The Backwaters Of Kerala

The following morning we took a trip on a houseboat around the backwaters of Alleppey. The backwaters consist of a large lake with much of the surrounding land being reclaimed. The reclaimed land creates intricate alleyways of canals between which lie paddy fields, banana and coconut plantations as well as villagers who work the land.

Our overnight journey was a small piece of heaven as we drifted in and out of waterways, catching a glimpse of village life on the backwaters. It was a scene that Kerala is famous for and incredibly serene.

Our captain proved to be a fountain of knowledge on Indian politics and so we spent the day picking his brains and learning about the communist life that the people of Kerala lead. He lived locally in one of the villages and that evening, he took us into his village and invited us into his home. At the back of his house we watched his family coming in from his paddy field with bundles of harvested rice. I managed to upset an ants nest and landed myself with around 8 itchy ant bites. We then picked a papaya from a tree in his back garden, which was to be our dessert later. He then fed us the most delicious mangoes, fresh from his tree.

We were fed a fabulous evening meal and watched the fireflies lighting up the coconut palms above our heads. We went to bed shortly after sunset and got up shortly after sunrise to finish our mini-cruise back in Alleppey.