On Saturday I told you that we would be on the houseboat on Sunday. We left our hotel in Cochin in the morning and got a taxi to Alleppey where the houseboat trip would start. At that time I was happy to have the possibilities of modern life as we were able to talk to the owner of the houseboat by mobile and locate him in this way. Otherwise we would have needed a lot more time to find the right boat among those hundreds of houseboats parked in Alleppey.
We wanted to spend a full day and night on the houseboat and had booked accordingly. When we got onto the boat at half past eleven, we were introduced to the chef who would cook for us on the boat and of course to the captain, sitting at the front and navigating through the backwaters.
It was a very nice scenery that opened in front of our eyes once we started. Coconut trees, banana trees, mango trees, rice fields and many birds to both sides of the channel. Nature close to water is nearly always very beautiful as it is rich and green. From time to time you could see some huts where the rice farmers and fishermen live, sometimes very far apart from each other.
Of course you could not stay in the illusion of being the only people doing this kind of trip. Our captain told there are 100 companies doing this business in the backwaters of Kerala with about 600 boats of different sizes. They have from one up to ten bedrooms in one houseboat, some with air conditioning and some without. We preferred to be just by ourselves and took a one bedroom houseboat with AC. So we got to see some other boats with foreign tourists as well as Indian tourists, honeymoon couples and families on them. Nevertheless, the water was never crowded as there were many different waterways to take and we had our boat to ourselves so the atmosphere remained simply beautiful.
We enjoyed the delicious South Indian food that was cooked especially for us and according to our requirements – pure vegetarian, without onion, garlic and chili. They used fresh coconuts and although Ramona usually doesn’t like coconuts, she liked their taste in the local dishes with beans and cabbage. We enjoyed our food while looking out onto the water. We had a beautiful sunset before the boat parked for the night on the side of the channel.
In the morning we woke up early to see the sunrise and were amazed again by nature, how everything wakes up and comes to life in the freshness of the morning. I can really say that we enjoyed this experience very much and can recommend such a trip on a houseboat to every traveller to Kerala. It took us another short drive from the place where we stayed overnight back to Alleppey. We had breakfast on the boat and were thus strengthened for the further trip today.
From Alleppey we took a train to Trivandrum which took about three hours. Now we arrived safely in our hotel and are already looking forward to discovering this city and its secrets.
!["Kerala]("http://www.jaisiyaram.com/images/Backwater_Campaign.jpg")
Related posts
Having Fun on the beautiful Island Gran Canaria – 25 Jun 14
Being mistaken for a Foreigner while on Holiday in my own Country – 25 Dec 13
Shopping experience in Lucknow – 24 Dec 13
Visiting Kovalam and Kanyakumari without Expectations – 26 Jan 11
My Idea of Holidays – Not Learning but Relaxing – 25 Jan 11
Beautiful Concrete Jungle with Nature – 16 May 10
Arriving in Arizona and learning about Native Americans – 8 Aug 09
Sightseeing in Innsbruck, Austria – 24 May 09
Exploring cold and windy Edinburgh – 10 Jan 09
What a beautifully written account of this marvelous excursion. You took me along with you in my imagination.
How Romantic!
excellent photos! as usual, I am jealous of your adventures.
This is something that I would definitely love to do someday, a houseboat tour or something…it would be wonderful because when you’re tired of sightseeing then you just sleep, but when you make you’re already on the move and there are more wonderful things to see! Also you could stop and go whenever you wish. Plus there is nothing more calming to sleep to than the sound of water and the drifting of the boat could also be soothing…hmmm something I old definitely love to do in the future.
Nice article….. Thanks for sharing
Backwaters is really amazing experience in Kerala houseboats. Really awesome place and a must visit trip.
Excellent experience shared.If you would like have a much more traditional experience, you can try Kumarakom Houseboat Holidays next time.
Kumarakom Houseboat holidays is one of the number one houseboat operators in Alleppey and Kumarakom backwaters.Kumarakom Houseboat Holidays offering luxurious boathouse accommodation in Alleppey and Kumarakom backwaters.
http://www.kumarakomhouseboatholidays.com/