The Kerela Backwaters

Chris - From Goa we continued south on nighttrains to Kerela, "God's Own Country", nearly to the southernmost tip of India. When we took our first walk down the streets of Alepepy, Steph proclaimed this to be the most ordinary and real experience we have found in India. Here nobody even thought to solicit or harass us. Everyone went about their business and we were very content to be clear of the tourist trail for a day. In fact, I was able to have two very local experiences here in Kerela.

First, some new friends of ours from the train recommended popping in for a chai tea at one of the tea shacks that line the roads with glass pastry boxes in the doorways. I found several of these the next morning on a walk to snap some street photos. The cramped tables inside were filled with old men filling up on their morning meals. A steaming cup of sweet chai was brought over immediately even though it seemed like it was already lunch hour. The old men expertly used their fingers as utensils when it came to pinching handfulls of the large puffy kerela rice mixed with some dahl (lentils) and scooping it into their mouths.

From these streets of Alepepy, we hired a converted rice patty boat (replica). We had it all to ourselves with a crew for a 24hr tour of the backwaters. This may have been our biggest splurge on the world tour. We decided to go or it because everyone has told us that it is absolutely one of the best experiences in India, and worth every penny. It was. A two bedroom boat with captain, chef and deckhand/tea boy, that set us back 80 pounds. We slipped past the simple, beautiful living for people whose colorful homes dot the small stretch of land that seperates the backwater canals from the rice fields. Most importantly we thought it was important to relax and enjoy some of our final days in India.

Then we ended the day with another very local experience. Steph asked the captain where I could go get an Indian shave to get rid of the 'brillo' beard that was getting out of control. While our chef was fixing dinner, the captain took us on the little public canoe over to a tiny village where I asked for a proper shave. We made friends in the barber shop and Steph and I were very happy with the smooth result and dropping my scruffy look :-) The Indians where perplexed when I insisted on losing my powerful moustache...

After getting lost in the backwaters we caught a bus to the Dutch/Portuguese colonial town of Fort Kochin. After visitng the mosques and temples in north, it was amazing to see the Christian corners of India and the oldest church, where Vasco de Gama was temporarily buried. Saturday was the first day of Divali - the festival of light. This is one of the main holidays on the calendar in India. We might be able to relate it to both Thanksgiving (focus on family) and Christmas (decorations and giftgiving) with many more traditions. But of course Divali is second to Christmas here in Kerala, so we flew back up to Delhi while the city was still decorated with lights and showered in fireworks.

River Crossing to the Village Barber Shop