Kerala, or 'God's Country' as they like to call it, is famed for its beaches, its freely elected socialist government, having a high proportion of Christians, Kathakali, drinking coffee not chai, its backwaters and Fort Cochin. So after a lazy fortnight of experiencing the front end of that list, we set off for Alleppey and a backwaters cruise and then Fort Cochin for New Years Eve.
The backwaters are a maze of channels and lakes between the coast and the mountains of the western ghats. Some time ago some bright spark decided to convert a rice barge to a houseboat, and offer cruises around the backwaters. It created a monster and now Alleppey is a huge tourist destination, ambitiously billed as the Venice of India. I don't think many of the visitors were cramming in 4 to a rickshaw like we were though. There weren't many backpackers about, just huge groups of middle age middle class Europeans, alot of Americans wearing big trainers and sun visors and a good smattering of the new Indian middle class to complete the mix.
The backwaters are a maze of channels and lakes between the coast and the mountains of the western ghats. Some time ago some bright spark decided to convert a rice barge to a houseboat, and offer cruises around the backwaters. It created a monster and now Alleppey is a huge tourist destination, ambitiously billed as the Venice of India. I don't think many of the visitors were cramming in 4 to a rickshaw like we were though. There weren't many backpackers about, just huge groups of middle age middle class Europeans, alot of Americans wearing big trainers and sun visors and a good smattering of the new Indian middle class to complete the mix.
We knew it was going to be beautiful, but were worried that it would've been ruined by the influx tourists and that our houseboat might not be up to much. India is the land of big promises that don't come true.
How wrong we were
People seemed to be still going about their business much the same as they must've done before they were invaded by tourists, and the backwaters were big enough to accommodate everyone without it feeling like Piccadilly Circus at rush hour, 
except on the M1 of canals above
We couldn't work out how they got their clothes clean, or why they weren't getting ill because they used the canals not only not get about, but to bathe in, drink from and as rubbish bin. One lovely image that will stay with me is an old lady prodding the bloated carcass of dead goat away from her home with a big pole, whilst a woman next door did her washing.
It was a wonderfully relaxing experience, gently chugging around the canals watching the world go by, chatting, reading and sleeping, and of course waving at Indians excited about seeing white people.
This fella sold dad the worlds biggest prawns for his dinner. I'd like to take this opportunity to apologise dad for being critical of his bartering skills. People go on about, 'Oh, India changed me'. Its just changed me into someone who sporadically gets really narky about having to barter for everything. 
The sunset that night was beautiful, and after an enormous meal we settled down for games of cards and generating Kingfisher hangovers
The sunset that night was beautiful, and after an enormous meal we settled down for games of cards and generating Kingfisher hangovers
(honest there's no cards hidden up here!)
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