We were looking forward to escaping the hustle and bustle of the overcrowded cities to a more relaxed pace of life in Kerala. I was particuarly looking forward to hiring a houseboat along the backwaters, after having seen them on a travel show when I was about 12! We nearly didn't make it onto the aeroplane after we went to the wrong terminal, 30mins away from the correct one.
Kerala was much more peaceful but unfortunately, the monsoon was much more apparent here. Lots of grey and drizzly days. Noah's Ark Homestay was extremely welcoming with Captain Jerry at starboard! They went out of their way to make sure we had our bearings, dropping us off in the centre and even taking us with them to Independance Day celebrations at their Church. Only Bill and I could be in Kerala, in India, be taken to a Church in the local YWCA and attend a service on India Independance Day that was led by Singaporean missionaries! Slightly surreal but God was well due for some thanks! He had done a pretty good job at keeping us alive despite India's best efforts, especially during the bus ride to Udaipur and the tuktuk to the airport!
Cochin was much less dirty than Rajasthan but the mossies were out in force! Luckily, Bill seemed tastier than me. Cochin is famous for its Chinese Fishing Nets. I couldn't quite understand the significance but we had a go! It was good fun working the nets with the fishermen and checking the catch. Unfortunately, like so many things, the experience was soon spoilt when they started asking for huge sums of money.
Breakfast at Noah's Ark was lovely. Lots of tea and chatting. We discovered an excellent place to eat by the Globe Trotter's Inn where you could get fresh fried fish Thali for only 20Rs. Our hands got filthy but it was the best food yet!
Captain Jerry went out of his way to get us safely on a bus to Alleppy ready for our houseboat trip. On arrival, we took the first accommodation option available at the Lemon Tree. Quite a bizarre place but probably only because it was off season and flooded and at 300Rs a night, we couldn't complain! We had horrible food in Alleppey centre at 'Love Shore' but a very generous cocktail :) We made friends with a puppy and geckos in Alleppey. We decided to eat more street food - at least you can see what you get!
In the morning, we were taken by tuktuk to our houseboat. It took a good hour to get there. By the time we left, it was almost 2pm. The houseboat was simple yet impressive. Once he warmed up, our driver was excellent. The beginning of the cruise is hugely disappointing, just sailing slowly through a big, dirty, murky lake. However, once on the palm fringed back waters, it is as beautiful as expected. The food provided was great though we could've done with more of it, mainly because there's not much else to do there! The biggest flaw in the houseboats is that they moor around 5pm, so instead of a full day's cruising, we had a couple of hours. In the morning, they just head back to port. The backwaters were pretty crowded and we were off season, so I'd hate to think what it's like in the peak season.
Back in Cochin, we booked to go on a day tour to the elephant sanctuary and Allupzha waterfall. Both were extremely enjoyable. They were filming a Bollywood film at the waterfall, so we weren't allowed to stand at the best viewpoint in case we were secretly spying on the film! In fact, people were more interested in taking photos of us!! The elephants were gorgeous and we had a succulent breakfast at a homestay near the sanctuary.