India: Kerala Backwaters

We journeyed to the town of Alleppey specifically to enjoy the area’s “Backwaters” – the name given to the inland waterway that is just a short distance from the coastline. It’s a calm, “Venice-like” river/canal system that stretches for many miles/kilometers, running down much of the length of the state of Kerala. The people that live along the water seem to rely on it for everything – from cleaning, bathing, and washing, to transportation, fishing, and for watering the rice fields, which are everywhere along the Backwaters.

The Backwaters provide for a large and growing tourism industry, and the houseboat “rental” business is the main draw. We hired a local fisherman turned boat entrepreneur to ply us down and around these tropical canals on a 3-hour day excursion, and then on the following day we embarked on an overnight houseboat trip through similar, watery terrain. These houseboats were unlike anything called a houseboat in our native land, and don’t resemble the standard Western variety in the least. The Kerala boats are constructed of bamboo and wood, and are lashed together with rope and string, making them more like a “Kon-Tiki-ish” vessel than houseboat. Ours included a 3-man crew – the boat captain, a first-mate, and a cook – each looking after our needs in their “specialized” way. We especially enjoyed the never-ending supply of delicious food that our cook prepared, as well as a groovy, upper-deck area for the sunset over the rice fields, and for some full moon/star gazing in the evening. Needless to say, it was a very relaxed and pleasant afternoon and night on the water-boat.

 Appelley Beach provided another highlight of our time in the town. We spent a lazy afternoon with hordes of Sunday locals, with very few other Western travelers sighted. The beach-goers were of the typical Indian type – women, younger girls, and female children were wading in the sea wearing their lovely, colorful saris, while the men and boys had on jeans and t-shirts, or were wearing nothing but their underwear, or a traditional, sarong-like wrap (called a lungi) splashed and frolicked in the water. It seems that the majority of Southern Indians, and Indians in general, do not swim in the ocean in the same way as we Western-folk often do - and apparently most do not own any swim attire.

The friendly and gawking locals all lined-up along the shore to watch the sinking sunset, some with cameras, and most with cell phones with which to photograph the scenery and each other (and us). Nearly everyone was with their family – and grandparents, kids, and babies happily posed for our camera, and we did the same for theirs. We saw ice-cream vendors, cotton-candy sales boys, and camel rides on offer, but the most surprising event of the day was our meeting with the Indian Frisbee team, who were “jamming” along the breezy shoreline. The fun really began once I (Stevo), joined the young men in a spirited fling of the disc, teaching the guys a few new tricks, and bringing smiles to their happy faces. There was much rejoicing and excitement, and a large and interested crowd gathered around to observe and photograph the “white-guy” playing with the well-known local team.

The state of Kerala appears to have more tourists and travelers than we had noticed while traveling throughout Tamil Nadu. It seems “less” dirty here and there is considerably less hand shaking and horn honking going on (though there’s still some very chaotic driving). The surroundings in this part of South India are more lush and tropical, the beaches appear cleaner and are mostly “cow-free,” and the pace is somewhat more relaxed. There are also fewer Hindu pilgrims and Hindu temples, and many more Christians, Sikhs, and Muslims – though the majority of people are indeed Hindu.

To our ears, India is a loud and boisterous culture. Many people speak in rapid-fire, thunderous voices, the music tends to be static-y and blaring, and street noise can be deafening. We’ve also noted some interesting, if not mundane, oddities and observations. For example, there are never just 1 or 2 light switches in our hotel rooms. Instead, we have always found there to be a vast, and confusing, array of switches with at least a half-dozen, and often times many more options (though most are inoperable). Indian mattresses are of the rock-hard variety, pillows tend to be boulders, and our bed sheets are always tucked-in with extra-tight, and extreme, military-like precision. It’s also been hard not to notice how frequently and constantly the men need to re-adjust and re-tuck their wrap-around lungi’s – though we’ve yet to see one fall off or sag inappropriately!

Our experiences have been mostly positive, though miscommunication challenges abound and seem to lurk around every corner. We’ve been told by both helpful locals, and by more seasoned India travelers, that one has to have “faith” that all will work-out in the end – and so far that has been true for us.