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Whitneys on Tour
Now this really was a treat.
We read and heard great things about the Kerala backwaters before we got here and therefore booked up a two day, two night trip in Varkala. However, we weren't quite sure what to expect as you never are when booking up tours in 3rd world countries.
Our first day (Sunday 2nd) started with a morning taxi ride around 40km north to Kollam where we boarded a boat to Allepey which was due to take all day. We were told by the guy we booked our trip from that we would be picked up in Allepey at the end of the boat ride, taken to a guest house and then picked up again in the morning to be taken to our house boat, which we would have for just under 24 hours around the canals of Allepey. Sounded good but when you're not given an itinery or much of a receipt it leaves you a little unsure.
Anyway the boat trip begins at 10.30am through the backwaters which are a whole series of canals, rivers and lakes all interconnected and spectacularly lined with palm trees. It is indeed lovely even if the wooden seats on the boat weren't overly comfortable. We pass many properties and small communities along the way, many living in pretty primitive conditions. However, the people there seen happy enough and they are truly fascinated to see a boat full of westerners even if this boat does go through once a day. Some love to show off too and dive bomb off boats into the river to 'entertain' us.
At around 5.30pm Jo and I are told we have to get off soon to go to our guest house. We are the only ones getting off and the boat trip finished in another hour so god knows where we are going. We are met by this little guy called Beni who walks us along the bank with our packs to get a rickshaw (like a Thai tuk tuk) to our guest house. We are taken through all these rice fields then across a river in the most rickety canoe ever to get to our guest house which was basically a family home. We were pretty happy as it goes as the setting was fabulous, really picturesque and really off the beaten track. Beni took us for a walk before the heavens opened and made us dinner which was delicious and even had beer to sell to us which made Stuart very happy.
The next morning after a Keralan breakfast (even that is spicy) Beni took us on another walk to see the local ladies make rope before taking us back to the house to board our house boat (see above picture), the highlight of our tour. We had the boat to ourselves and a couple of locals who cooked for us an attended to our every whim , decadence indeed! We basically just travelled around more fabulously picturesque canals and lakes and chilled out. We saw quite a few other house boats too and some really are huge and ultra luxurious.
We finished up our tour late morning on the 4th having thorougly enjoyed ourselves even if the weather was HOT and the flies plentiful when we stayed overnight on the river in our houseboat. We then boarded a very unluxurious bus to Kochi (or Cochin) and spent the day there killing time as we had a night train from there to Goa booked that night.
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