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Having left the trust last Tuesday, we ventured over the boarder to Karalla, a communist state on the South western coast o India, arriving in Quillon after a combination of bus rides and train journeys with stunning scenery which made the six hour trip more bearable.
However, it wasn't long until we had seen all of Quillon's sights - that is, an "Aquarium" (which actually consisted of a few fish tanks in some crazy mans garden) and the lake which joins a river to Alleppey. So, after a cheap night in Quillon - this time in an old colonial mansion which clearly had not been renovated since the British left in the 1940's - we hopped onto a local cruise boat and made or way up the river to Alleppey to see Karalla's famous backwaters.
The boat ride was amazing; despite it taking eight hours to go the 85km to Alleppey, the trip gave us quite an insight into the laid back Kerallan way of life, with people punting what appeared to be hollowed out trees, and fishing in the lakes.
On arriving at Alleppey, we went to check into a hostel which was recommended by our new found friend "The Lonely Planet, "only to find that it was fully booked! So, we took a bit of a gamble and phoned a home stay whose number we had picked up when we got off the cruise boat. However, the gamble paid off, as the house we were taken to was amazing....clean rooms with marble floors and a fairly central location - you can't ask for much more when the room costs in the region of two pounds each per night!!
The next day was spent doing some houseboat shopping - that is, finding the cheapest boat for the four of us who were going to take it for the day....finally, after much searching (and haggling), we settled on a house boat, styled as an old Kerallan rice barge and which was punted by two men with huge bamboo poles. Next day, having met up with the other two we headed over to the boat and the Keralan backwater experience kicked off!!
The House boat was great fun and was a fantastic way to see what must be a unique way of life as everything, from sand to motorbikes was transported by boats of varying shape and size....yes, I kid you not, we saw a motor bike on a canoe! Of course, the highlights were the amazing canals, lined with palm trees, sheltering small houses, sandwiched between the water and the rice fields.
Today the four of us (as we will be for the next few days) have a five hour bus journey to Munar to look forward to....that is, five hours of not praying the state run buses will keep going and won't break down, leaving us in the middle of no ware!! Oh well, once again, it's all part of the traveling experience.....next stop, the tea plantations of Munar!!
Much love to all from
Christopher
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