Monday, 2/22/16 - Alleppey: Visiting Jagdishji's family and boarding our houseboat |
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We enjoyed a buffet breakfast and fresh dosas for breakfast before checking out of the hotel, but not before the desk clerk begged me for some pens. Again, this hotel has such potential, but needs some infrastructure work and management training.
We embarked on the drive to Alleppey for our backwater houseboat cruise. On our way out of town, we passed an elephant walking down the road, and another riding in the back of a truck. Young Muslim students waited outside in front of their mosque for a bus which would take them to Koranic school. Jagdishji's sister and her family live in Alleppey, and we would be stopping in to visit them before heading to the boat. Mukul suggested making several stops to buy some gifts for them. First we stopped at Sneha Nursery, a lovely little plant nursery where he purchased a beautiful bougainvillea. We wandered through the lush grounds, admiring the lotuses and roses. Mukul told Sadanandan that he wanted to stop at the best sweet shop in the area. Sadanandan thought for a moment, and then said, "I know where to go!" He pulled over into a strip mall, parked the car, and led us to a bakery which was called "Best Bake Shop." We chuckled, wondering whether, in Sadanandan's opinion, this was actually the best bake shop in the area, or whether he simply took Mukul quite literally. Either way, it suited our needs. Mukul bought some sweets, and we bought some bottled Neera coconut water. In the parking lot of the strip mall, there was an advertisement with two men giving the thumbs up that said "Trust in God. Invest in gold." This area has many gold and diamond showrooms. There was also a movie theater with a very old-school sign that looked like it was right out of the 1960's. The movie posters were all written in Malayalam, and they looked very cool. THe script is so beautiful. Then we continued on to Alleppey (also known as Alappuzha). The entire journey took us around 4.5 hours, including the stops. When we arrived in town, we stopped in to see Jagdishji's sister Jaya's family. The family is Gujarati (like Mukul), having come to Kerala for their business (floor coverings - a popular industry in this area as they make use of coconut husk fiber called coir). Their son Mitesh had married a local Malayalam woman named Shalini in December. Mukul and Sunita were unable to attend the wedding, so he was happy for this opportunity to visit and congratulate the happy couple. It was around 1 p.m. when we arrived, and they very kindly prepared lunch for us: poori, bhaji, dahl, curried vegetables, khaman dhokla, popadums, kheer, and buttermilk. It was absolutely delicious, having been home cooked by Jaya. Mitesh also showed us highlights from their wedding video. It was beautiful! Like everyone we have visited in India, their hospitality was superb! We could only stay an hour, as we had to board our houseboat, but it was a lovely visit! We have enjoyed Jagdishji's company several times, and it was nice to be able to meet his family. We arrived at the houseboat jetty at 2 p.m. There were many houseboat companies here, and boats were arriving and being prepared for new guests. Crews were swapping dirty linens for clean ones, and loading provisions onto the boats. We said goodbye to Sadanandan. We would not be requiring a driver for the next two days, so he had been assigned to another group. We would have different drivers for our transfers once we disembarked from the houseboat. Sadanandan was very knowledgeable and friendly, and he helped Craig immensely when Craig was wallking on uneven surfaces or when he had to go up and down stairs. We will miss him. Speaking of uneven surfaces, Craig has wondered about the accessibility of the houseboat. Would someone with mobility and balance issues be able to board the boat without problems? The reality was that everyone was quite helpful. We had to walk across a small gangplank to get up onto the boat, and the crew helped Craig as much or as little as needed. It turned out to be a non-issue, since the service was so good. Our house boat (operated by Marvel Cruises) has two cabins, each with a private bathroom. It also has a lovely covered outdoor space, with areas for lounging and eating. The boats look incredibly traditional, made of local natural materials, yet they have the necessary modern conveniences. Any modern technology (including wiring and electronics) are hidden from view behind the natural materials. The floors and walls were covered with mats made of coir, and the furniture was made of rattan. The roof was made of woven rattan and tied to curved wooden supports with coir twine. It all felt very organic. There are 2,000 houseboats in the