Alleppy, Kerala – The Houseboat

Feb. 26, 2010

This morning we are on our way further south to Alleppy where we will board our houseboat for an overnight trip up and down the backwaters of Vembanad Lake. Our driver Murali picked us up at Cherai Beach at 9:30am for the 2-hour drive south. The journey took us through tiny little lanes and through many little towns and villages surrounded by farmland.

When we arrived at the departing port for the boat we were in awe at the size and beauty of the houseboats. They are all works of art. Hand-made wooden hulls with a 'house' woven out of palm leaves and reeds tied with coconut fiber rope (coir). The boats, called Kettuvallams, were originally used as ferries to carry rice and are now often turned into houseboats. The boat-building industry is a specialized part of the rich woodworking tradition of the area. The most sought-after wood is Anjili or jac wood, though teak is also used. A master craftsman, assisted by a team traditionally drawn from different religions, does the boat building. No nails or metal pieces are used; only coir rope, wooden pegs and joints hold the parts together. http://www.indiavideo.org/kerala/places/tourism/backwater/boat-building-at-alumkadavu-165.php

We wound our way walking through a number of boats before we got to ours, where we were greeted by our boat staff Josep (the cook), CB and Vengu (the skippers).

CB, Vengu & Josep

They dropped our bags in the bedroom and immediately handed us each a refreshing coconut water to sip on.

They wasted no time getting the boat under way by 12 noon. Rowan and I sat in the living room just behind Vengu as he backed the boat out of the port.

We will now be traveling on this fresh water lake and its labyrinthine network of waterways, which weave through villages set amidst lush vegetation where coconuts and rice are the main crops. We will be getting glimpses of Kerala’s unique rural lifestyle, where land and water are inseparable. Here is a selection on photos:

First the boats........

The boats are just beautiful. They range in size from 1 bedroom (like ours) to 5 bedroom. They come with a full kitchen, bathrooms with tubs/showers, satellite TV, AC, dining room, outdoor living room and upper sun deck and of course a staff to take care of your every need.

No two boats are exactly the same

Once we got underway, I went exploring around the boat to take some pictures of the inside.

This is our living room at the front of the boat. We sit here to get the water level view of the surrounding landscape.

This is the upper deck that provides more of a bird's eye view

Here is Rowan on the padded sun deck for those who like to sunbathe.

Here is our cook Josep in the kitchen getting ready to prepare us some yummy lunch.

We puttered down the river and out across the lake before we stopped to have our lunch.

Here are a few photos of things we saw as we went along.

These two women are doing their laundry at the rivers edge. We found that the river people totally depend on the river for their every day needs. They bathe in it, wash their clothes in it, brush their teeth in it, cook with the water, use it to flood their rice fields, they take their food from it (fish, crawdads, etc) and use it as their highway. Canoes are the main mode of transportation.

We found these men loading gravel from a construction yard onto a river boat. The gravel is carried in big bowls on their heads and walked over to the boat where it is dumped. Don't try this at home! It will be transported by river to its destination and then the unloading will happen bowl by bowl the same way.

As we crossed the lake we came upon this fisherman in his little canoe. He had his home-made sail out to help him get across the lake. Notice the houses on the edge of the river. Back home in the US, these would be million dollar homes on million dollar property. Here, it is a simple life, with simple houses that the common man can afford.

Here is a photo of a man and his wife cooking something up in the big pot on the campfire.

It seemed no time at all and Josep came to get us for lunch. As the boat was pulling over to dock at the shore, he laid out a delicious spread that included a fried fish steak (spiced of course), chicken coconut curry (we will be getting lots of coconut here as this is where they are plentiful), sweet banana caraway curry, potato curry, a vegetable dish. rice, poppadoms and fresh veg salad. We know this will induce a coma!

After we ate our WONDERFUL lunch, it was siesta time for us and the crew. Again, in this heavy hot tropical climate, naps are often in order in the hot afternoons. No problem! I hope my boss back home at work lets me bring a cot into the lab when I get home :o)

Here is Rowan assuming the position in the bedroom after lunch. Good thing the AC was going to keep us cool while we napped.

and here is a photo of our bathroom

As we awoke from our nap, we were visited by a local fisherman in his canoe. He had the day's catch of fresh crayfish from the lake. Our cook Josep said if we'd like to get some he would make them for us for dinner. They were 4US dollars a piece which was fair, so we got some. YUMMY! I can't wait for dinner :o) This is how all shopping is done on the water system. Everything comes by boat.

These were some huge crayfish!

Here are more photos of what we saw as we continued down the Backwaters:

Here is a rice boat being loaded with bags of rice harvested from the rice field in the background. Notice the bag of rice being carried on the man's head! It has got to weigh well over 50 lbs. It amazes us how so many really heavy things are carried on people's heads. These folks must have backbones of steel! Imagine the whining that would happen if us wimpy Americans were asked to do jobs like this! Our machines do this kind of work for us. Just think about this the next time you cook some Indian rice.

The wackiest coconut palm we have ever seen. Looks like my back felt before my Ayurvedic massage the other day :o)

More of our children fans waving and having a bath

Of course 3 hours couldn't pass without something else to eat! ugh! As we were sitting up on the upper deck taking in the sights, Josep shows up with a plate full of fried bananas and bread. They were breaded with caraway seeds added (similar to tempura). Really yummy. And then came the tea.

Jenni having her delicious masala tea

OK, so this is a crazy thing we saw that was hard to believe. We were just floating down a canal and we suddenly noticed a tractor floating down the water. How the heck were they accomplishing THAT? These guys had tied two boats together and then made a lumber platform cross-ways across the two boats. How they drove the tractor on there, well, I'm glad I didn't have to watch! It just shows that when the water is the only mode of transportation, you just figure something out. Here is the photo.

As evening approached, we started to hear very loud chanting coming from somewhere. It sounded like the Hindus were doing their typical evening prayer thing. We finally realized there are speakers placed along the canals so villagers who live a distance from the temple can still hear the prayers. It was a wonderful moment on the water.

Here is a video.

And, more head transport. This man seems to be carrying linens and/or fabrics.

Here is a video of us on our way to our docking spot for the evening. We went up this tiny canal that took us over to another small lake. Notice the flooded rice fields on the other side of the canal.

Our staff found just the right spot to dock for the night - we sat on the deck and took in the scenery and wildlife until Josep had dinner ready (for those of you looking for wildlife, there will be a separate post about the flora and fauna of Kerala coming soon). Our mouths are watering thinking about those crayfish for dinner.

The view from our bedroom as we docked for the night.

Here is our unbelievable dinner. The crayfish, daal, chicken curry w/pineapple, banana/pineapple curry, mixed veg. wonderfulness, green bean thing, rice , chappathi and a fresh squeezed passion fruit/grape juice.

It makes me uncomfortable when my food comes to my plate looking at me (I prefer not having the guilt of my prey looking at me as I devour it), however, there was no problem with this one. I asked Shiva for forgiveness and then dug right in. Josep had stuffed the crayfish with indian spices. TO DIE FOR!

It didn't take long for us to bed down after this relaxing, food coma inducing day. It was wonderful having the boat gently rock us off to sleep.

More coming. Stay tuned................