One of the things Kerala is famous for are the houseboat rides on the backwaters, hence this area has the nickname ‘Venice of the East’. While I didn’t have the time (or the inclination being a sole traveler) to do an overnight on the boat, I did a “three hour tour” (luckily not on the South Pacific so any Gillian Island worries were not manifested) that focused on the villagers living on the water. It was a lovely ride: peaceful, quiet, a comfortable boat with a lounge bed to sit on at the front while I listened to bird songs and watched fisherman at work. My kind of relaxation: nature, photo opportunities and learning about the culture I am exploring.
As this trip took place in the morning, I watched the village come to life: washing in the river, couples fishing, kids going off to school, raking leaves…let me show you the details in my photos!
So I boarded at the Alappuzha terminal passing other boats moored and waiting for customers. My driver was, of course, a lovely man who lived in the village. We passed his house and his younger daughter waved to him. I missed that photo as I was focusing on the house next door. This house is raised above sea level, being built by a friend of boat driver who clearly has more money as his home will not be effected by flooding during the rainy season.
Living on the river, means the river provides the sustenance, transportation and bathing. I saw several men thoroughly soaping themselves and then jumping into the water to rinse off (women wash in private).
Many people were fishing for their lunch or dinner. I especially loved the round boats, where the couples or mother/daughter were catching fish in front of their homes.
Since Kerala cuisine is served on banana leaves, I call the photos below ‘washing the dishes’:
Houseboats is a big business, there were a lot of them on the river with customers, as well as moored waiting for their turn.
The following photos are from the dock area, I am just choosing to post them here.
Lunch (well actually breakfast) was unexpected but another great experience. I was able to choose the fish I wanted- literally; the refrigerator was opened and I pointed! The huge shrimp were cooked to perfection.
A bonus was the two eagles next door. For a very small fee I had A LOT of fun with these beautiful birds.
The morning hour afforded more bird photos, always a joy for me. Cormorants were plentiful.
Trees and flowers are an obsession for me as well when I am with my camera.
The abandoned home above on the right show the down side of life on the river. While the locals love the lifestyle, healthcare is always a concern as serious illnesses and hospitals are quite a journey to get to. I also learned that only 20 years ago, there were no motors on the boats!
Then it was time to return to the port, with a speed boat stopping on the way asking if I wanted a ride…no thank you!
Two beautiful pieces of river (not street!) art found under a bridge!
I leave this section of the post with a video showing how peaceful most of the ride was, you can even hear the birds!
After the boat ride we went to have breakfast (not knowing I had fish for breakfast!). I tried the local omelet (delicious) and as recommended by Zeeshan, the best mango smoothie (yes, without a doubt!).
Our next stop was the coconut oil factory. The tour was really nothing special, walking around and reading the signs, however it was interesting to see how the process works. Since I had already bought my virgin coconut oil (and this place doesn’t sell it) I wasn’t planning to buy any HOWEVER, when I saw Zeeshan buying a gallon for his mom and the man filled the container from the spigot I HAD to buy some. While I am not using this for cooking, I use it for my massages and it is excellent – moisturizes my skin without being too oily. If you ever want to learn about the health benefits of coconut oil you can come here and read the signs…or just google it!
There are some interesting tidbits I learned that I will share with you. First, copra is the dried, white flesh of the coconut from which the oil is extracted. It takes 8 days to be sun dried for processing (but a mechanical process takes one day) and 5-6 coconuts will create 1 kg of copra, which only generates 600-650 grams of oil. Chopping and steaming the copra makes the process more efficient. Using pipes keeps the oil from evaporating and staying warm. This process is repeated several times to get as much oil as possible from the copra. The oil cakes (leftovers) are packed and sold as cow food. Filtration is the final step.
Here is another ‘aside’: like in other parts of Asia, trucks are decorated!
Our next stop was the Coir Museum, which is also a training center for this craft and business. Coir is the hair from coconuts and is used in many ways. The development of Coir yarn was started in 1859 by two men who were familiar with woven products in Bengal. Their success resulted in many other businesses coming to the area to develop this industry. The little museum had a lot of information about the history and uses of coir. It also had artwork created with this yarn.
Some of the art work on display:
The school was shutting down for the day but there were a few people still practicing, and one teacher helping a student.
Then it was time to drive to our next location. We had to stop for a restroom break and that turned out to be a most fortuitous stop where I got amazing photographs.
Temples in southern India are known for their colorfulness. As this was the first such temple I saw, I was thrilled and in awe. I also learned that while the gods all across India are the same, they might be known by different names or forms. For example, here Vishnu is the most famous while up north his reincarnation is more important.
Next was walking down this street and its market, where the salesmen all asked me take their photos…their pride shows but smiling did not come easy! It is here I feel I took some of my best people photos of the vacation.
At the time of publishing this blog post, I still could not decide whether I preferred this shot as color or B&W. Thoughts appreciated!
Who knew there were so many types of bananas!
Kerala is known for spicy food. These are two different types of chilis. The first is from Kashmir, which are not spicy but have more color, while the ones on the right are from Rajasthan and are hot.
No matter how you like them, there are ALWAYS a lot of chilis for sale!
Back on the road…
Next was the drive to Varkala where we were going to have dinner.
On the way I saw something I would never see in the US: beachfront property inhabited by normal, lower income families. I wonder how long that will last.
Varkala is definitely a place to return to for a break. It is a lovely beach town with great shops and restaurants. You get to choose your own fish and they cook it to your liking. This was one of the best meals I had during this vacation. I had Snapper perfectly cooked with the spices (lemon garlic and butter) enhancing the flavor of the fish. The rice had pineapple, mustard seed, curry leaves, coconut, and cashews. I highly recommend Caffe Italiano if you are in the area. Zeeshan and I enjoyed our dinner and watched the sunset on the water.
As it got darker, white lights started showing up on the horizon, which we realized were fishing boats… there were quite a lot of them!
I finish with a screen shot of our location in India and the knowledge that I had yet another great day in Kerala:
