Houseboat excursion in India, precisely in Kerala, here is the story, the name and the contact of the agency with which to make a splendid excursion at any time of the year, read the post.
The dilating or narrowing of the pupils is said to reveal many aspects of thinking. Who knows what yours are doing as they read the word India.
For a traveler or a tourist, India always creates mixed reactions, especially if you've never been there. Personally I have visited it several times, so if for any reason a trip to this part of the world scares you and you are postponing it, I recommend you visit the Kerala for a more gradual approach to the country.
State of southern India, in the extreme south-western point, Kerala has about 600 kilometers of coastline washed by the Arabian Sea. To reach it from Italy you have several possibilities: take a direct flight to Trivandrum (the capital), or fly to one of the most important cities in India and move with an internal flight or alternative means.
For this trip I chose to fly to Mumbai, as I had never seen it before, and after three days to continue with a domestic flight to Kerala. Obviously if you have a lot of time available, the best thing would be to move by land: India will give you different emotions for the price of a single plane ticket and using local transport (train and / or bus) will change your trip in all respects. of sight. For this South India tour I had two things against me: the weather (14 days total including flights) and the Christmas holiday period; so this was the only Indian trip where I booked all the trips and overnight stays from Italy to keep the budget under control and not have any surprises due to the high season.
Actual travel days: ten (Mumbai and Kerala)
My tour was very classic and I had to make choices, splitting my time in Kerala like this: three days in Kochi, two a Munnar and the last two days ad Alleppy to make a small dream come true and take a mini cruise along the inland waters, the famous backwaters, a world on the water made up of lagoons, lakes and canals.
All journeys between one location and another were made by private car. Let's proceed in order: a Kochi we spent the first few days in a nice little hotel near the beach, to rest and look around in wonder. This part of India is much more relaxing and cleaner than Rajastan where I made my first trip two years earlier. Which is why I found it very simple both to shoot and as a psychological, visual and auditory impact.
The region is also famous for the ayurveda massages. Almost all hotels will offer you packages with different types of treatment and, of course, I have given myself one. This was also the only place in India where I felt like renting a bike (but I'm not a big daredevil so I don't count).
You can more easily avoid the traffic, which is not remotely comparable to that of New Delhi, and move away from the coast to observe local life among palm groves and traditional houses. Cycling in December, short-sleeved, surrounded by Christmas decorations, palm trees and coconuts, was very surreal and fascinating for me.
Here the majority of the population is Christian, so you can find many aspects of our Christmas revisited in the Indian style with, at times, results between the comic and the trashy. If you go there you will understand why. After three days, we left for Munnar by car (about 140 km) to go from the beach and the heat to a crisp mountain air with spectacular views over the tea plantations. In Munnar we bought the best spices of the whole trip and tasted different types of tea, took relaxing walks, saw waterfalls and natural parks: another India.
On the morning of December 31st, still by car, we left very early for Alleppey, to spend New Year's Eve in houseboat. I emphasize that we have made this choice but cruises can be done all year round. The only excursion for which I relied on a local agency was this mini cruise; it is the Allepey Backwater Tour Company.
Once you have chosen the package you are interested in from the site, you can book directly via email: since it is not possible to pay by credit card, they asked me for a deposit by bank transfer, but the commissions on the international transaction were higher than the deposit itself, which is why so, after a long negotiation, I was allowed to pay everything on the spot upon my arrival. Obviously this involved a great deal of trust on both sides.
A few kilometers from the arrival at Alleppey pier for check / in on the boat (scheduled at 11.30 am) the agency contacted me only to ask me if we wanted to eat fish or meat and / or had special needs as they were going to refuel . They were very helpful and attentive.
Once you arrive, you will not struggle to find the prepared office; it is right in front of all the houseboats ready to go. They will make you sit in a small room where you will complete the last formalities: passport and cash in hand!
The cost to spend 24 hours on the houseboat (two people) was 170 €. The package includes: the crew, a helmsman and a cook, who will be with you all the time and will be discreet and smiling; all meals (one lunch, one dinner, breakfast the next day), fruit, tea, water and coffee during the entire navigation on request. They will bring you back to the boarding point around 12 noon the next day.
I was very excited and curious and while they were preparing what would be our home on the water, they made us go up and look around. These beautiful houseboats develop in length, from about 18 to 27 meters, and are built entirely of wood. Originally born as work barges for merchants, who once used them both for work and as a home.
Ours had one in the central part bedroom with private bathroom; at the stern a tiny kitchenette, a smaller room for the crew and a common sink for everyone along the corridor. The largest and most beautiful space was intended for the lounge, at the bow, furnished with a table, chairs and two armchairs arranged along the sides of the boat, facing each other. With the exception of our bedroom and the aft rooms, the living room remains totally open, without walls, so the view over the canals is perfect. Here we spent practically all the time observing the landscape and the life on the water of those who live along the canals. So know that this type of excursion not suitable for those who get bored easily and cannot sit still for at least twenty-four hours.
At first we all leave together and cross other boats, but then we deviate along more isolated canals and suddenly you feel like you're sitting at the window: around you a succession of small villages, palm trees, women rubbing their clothes and they rinse the dishes, children in school uniforms running out of school, cormorants populating the fluid nature of the waters.
Lunch is served (delicious and abundant as all meals will be) and the navigation continues, there is a lot of silence even among us, spontaneously, as if to ratify a tacit agreement. Towards sunset we stop in a larger channel, the fishermen cast their nets because it is forbidden to sail between sunset and sunrise, we are near a village, we will have dinner and spend the night here. The other houseboats that left Allepey a few hours earlier will arrive with us as well.
Bring a flashlight; it helped me because the light goes out soon and you will want to get off the boat for a patrol ride: smiles, houses, lush greenery, vegetable gardens and more life until darkness covers everything.
I didn't sleep much that night, I didn't want it to end, on the other hand I finished a book of 500 pages; bring one, along with the cards or the puzzle week, a binoculars, a camera with a great zoom and a good sunscreen, because the sun is strong and perennial this season.
After breakfast the next morning, slowly and gently return to Alleppey. For us it was January XNUMXst and our new friends, the cook and the helmsman, asked us to throw flowers into the water to start the new year, a propitiatory gesture, a ritual. I remember making a wish, I don't remember which one, but it had to be something nice.
