Jeremy's Cool Travel Blog: The Backwaters of Alleppey

Alleppey (pop. 174,000, also known as Alappuzha) is the hub of Kerala's vast network of backwater canals. Beyond the busy city centre, Alleppey is bordered by a beautiful beach on its western coast and a lush, green labrynth of canals and villages to the east.

I travelled from Munnar to Alleppey on January 29. I was accompanied on the drive by Irit and Israel, a nice middle-aged Israeli couple that I'd hiked with in Munnar. Together we'd hired a car and driver for the four-hour trip and arranged to stay at the same guesthouse. Our friend Catherine was also hoping to join us in Alleppey. She had planned to take a bus later in the day, but was not sure if she'd make it out of Munnar as the town was virtually shut down by a one-day city-wide strike (even we had to pay our driver extra for taking us that day).

The beach in Alleppey

Once checked our the guesthouse, I enjoyed an espresso and ice cream at a canal-side cafe and then walked about 30 minutes west through town to the beach. I didn't expect the beach to be so beautiful. I also can't remember the last time that I strolled barefoot through soft, white sand and warm salt water. I admit that I briefly thought of my friends and family back home and laughed at my good fortune in contrast to the snowy temps in Ontario. In celebration, I concluded my stroll with a beer on a terrace overlooking the beach and even wrote a couple postcards.

That evening I enjoyed a delicous chicken curry and banana lassi (a popular yoghurt drink) at a restaurant not far from where I was staying. The bill came just as I spotted a rat scurrying in through the front entrance (lovely!). Once back at the guesthouse I received a knock at my door; Catherine had somehow made it from Munnar. Her trip had been rather arduous and she was relieved to have finally made it to Alleppey. I too was happy, as we'd gotten along well in Munnar.

The next day, Catherine, Irit, Israel and myself had arranged to take a full-day tour of the backwater canals by a 'chauffeured' canoe. The most popular way to tour the backwaters is by houseboat, but I was glad that we were taking a paddle-powered canoe. The canoe would give us access to smaller, quieter canals and was more eco-friendly (there are over 1000 houseboats in the Alleppey area, whose motors and waste increasingly contribute to pollution of the backwaters).

Our tour started at around 8:30 am. We met our guide / skipper at the launch point, where we boarded our vessel - a 20 foot canoe with a canopy that could seat 2 x 2 comfortably.

The ubiquitous houseboats of Alleppey

For the next few hours, we paddled through a network of canals large and small. On the larger canals, we passed many houseboats, a ferry for transporting locals to various stops along the canal (kind of like a big floating bus), and even a mobile floating supermarket, complete with aisles inside. On the smaller canals we got a glimpse of everyday village life: people bathing, women laundering clothes, kids fishing, and vendors on small canoes selling fish and other goods. We also passed canal-side temples, variety stores and restaurants. On several occasions, Catherine and I took turns paddling at the helm of the canoe, which was great fun and a welcome opportunity to get a bit of exercise. For breakfast and lunch, our skipper brought us to a small restaurant off one of the larger canals. At other points in between, he let us off the boat to explore certain areas of interest, like a tiny village or a giant tree that was home to dozens of bats. He also brought us to a small bar (read: shack) for a bottle of toddy, a popular type of moonshine made from fermented coconut (This stuff tastes weird. After four swigs I couldn't take it any more). We ended the day by watching the sun set from the beach and enjoyed the company of a stray dog who went wild chasing beach crabs.

The next morning I caught the 10:30 bus to the airport. The ride took about three hours, which I figured would get me to the airport with some time to spare before my 4:00 pm flight to Mumbai. En route I got a text from the airline saying that my flight had been pushed back to 7:30 pm and that they were sorry for any inconvenience. !@#$ hell, I thought. The last thing I wanted to do was to spend over six hours at the small Kochi airport. The delay would also cause problems for checking in at my accomodations in Mumbai. My only hope was that they'd be able to put me on an earlier flight. I got to the airport at 1:30 pm and promptly made my way to the check-in counter to ask about alternate flights. "We could put you on the 2:00 pm flight, if you'd like." said the attendant. Um... yes! Shortly after 2:00 that afternoon, I was airborne for Mumbai and very much looking forward to a great weekend.

Some photos from Alleppey: