September 22 - Alleppey, India

We woke in Kochi to a monsoon, literally. It wasn’t sideways driving rain (one of my favourite descriptions), the rain was too heaving for that. It was pouring straight down in absolute sheets into huge puddles struggling to drain into the sand. Good for cool photos, not so good for heading out on the water in a houseboat. As luck would have it, the rain subsided after out drive from Kochi down to Alleppey just before we checked in.

Now, if I was to do it all over again, I would follow our original instinct (and recommendation from our guide book) to shop around for a houseboat right at the dock. Its best not to book until you have secured a price you are happy with and actually seen the boat. Two things worked against us for this; travelling with a family makes it much harder to hump around while shopping for the best value AND it was raining harder than I’ve ever seen it rain. So we gained the security of advance booking but lost the option to pick a boat we would be totally happy with. Our boat was good enough though and the experience of cruising the backwaters was wonderful. We had an upper deck which was the best place to hang out, two bedrooms with private bathrooms and a bow dining area. We had a driver, cook and one more crew member. The boats are all made of wood and look like a design unchanged by time and influenced by Britain and China. The roof is a curve of tightly wound grasses and the furniture inside is quite stately. We were fed with local fare of fish (like the whole fish, see my overview later about the kids and food) and a variety of dhal and curry dishes with rice.

The real attraction to house boating from Alleppey is seeing life along the banks of the backwaters. Like most waterway and seaside life in India, houses are minimal and most activity takes place in or beside the water. Houses were perched on narrow strips of land between the backwater and endless rice patties, accessible only by water. Men, women and children were using the waterway for everything; bathing, dishes, swimming and laundry, laundry and more laundry. The echoing sound of fabric beating against rocks was constant. All of what we saw was interesting, most pleasant and some disgusting. The downside of overusing a waterway is pollution. Let’s just say none of us, even for a second in the heat of the day considered taking a dip, even after seeing the locals doing it. And most likely, seeing a bloated dead animal floating by didn’t help. Judy was the most adventuresome exploring the shoreline by foot when we tied up. Even here we found enterprise. One young girl bid us a friendly hello as we walked along the shore before quickly folding back the shutters on the wee concrete house to reveal a make-shift store selling candy, pop and homemade trinkets.

The houseboat trip was a “don’t miss” for sure, but one night was plenty. We were glad to disembark and greet our driver booked to drive us inland to check out the mountains.