Backwaters and Cochin

The first train trip was such a breeze we decided to save $25 or 800Rs (it seems like more of a saving if you keep it in Rupee) by traveling in Sleeper class. Sounds nice but it is the second lowest class of the 7 available. It wasn't too bad but it was certainly a little more rough and ready than our first trip, enough so to convince Nat that we needed to up our spend on accommodation to compensate for what was a loud dirty nights sleep. Alleppey is just the place for moving out of the budget and into the mid range price bracket. We found a great little place and for the first time in India I felt like I could relax. We had come to see the backwaters of Kerala which had been recommended by countless people. I should have paid more attention or asked more questions because I still got there wondering what type of tour I was supposed to be doing. You can bling it up on a housedboat, go on a 12 hour ferry tour ending 50kms south or you can hire a canoe. Being peak season the houseboats were 4 days budget for one night so they were out, the ferry was heading in the wrong direction so that was out. Canoe it was. Fortunately our little piece of mid-price heaven was right on the backwaters and the owner knew a guy who would take us out in a canoe on the cheep but only in the early hours before it got too hot. Sounded like a steal so with the alarm clock set for 6.30 we hit the sack early after a nice home cooked meal.

The backwaters were pretty incredible. They are beautiful - lush and green and full of pretty algae (no doubt due to all the nutrients in the water), with lots of little backalleys that wind between people's houses. The backwaters are also used by the locals for EVERYTHING. Brushing your teeth, washing out the cooking pots and pans, washing of clothes, having a bath, swimming, kayaking - probably used in place of a toilet too although we have no direct evidence of that. Kind of disconcerting when you start to wonder where the fish you ate for dinner came from.

All that kind of leaves you with mixed feelings about the backwaters. I guess that's just the way it is in less developed countries. The people have no choice, the government has no money to offer an alternative and so life goes on and the locals develop iron guts to cope with the living conditions. It also hit me today that the living conditions of Indians haven't been quite as bad as I expected. Even while floating in a canoe along a backwater alley we heard the distinct sounds of Microsoft Windows shutting down. I'm sure if our train left Mumbai during the day we would have seen plenty of poverty but the rural population seem poor but not destitute as I had expected and on the whole they seem happy and friendly.

With time in short supply we had to leave Alleppey although if we could have stayed a week we would have. We caught a bus to Cochin and wandered the streets of Fort Cochin at sunset. It was almost time to escape the heat...

Be excellent to each other,
Ev and Nat

By the way...
You can see more of the photos from our trip by clicking on the "nat and ev" link under authors and then clicking on the "more photos" link. Dumb place for a link to the photo gallery - but what can you do...

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