Mar 3, 2012 - Alleppey - Day 2

We had to up and out at 8am for our trip out to the canals. Alleppey is the centre of the inland waterway system here in Kerala. There is a maze of canals and waterways stretching up and down the coast for many miles. The area is known as the Venice of Kerala. The countryside is very lush with great tall palm trees and great open rice fields, all green and fresh looking. Alleppey is on a narrow strip of land between the Arabian sea and the inland waterways. Very typical tropical houses and shops, mostly single storey very reminiscent of...

Mar 2, 2012 - Alleppey, Kerala

Not a bad nights sleep in view of the very hard bunk but up at 6am when we stopped at one of the many stations. The early morning visit to the WC is always an assault on the senses. There is a choice between a western toilet and a squat toilet but both look equally unsavoury and dirty. First Class is not how most people would classify them at all. But they do work so long as you are careful not to drop anything into the bowl of the toilet otherwise it is lost down the large pipe that drops down through the floor to the track below. We have...

Jan 19, 2012 - Alleppey

The main tourist attraction in Kerala, and one of the main ones in all of India, is riding on the Kerala backwaters and experiencing village life on the shores as you float past. The backwaters are a vast network of canals, rivers, and streams that run throughout the state, with certain sections much more opened to tourism than others. For the villagers, these waterways are the only form of transportation in some places, and ferries act like local buses shuttling people around. Most tourists rent a houseboat, which is a fancy old rice boat...

Jan 13, 2012 - Kerala Backwaters Homestay

We left Thekkady at 9am.  Some of the group had early morning massages. Our trip to the Kerala backwaters was 4.5 hours bus ride with a 30 mins stop at a coffee shop. We pulled up at the river side then took a small boat across to the island where we were staying.  We could only take stuff for overnight - big bags wouldn't have fitted on the boats, but ever prepared I'd bought a fold up holdall that we used.  The group were staying  in two houses - 5 in each and I'd thought it would be basic, but it is actually better than some of the...

Nov 27, 2011 - Alleppey, Kerala **Blog**

Kerala – the last state we were visiting in India - and, as we made our way, that slightly mournful feeling that comes with knowing you’ll soon be leaving a country crept in. Completing 2½ months in India we started to tick off our last train journey, our last cup of chai, the last auto rickshaw driver trying to rob us blind… Actually that’s slightly unfair to Kerala. Although we were fighting an almost constant battle against being cheated in North India, we found our experience in South India to be far more laid-back. People in the south...

Feb 9, 2011 - Arrival in Alleppey

"What have you got us into this time?" exclaimed John as we arrived at what looked like a dilapidated barn. Even our (prepaid) taxi driver seemed very keen to unload our rucksacks and speed off before we could ask him to wait a little longer. The description of what was described as a "resort" on the website I booked through last night bore no resemblance to the building we were currently staring at. Just then a young Indian woman appeared and directed us through a garden to some chalets that looked reassuringly more like the pictures on...

Oct 25, 2010 - Alleppey

A dreamy two days, floating along the backwaters of Kerala, India on a houseboat!!! It was amazing, known as the Venice of India, it was so peaceful and beautiful and our captain, who was also the chef made amazing local food. He brought us to his village to dock for the night and the kids there were all excited to meet us and to bring us on a tour of their village which was class! We had two beautiful days and one monsoon downpour on the third! Seriously hot at night but an unforgettable experience!

Feb 14, 2010 - Backwater

Since I was on the road yesterday and it is Sunday, today I relaxed. I am now in Kerala, which is the state on the south west coast of India. There are lakes and back waters popular with both local and foreign tourists. There are many boats from passenger ferrys to elaborate houseboats with staterooms and a staff. I chose to have a boat that was punted, which fit both my guidebook's definition of "green" and my pocketbook. It was incredibly relaxing to lean back and watch life on the water's edge. I could watch women washing clothes in the...

Jan 17, 2010 - The long journey home

It had all been booked. Flight from Kochi to Delhi with a good 3-4 hours in between should something go wrong. It did. Fog. Our flight out of Kochi was delayed leaving by 2 hours. Should still be ok, right? Wrong. Once we got to Delhi, our bags took an hour to come off the plane. Now it was nail biting time. We queued at the counter for the courtesy bus that would take us from the domestic terminal to the international terminal, only to be told once we got to the front of the queue, the bus was gone already (it wasn't time yet!) so we...

Jan 16, 2010 - Alleppey

It was time for our home-stay along the backwaters of Alleppey. Just getting there was an adventure for some. Well, for one. Susana who can't swim (much to the surprise and amusement of all our travelling companions who said "But you're Australian. Don't all Australians know how to swim?")had a minor panic moment when asked to climb into a canoe. Her knuckles were white as she clung onto the sides of that little boat for dear life. I must note that the water was as flat as a tack and there wasn't even the tiniest of breezes. It was an...

Dec 19, 2009 - Mangalore/Mysore/Ernakalum/Kochi/Alleppey/Kollam/Varkala

Boy, you can see by the title I've not been keeping up very well, due mainly to the constant moving. Much to report. First though I must mention a particularly wonderful salad roll we had for breaky before leaving Palolem - had yaks cheese in it - wonderfully firm, mature and slighty smelly. The cafe owners were Tibetan where they import it from. Yum. As predicted the 16hr train/bus marathon to Mysore was shitful, however our reason for going proved to be worth it - Mysore Palace. Incredible. Built in 1912 replacing one that burnt down,...

Dec 16, 2009 - Allappuzha (Alleppey)

A few hours by train took us to Alleppey (population of 285,000), best-known as the starting point for houseboat trips into the back-waters. We spent several days here exploring the town, canals and sampling more delicious, Southern Indian delicacies. The highlight of our time here was a canoe-trip we took through the many canals winding through the area. It was a fantastic way to view village life on and off the water. Along the canals, we saw more houseboats than we could count. Some boats were incredibly luxurious (from what we could...