Beautiful eh! This is the place to be, so it seems, this time of the year.
Climb aboard a Keralan houseboat, kick off those smelly sandals and sit back to take in the beauty of more than 900km of canals and waterways. Course, 900km is not possible in three days but it was more than enough for a snapshot of what is out there.
Boats created from hollowed out trees weave their way, all be it at a snail's pace, through the networks, created hunderds of years ago as a way of carrying supplies (locally, copra (dried coconut meat) cashews and sand) between villages and towns. Now the waterways offer tourists a laid back chance of exploring Kerala, though some of the beautiful houseboats can set you back a small fortune for the privilege!
We opted for the cheaper option, a coupla quid for an afternoon on some local's boat. And it was worth every of the 200 or so pennies as we got a glimpse of locals in action. Alleppey (about 40km) north followed, and here we made do with the local ferries - about ten pence for three hours afloat.
Mind you, for such a popular place with "westerners" the social scene was distinctly lacking. Not that it stopped us having a tipple or 22 as we took advantage of the best accommodation to date. 4 quid a night for a brand new room in a large guesthouse, complete with massive balcony. Ah, life's good!
Climb aboard a Keralan houseboat, kick off those smelly sandals and sit back to take in the beauty of more than 900km of canals and waterways. Course, 900km is not possible in three days but it was more than enough for a snapshot of what is out there.
Boats created from hollowed out trees weave their way, all be it at a snail's pace, through the networks, created hunderds of years ago as a way of carrying supplies (locally, copra (dried coconut meat) cashews and sand) between villages and towns. Now the waterways offer tourists a laid back chance of exploring Kerala, though some of the beautiful houseboats can set you back a small fortune for the privilege!
We opted for the cheaper option, a coupla quid for an afternoon on some local's boat. And it was worth every of the 200 or so pennies as we got a glimpse of locals in action. Alleppey (about 40km) north followed, and here we made do with the local ferries - about ten pence for three hours afloat.
Mind you, for such a popular place with "westerners" the social scene was distinctly lacking. Not that it stopped us having a tipple or 22 as we took advantage of the best accommodation to date. 4 quid a night for a brand new room in a large guesthouse, complete with massive balcony. Ah, life's good!
No comments:
Post a Comment