Alleppey - Kerala, India

On to stop number two: Alleppey, a beach town at one end of Kerala’s backwaters.

We took the train down from Cochin, which was an experience in itself. It all started off well and we quickly purchased tickets for an express train for about 70 pence, but the train proceeded to pick up over an hour of delay between us buying the tickets and it arriving at the station so the journey took a little longer than expected.

However, we were able to pick up a curry and a coffee in the station food court for around a pound each then sit in an air conditioned waiting for 30p and so avoided waiting on the busy platforms in the intense midday heat.

On board the train it was relatively calm and we found some seats - the biggest shock (though perhaps not a surprise) was the locals throwing their litter out of the open window on to the tracks! Public bins are not a common sight here!

At each station along the way and during the journey, food and chai vendors work their way up and down the aisles selling biriyani, doughnuts, chai tea, coffee, cold drinks and crisps - there is never any need to go hungry in India when you have a few rupees in your pocket!

Alleppey is much smaller and noticeably quieter than Cochin - there don’t seem to be many foreign tourists around and locals believe that the November floods put a lot of people off their Kerala holiday plans. Alleppey was one of the towns worst hit by the floods, being surrounded by the backwaters (a network of canals) and we even met some locals on the beach who had lost their home and all their possessions, and their five year-old daughter had to be rescued by a family member, who swam out through the flood waters to save her.

Fortunately now the waters have receded and life is more or less back to normal. The water levels are still quite high but it’s winter here now, which is traditionally a much dryer season so hopefully there will be no further recurrences.

On arrival into Alleppey, we checked into our accommodation. Our host was a colourful character called Johnson for whom nothing was too much trouble to make our stay comfortable. We were given an upgraded room, had dinner cooked for us and sorted out our houseboat booking.

We wandered a few blocks down to the beach in the late afternoon; the locals like to congregate there at that time of day, once the heat of the midday sun has gone. 

We were more or less the only westerners on the beach and we soon began to attract quite a bit of interest - this must be what it’s like to be famous! First a group of five or so lads stopped to ask if they could have a selfie with us, then an older couple stopped to chat (and for a photo). We also spoke to a group of ladies who we decided to ask for a selfie for the blog!

Alleppey has a nice beach, albeit with a warning about swimming in the sea, but I couldn’t figure out if that’s because a lot of Indian children are not taught to swim at school or because it was dangerous. We did go for a wallow in the waves and the sea was so warm!

I had to make sure I covered up - both in and out of the water - as the Indian ladies were fully clothed on the beach - and in the sea, wading in but not swimming - and I didn’t want to cause offence or unnecessary stares by swimming in a bikini. 

The town centre is a colourful street  decorated with bunting and is busy with the usual tuktuk and motorbike traffic and honking horns. Although only a few blocks away from the beach, the hectic streets of the town feel like a different place.

After two nights in Johnson’s homestay accommodation, we booked on to his eco-houseboat and were lucky enough to have it all to ourselves, with our own private captain and chef.

It was beautiful and serene making our way through the backwaters and lakes, mooring up for meals and spotting birds on the wetlands. We saw eagles, kingfishers and storks whilst lounging on the boat, between reading and playing Yahtzee.

In the evening we moored at a jetty in an area busy with other boats. It was still very relaxing but with the hubbub of other boaters moored up for the night and passing boat traffic. Houseboat tourism is popular amongst Indian and foreign tourists alike.

We were on the water from midday to nine AM the following morning and our cabin looked directly out on to the water.

When back on dry land, we took a bus down to our next stop in Munroe Island. We’re heading inland from the other end of the backwaters at Kollam and staying in a rural village on Ashtamundi Lake for some peace and tranquility away from all the traffic, noise and beeping horns in the town. I’ll write again from there.