Village Life

Santa arrives
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Our next stop was a couple of hours south of Kochi at the backwater hub town of Alleppey, where most tourists head to arrange either a houseboat trip or a stay in one of the nearby local villages.

Getting there was easy, a public bus leaves from the Fort Kochi island every afternoon to Alleppey. The journey itself was a real lesson in Indian bus driving though, basically one hand on the horn the whole time, foot down, and break only in an emergency. At least that's what it seemed like as everyone overtakes everyone forcing the smaller vehicles onto the dusty roadside. Overtaking on a bend or brow of a hill was also common practise and on numerous occasions we were seconds from a head on collision before one driver gave way, it was like they were playing Chicken against the on-coming traffic. They have road signs in India saying "Accident Prone Zone". "Accident Proze Country" would be more accurate.

As far as I'm aware Shannyn has been using toilet paper

Local lady washing up
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We arrived safely in Alleppey which looks much like any other busy Keralan town with the exception of a few clean-ish canals running through it. Despite the many guesthouses there is very little to keep you here. After a day of looking around and trying some excellent street food (the battered chilis were brilliant) we headed out on a local passenger ferry to a village in the backwaters - only accessible by boat. It took an hour to get there as we meandered through the waterways dropping locals off at their villages. Eventually we made it to the village of Chennamkary, 10km out of Alleppey. From here we walked 10 minutes to the Greenpalm Homestay, run by Thomas and his family.

Christmas decorations in Alleppey
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This homestay has been in operation for 20 years and is very professionally run. It's a wonderful place to relax in pece and quiet or to wander around the area looking at village life. There is a large Christian population in Kerala and in these villages there are many churches, as we were in December there were also colourfully lit christmas lanterns outside peoples homes. We also saw Santa Claus here.

Many local people can speak English and are keen to speak to you. It is a refreshing change that in this area they are not just speaking to try and get money out of you. The children too are really excited to see you and often ask for their photograph to be taken. It has also become a habit for children to ask tourists for "One Pen" (something they have learnt from tourists who throw them a pen from passing houseboats). It is very annoying as they don't really want a pen and we've been told that if they did want one they could afford to buy it themselves.

The backwaters
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We spent two days here and enjoyed every minute. The home cooked food was always brilliant and original and we spent time just walking through the rice paddies and past women scrubbing clothes and washing pots and pans in the river. We also did a boat trip in the smaller waterways lading us to other villages where we got to experience the local alcohol called Toddy - made by fermenting the sap from the coconut palm. We went inside a Toddy bar and sampled the brew - all i'll say is it was not good. The Toddy bar was a shed in a field, very basic inside with just a few tables and chairs. It's a place for the working men to go after a hard day in the fields. It's not for women at all and seemed quite an underground activity.

Rice paddies
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An early morning walk on our last day took us to see some villagers nearby where we stopped for a traditional breakfast and a lesson in how to eat the Indian way. No knifes and forks were given as we learnt to mix the food and eat it all with the right hand. Shannyn caused a stir however when in her quest to scoff the food down she was caught using both hands! It's not acceptable for Indians to eat with the "dirty" left hand but as far as I'm aware Shannyn has been using toilet paper and has higher hygiene standards than the average Indian.

Houseboat going by
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The homestay was excellent and much better value than chugging along the larger rivers on a motorized houseboat. You get to interact with local people and learn how things work in the villages rather than adding to the pollution as you join a long line of tourist boats watching the villagers from afar. This was one of the most enjoyable things we have done in India so far. If you want to visit the homestay call Thomas on 9495557675.

Gary