area, some of which have multiple storeys and significantly more cabins. Our boat was the perfect size for us and Mukul. We met our three man crew: Jimon and William (co-captains) and Rajendran, the cook. We were served cool lemonade and water, and we relaxed in the sitting area. Air conditioning is only available in the cabins overnight. Even though we were in the shade, it was warm on deck. We had no air conditioned safe zone, and we didn't want Craig to get overheated. Heat is a trigger for his MS symptoms. We brought one of the electric fans from the bedrooms out onto the main deck to provide a breeze. We also put on our cooling neckerchiefs (after soaking them in water, crystals inside them expand and they feel cool to the touch). Wrapping them around our necks helped to cool us down. Although there were many other houseboats near the jetty where we embarked, as we got further away, the boat traffic thinned out, and we were soon away from the hustle and bustle. It was so relaxing - a great way to unwind after a busy couple of weeks of traveling. We were gliding through the brackish canals and lakes of the backwaters. It was absoultely beautiful. We had heard great things about the "backwaters," but we hadn't been exactly sure what to expect. Wikipedia defines them as follows: The Kerala backwaters are a chain of brackish lagoons and lakes lying parallel to the Arabian Sea coast (known as the Malabar Coast) of Kerala state in southern India. The network includes five large lakes linked by canals, both man made and natural, fed by 38 rivers, and extending virtually half the length of Kerala state. The backwaters were formed by the action of waves and shore currents creating low barrier islands across the mouths of the many rivers flowing down from the Western Ghats range... a labyrinthine system formed by more than 900 km of waterways.It was not a landscape we are used to, and it was fascinating. The rivers were quite wide in some places, and narrow in others. Buildings (houses, churches, temples, schools) are built within meters of the water. It was so peaceful. Mukul helped us to identify birds that we saw and heard:
 There were verdant green rice paddies as far as the eye could see. They almost looked like lawns, they were so lush. We saw ducks swimming in the water, and birds perched across footbridges looking for fish beneath the water's surface. We passed several canoes being paddled by Indian honeymooners, taking advantage of the romantic setting. The late afternoon sunlight was gorgeous, and we thoroughly enjoyed this half hour excursion. We climbed back up onto our houseboat and chatted with Mukul. Soon we moored at a quiet spot for the night. We watched a spectacular sunset. The golden sun reflected in the shimmering waters, then turned to a fluorescent orange orb. We heard the faint splashing of a canoe paddle as a man in a wooden canoe distorted the sun's reflection as he paddled past us. The lower the sun sank, the faster it sank, and soon it dipped below the horizon. Before long, the full moon rose on the other side of the boat. It was spectacular! At 7:30, we had dinner. Rajendran had prepared a lovely spread: Delicious curried chicken, freshwater fish, dahl, vegetable curry, rice, chappathi, long beans, and pineapple. It was delicious (especially the chicken curry and the fish). The crew had even gone ashore to get some beer for us, so Mukul and Craig shared one. As it was now dark, the crew turned on the lights. When the light above the dinner table turned on, a small spider took advantage of the opportunity to trap insects who were attracted to the light. He swiftly and diligently wove a web in the light fixture. It was mesmerizing to watch. He probably does this same routine every evening. We heard a little chirping noise and noticed two geckoes on the wall behind the dining table. They hid behind two framed paintings on the wall. We saw fruit bats and fireflies. Mosquitoes came out, so we put on some bug repellent, which did the trick immediately. This was a relief, as we had wondered how much of a problem mosquitoes would be in this wetland environment. We were happy that they were easily mitigated by bug spray. We retired to our room at 9:30. The air conditioning was on at 22 degrees C (72 Fahrenheit), and between that and the fan, we slept quite comfortably. Marvel Cruises, Alleppey |
 Mukul buying sweets at the Best Bakery  Mitesh serves us his mother's cooking  Shalini, Steph, Mitesh, Craig, and Jaya and her husband  On the houseboat  Jimon drives the houseboat  Pulling away from our houseboat in a motorized canoe  Exploring backwater canals in a motorized canoe  Exploring backwater canals in a motorized canoe  Canoer paddling at sunset  Sunset from the houseboat 
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