Alleppey

DAY 1

The day from hell-the worst one so far for me personally.
The taxi ride from Kochi, which should have been a luxury, turned into a nightmare, as public strikes (by Hindus moved from land into another neighbourhood, apparently) caused massive traffic jams.
The home stay I’d booked from England was a building site, up a tiny noisy smelly alley, and I was showed to a bamboo hut on the rooftop with no shower, and only an Indian loo. Not surprised that I refused, the owners then asked a rickshaw to take me to an alternative.
This was worse, about 20 minutes away, a ramshackle collection of huts where the ‘bathroom’ was a hole in the ground (some had a toilet bowl perched on top) open to the sky, no shower at all, where all the inhabitants were Indian families with many children…
And so…having taken the phone number of where my friends Michael and Susan were staying, I persuaded the driver to take me there!! The whole ‘run around’ gave the driver an excuse to rip me off exorbitantly (although only £2 English money, so I’m trying not to care too much).
This heritage home is more, 1000 rupees as opposed to 400, but well worth it. Still not much in the way of mod cons, but it has a clean bathroom, secure locks/doors, and a shady courtyard on a quiet street.
I collapsed next to a surprised but bless them not too horrified couple and decided I hated Alleppey!!
But later on I walked the 10 minutes to the beach-this is half way between town and the beach, spent a pleasant hour recuperating, found the chain of Indian Coffee Houses recommended by the lonely planet. Shacks still, but with waiters in full uniform, and very cheap prices for delicious food.
And then, despite the heat, the mossies (I have been bitten to pieces!!) I had the best night sleep for days.

DAY 2

Alleppey isn’t all bad underneath its ghastly township exterior. The public jetty men directed me to a ferry which, for 25 rupees, this morning took me an hour upriver, and, after a brief village stop for water/banana/biscuits, an hour back…..passing very very expensive houseboat trips enroute.
Alas, no camera (as always),  but a chance to sit and gaze at the villages which line the banks, watching locals bath /trade/ talk-as the boat stopped frequently to pick up/drop off-past rice fields, fantastic birds, skirting the lake staring across its vast expanse of water.
Everyone shared food and chatted as best we could –and there was even a clean English loo onboard.
Our arrival back in town was delayed by catching the tree branch and going aground, much to the amusement of those of the banks!
An American student I’d befriended onboard, who'd been working on a project with widows in rural Tamil Nadu, and I went for lunch (at the town branch of the aforementioned Indian coffee house) where I had my first masala dosa –a south Indian speciality, with fresh lemon drink, a superb meal for all of 40 rupees.
Post cold shower, I decided to climb the lighthouse to sit in the breeze and stare over the treetops of lush Kerala backwaters, before wandering with the Sunday throng to see the sunset. The beach here isn’t nearly as polluted as Kochi, and whilst the surf is too strong for me, the breeze is wonderful, and the sunset superb, as good as those in Goa.