India

Day 14 : Alleppy, India

Alleppy! Ahhhhhhh......Can we stay? Our first real chance to RELAX. Mirror still lagoons, picture book lake-sides, palm fringed canals and shores bustling with glimpses of day to day life in the country side. We have changed states again and are currently in Kerala-  Famous for its "Backwaters".  Here we rented a Bamboo house boat (The Kettuvallam) which was historically a large floating boat with high load carrying capacity .

 

Indian Mac trucks. Brian loves these. They are all decorated per owner so every one is different. Its like a giant workin' party mobile - our question is how to make this into a bad-ass mobile home.
Finally! Lets hope there are no nicks....dirty dirty dirty!

Alleppy. Searching out our boat! So excited. we actually booked a smaller one, then saw the big pimp new 2 bedroom one and changed.

Once upon a time they were olden day rice boats, which were used to carry the harvest from one part of the region to another safely and Eco friendly with no mechanized systems.

As for the royalty and  men of high bearing - these boats became a comfortable living quarters. Currently they are built to float harnessing wind energy and used specifically for the tourist trade. We got the "pimp-est" one on the water! 2 Bedroom, 2 level floating hut just 2 months old.

It actually was a pretty sweet trip. The Kerala backwaters are inland waters, a network of lakes, lagoons, rivers, canals (both man-made and natural) With 41 west-flowing rivers, five large lakes, Stretches virtually the entire length of Kerala state. You get to see village life on the Backwaters and they treat you like royalty...with your own crew and personal cook. Price: $110 - $200.

 

FOUND IT! She's a bute isn't she Clark? Now don't you go falling in love with her. we need to take this with us when we leave next month.
A view out the front lower deck. I WANT ONE!!!!!! Behind this is the lounge area and table and chairs. Its hot pibk venvet - doesnt really go, but its super fun.
Looking at these - I want to go back. It was so nice to have 2 days of nothing to do. Teke me back - Take me back!
Coconuts and cows. Still docked and still cows! Waiting for our floating pimp pad to take off while I sip a coconut water. Love.
View from the upper deck. We slept out here the first night. Again, thank god for Melaria medication.
Bri and his King Fisher. Well, what else are we going to do for the next 2 days... They actually ended up running out of beer and had to make a Beer run in the middle of nowhere! Nice Bri... They couldnt believe "one guy could drink so much beer"

The people who live along the backwaters in Kerala have a unique relationship with the backwaters. It is the source of the local people's livelihood. The fish caught from its waters, the paddy, coconut and other crops harvested along its banks, the boats they build and use to transport them across the labyrinthine backwaters, are all an integral part of their traditional way of backwater village life.
We both think this might be one of the coolest things we've ever done on a trip. Except for the constant itching from our 1,000,000 mozzie bites from the Cochin/Beach scene, all was perfect. Thank God for Malaria Medication!

Life in the backwaters. The people tha live back here run their whole lives on these waterways.
This guy came to get us for a tour down one of the smaller canals. Obviously our floating palace can not fit. Can't believe we all fit in this....

Backwaters canoe trip (video is crap I dropped the camera)

Some parts are surrounded by Rice paddies or coconut tree farms. Its really beautiful. They are actually very pretty.
Little did we know - it was a self paddle. Very fun until Marisha broke the old guy's paddle...oops. I freakin Break everything
You've heard of "like hearding cats" - how about ducks. check out video - crazy! From way down the canal we were like "what the hell is that sound?"
More stickers. Many village kids along the banks. They live on these litte skinny strips of land wedged between the waterways the the rice fields - which are water.....
You know, we both noticed the kids in India are some of the happiest kids we've ever seen - anywhere! If we had kids we'd take them here everytime they cried about not getting a toy.
...so we ended up having to walk for a bit due to the lillies. I really like our skinny little boat captains skirt. I do so love orange.
It started getting so thick with illies....Oi! The boat stopped moving alltogether....
One of the only pics of the two of us. Who wants t come with us next time just to play Paparazzi?
Our captain and Bri - buying some freakishly large Prawns to cook... Dinner!
Mr Prawn man
Wait - this is lunch?! The guys made us some super yummy lunch with our fresh prawns! Seriously, all this for 2 people??? We tried to get them to eat with us, and they thought we were nuts.
Headed back we got a good shot. There she is! In all her glory... The floating pimp Palace as Brian calls it.
Yes we did. I am not sure it was a GOOD idea, but its done now! We will probably end up with Parasites.
Another great meal for 10 ....I mean 2.
This is where we docked for the night in Vembonad Lake.
Great sunset. we all know how much Brian loves his sunsets.
Good morning. A lovely Sunrise over Venbonad Lake before the 6 hour ride back.

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