited giggles and chuckles.

Increasing number of backs to hurtle over and finish with an aerial tumble.

Immediately following the Martial Arts event I walked to the nearby theatre to see Kutiyattam, India’s oldest living theatrical art form, possibly 2000 years old. Starting out in temples as a story telling form of worship it advanced in the 20th century to stage and theatres. The meaning of the word Kutiyattam is ‘acting and dancing together’. The dance is performed in a specific manner and a lot of rules must be followed. The dance can only be presented by men of Chakiar caste and the music is played by men of the Nambiear caste. All of this was explained to the audience before the performance began. A very deliberate slow moving performance which relies heavily on extreme eye movements.

The performer that started the show, rolled, raised, lowered, shuffled, circled and otherwise manipulated only his eyes such that your eyes hurt just watching. In this first part only the eyes moved everything else was stony still. After the eye tumbling and with controlled breathing, fine facial movements and hand gestures, the story unfolds. Eventually other actors join the stage and the story becomes more dynamic. The music consisted of a drum, conch shell, cymbals and flute. A bit surreal the performance definitely gave the flavour of otherworldly beings as it was intended to do.

Back to my hotel and a good nights rest in a rather swanky hotel whose name escapes me. Tomorrow we leave the mountains and rolling hills of the Western Ghats and return to the Malabar Coast to the city of Alapuzza, south of Kochi.

Tag: India

Back to the Malabar Coast of Kerala

Thekkady

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