21 Allapuzha, backwaters

Holidays and short breaks
Argentina (2001)
Chile (2002)
India (2003)
World trip (2005-2006)
Libya (2008)

Pictures
1 Croydon to Delhi
2 Agra
3 Jaipur
4 Jaipur & Udaipur
5 The Maharana of Mewar
6 Ranakpur
7 Udaipur & Delhi
8 Darjeeling
9 Darjeeling
10 Darjeeling
11 Chennai
12 Tirupati
13 Mahabalipuram
14 Mahabalipuram
15 Chennai
16 Bangalore
17 Mangalore
18 My big fat Indian wedding
19 Murdeshwar
20 Slow train to Kochi
21 Allapuzha, backwaters
22 Backwaters and Kochi
23 Kochi to Delhi
24 Delhi to London

India

Wednesday 17 December 2003

Nice lie-in today and feeling decadent so ask for my eggs fried just how I like them – sunny side up, egg-white not snotty, yolk still runny. It goes straight through me by the time we’re back in our room. Pack an overnight rucksack and we’re picked up by Nirmal and Shaji at 10am. Nirmal is dropped at his office in town, then we drive down to Allapuzha with Shaji. Out of town the scenery is palm trees, rice fields and the odd wide backwater. I nod off, virtually all the way to Allapuzha.

We drive along backwaters full of boats, little ones, large water buses, large luxurious kettuvallams, etc. We drive through the village to a place where many kettuvallams are moored. Our boat is called “New” (I think), a very large kettuvallam, intended for four. Even with four and a crew of three you would still have stacks of space aboard. The crew consists of Anil, the “captain”, Prathap, the cook, and a third man as general gopher. Prathap’s English is the best and is effectively our guide. The boat has a large open space at the front, with a coffee table and four wicker chairs, and a small dining table for four. The steering wheel is right at the fron of the boat. Behind this is a large seating cushion, a bit like a diwan. A corridor leads to the rear of the boat where the “galley” is. Off the corridor are two double bedrooms. Only one is made up. It has a full en-suit bathroom. There is also a sink set in the corridor. The boat is covered with a roof and screens made of wood, wicker, bamboo and palm leaves. The whole boat is made of wood. The whole thing is a little palace on the water.

A welcome drink of fresh coconuts is served as we cast off. The backwaters are wide, lined with trees everywhere, mostly palm trees, and small houses. There isn’t much other water traffic, apart from the odd kettuvallam, a few water buses and small canoes. We trundle along slowly, just watching the scenery, writing diaries. The rest of the day is an idyllic lazy afternoon spent cruising the backwaters and watching the world float by. Around 1.30pm we moor up at a palm tree. Our spot overlooks women working in the rice fields. Lunch is rice, sambar, fish, cabbage, beans, Keralan poppadums. A girl and her younger brother sell us a raffle ticket from their school. She still rips me off by asking me for Rs.10 whereas the ticket says it costs only Rs.2! We make two short stops for sightseeing and shopping at a village called Champakulam. First one bank of the village to walk through the shops (postcards, bindis for Ness and tasteful Christmas decorations!) and “do” the local church. It’s 480 years old and blue. Then across to the other bank to see an old (1904? 1924?) snakeboat. They race these things with teams of around 120. I’ll bet they go like buggery but all we see here is the bare boat. But apart from these stops we continue to trundle along until about 6pm. Along the waterways we see many women washing and bashing clothes. They first soak the clothes in the water, then bash it dry on the steps, “thwomp thwomp thwomp”. And kids waving at us ask for pens (extra street cred at school if you have an international one!) The whole lifestyle here is based around the water. The “Venice of Kerala”.

Prathap has jumped off in search of a tape with Malayalam songs (“not English music” we said when he asked if we wanted music). We moor up by a few houses, together with a few other Evergreen (operator) boats. Festive lighting, flashing Christmas tree lights, is strung along the roof, anti-mossie coils and oil lamps complete the mood lighting.

Prathap came back with the tapes and a borrowed stereo. He and another guy (from the boat moored in front of us?) spend some time fiddling with the wiring. As soon as they switch it on something goes “bang!” inside, a bit of smoke betraying what has happened. They still manage to get the box to work but not very well. Just as well as what I could make out of the music sounded pretty awful. In the background we can hear singing and Prathap suggests we go and have a look. Also gives us (me) an excuse to use the torch! A group of men and women are sat down on a large rug outside a small modest temple, well, a house with a small shrine. They’re singing accompanied by tambourines and drums. We’re quickly surrounded by the young boys who keep asking “what is your name?” and “do you have chocolate?” We sit and listen to a couple of songs, making it clear we’re enjoying them (bloody awful katzenjammer though) and make a Rs.50 contribution for the boat in the collection box next to the shrine. Then back to the boat for dinner. Mossies start coming out but mossie-spray and long sleeves mean we’re not bothered by them. Also get a fan to create a bit of a draft. In the background there are all sorts of exotic sounds: crickets, the continued “singing”, chatter heard from boats as they pass (can’t seem them as it’s pitch dark), and from houses across the water, and the occasional “plomp” as something is dropped in the water. The other kettuvallams and houses are lit. The atmosphere is magical. Prathap excels himself again with dinner, at least in quantity! He has been cooking on house-boats for tourists for three years and is no longer used to spicy food. Whilst dinner is tasty and does have some spices, it is pretty bland fare compared to other meals we have had. He has also prepared a chicken curry but doesn’t know how it tastes as he is vegetarian himself.

After dinner we sit on the big mat at the front of the boat, turn off all lights except the oil lamps and just lie there, watching and listening. We both nod off for a while and then head for bed. Our (wood-panelled!) bedroom is charming, especially with the mossie-net hanging down over it. A fan above the bed provides cool air. Ness sleeps solidly. I sleep well but in fits and starts. No bother from the mossies – hah!

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