Backwaters

Alleppey, India (map)

In this blog: boating on the beautiful backwaters of Kerala, and a record breaking  bus journey.

----------------------------------------------------------------

The backwaters

Just behind the coastline of the south westerly state of Kerala, lie a huge network of lakes, rivers and canals, known as the backwaters, much of it formed in the same way as the Netherlands by building dykes and reclaiming the land. It's a really unique and beautiful area to visit, a very different feel to the rest of India and one I enjoyed mostly by floating around on the local ferries.

Formula One

The journey to the backwaters started in Kumily, where I headed west onboard a 'Fast Passenger' bus as they call it. In India this term normally just indicates that it doesn't stop along the way, but in this case the driver took it very literally. The fastest bus journey I've ever been on began. Remember Ernie, the fastest milkman in the west? Well this was Rahul, the fastest driver in the east. 

Straight after leaving the bus station the horn was on non-stop, and 'Rahul' then overtaking cars and motorbikes before even leaving the town centre. We started descending from the hills towards the coast, the bus jerking violently from side to side as he went round the corners right on the limit, everyone being thrown from side to side. It was as-if we were on a private road which everyone else had no right to be on, a private race track. We caught and overtook pretty much every car and lorry in sight, sometimes in pretty dodgy places, and like the other passengers all I could do was hold on tight with both hands to literally stop myself falling out of the seat. No-one else seemed particularly phased by it, having seen it all before no doubt. There was brief respite as we stopped in a town to pick up more passengers, and seven different hawkers barged their way on board, shouting loudly, selling every snack you might need. Though the beautiful scenery had a calming effect, the journey was pretty nerve racking on the whole, and on reflection I really should have got off and waited an hour or two for the next bus - it was that bad. India has the world's most dangerous roads, a fact I write now safely at my last stop in the country, and though this was a bit of an exception I can clearly see why.

Backwaters Begin

Relieved to reach Kottayam safely, I went to the boat jetty only to find building work meant I'd actually have to catch it six miles away. With time a bit tight before the boat was due to depart, I hailed a rickshaw and we went off down all sorts of side streets and country lanes, thankfully at a sensible speed this time, arriving with a few minutes to spare. Another phew.

Local ferry journey on the backwaters

I caught the Kottayam to Alleppey local ferry, a well built but tatty wooden boat with a noisy engine, which putt-putted it's way down the narrow canal, lined both sides by palm trees. We passed fishermen on narrow boats, with long propshaft motors sticking out the back, guys crouched on the bank line fishing with lines tied to bamboo canes, and an empty toddy shop (local alcoholic drink from coconuts). More people boarded and departed at little concrete jetties along the way, at small villages comprising simple little shacks and houses, built on the narrow bank between the canal and the paddy fields behind. I spent some of the journey sat on the entrance step of the boat, one leg hanging out and it all felt very relaxing, quaint, authentic, fun, and free. Well it did until the conductor ushered me back in! After the cooler mountain air of the past few days it was back to being hot and humid, but a breeze constantly passed through and now in the late afternoon, it was an absolutely beautiful journey nonetheless. 

Reaching a much larger canal, perhaps a hundred metres across, we slowed to a stop and the driver killed the engine. All the men on board gathered round the engine - set at the centre of the boat and surrounded by a wooden rail - to see what was happening, whilst the few woman sat disinterested. It turned out there was a leak of some sort, so one of the staff promptly fixed it, sort of, by tying a strip of fabric and a piece of string around a part before we were back on our way again. 

At dusk we arrived in the coastal town of Alleppey, and relived to finally be there, I found a nice guesthouse and headed out for food. I bumped into the Italian girl I'd met a few days before, as well as a nice French couple on holiday and spent a pleasant couple of hours chatting away in the cafe, a nice way to finish the day. 

Backwater Village Life

The following day I headed out on the water again. Rather than go on an organised tourist tour on the backwaters around Alleppey or take one of the popular bamboo covered houseboats, I decided to follow the suggestion of taking local ferry boats to get a more authentic experience of what life was really like in the area. The plan was  simple - to follow a simple route between three villages that I'd read about, changing boats on the way. 

Rice barge - a little
overloaded perhaps?

In reality though, the timetables were quite different and things didn't run anywhere close to plan. I ended up only getting partway to the first village, scratched my head, went cross-country on a bus, waited by a road, took another bus, and walked a couple of miles through the countryside - all directed by a vague map and some help from the locals. I walked to a jetty to catch the next boat, and in the middle of nowhere nearby spotted a tiny cafe behind a small hospital, so stopped for a filling thali (rice and curry buffet lunch) for just 45p. This was definitely not tourist territory, and the three cheery ladies in there were pretty bemused by the presence of a foreigner, laughing between themselves and asking me questions in their basic English. 

Local kids who
showed up on the jetty

I headed on down a dirt track to a tiny jetty beside a paddy field, having been told I need to wait two or three hours for the next boat - easily passed, reading whilst sat in the warm shade of the river bank. I could see rice fields being harvested nearby, done in this case using two modern Claas rice harvesters, running on rubber tracks like an army tank due to the soft ground below. Local kids soon showed up to see what was going on, asking questions before finally getting bored and moving on. Eventually an hour before dark the boat turned up, eventually getting us back to Alleppey way later than planned at about 9pm. 

Wash spot

Considering it didn't go to plan at all, the day turned out to be quite an adventure and great fun regardless, getting to see lots of things on the way that I wouldn't have otherwise. The boat journeys themselves were fascinating, with people constantly getting on and off at the little jetties, and beautiful scenery similar to the day before. We passed loads of tiny inlets, rickety footbridges, and barges overloaded with rice being unloaded onto lorries. For the locals, the canals really are central to their lives, and everywhere you go, there's the strange sight of them using the waters to bathe fully clothed, to wash their dishes, and to wash their clothes - quite often all three at the same time! The water appeared dark green, and though whilst not obviously polluted, I'm sure it wasn't all that great. On the boat itself, I watched with amusement as the captain and throttleman (sat at the back) communicated to each other by ringing a bell a number of times (one ring to go, two to stop etc). It sounded like Sunday morning at a church.

Cruising from Alleppey to Kumily 

Still enjoying the beautiful backwater region, I took another boat fifty odd miles south towards my next destination, this time on the upper desk of a tourist boat. Whilst it wasn't quite as fun as the local ferries the day before, it was more comfortable and every bit as enjoyable. 

Chinese fishing nets

The scenery was similar to the previous days; beautiful with lots to see. I was amused at the sight of a duck tied to the bank by a rope, furiously trying to swim away, a woman washing her goat on the riverbank, and a man fishing using just a line wrapped around his toes. There were churches everywhere (Christianity is popular in Kerala state), small ferry boats being punted across the river full of locals, large modern fishing trawlers. Many young kids waved at the boat - one boy of about twelve even shamelessly managed to wee and wave at the same time! Halfway, the boat passed through a pair of lock gates, which took forever since in the heat of the sun, none of the locals in charge of it could be bothered with cranking the heavy handle to open it, arguing amongst each other for a while. 

The wildlife was excellent - we saw loads of eagles circling around at a couple of points, and I even saw the awesome sight of a a fish eagle diving down suddenly and whipping a fish out of the water. Later, passing an inlet from the sea, someone shouted when they saw a jellyfish in the water below the boat. Before we knew it we were passing thousands of them, all about eight inches in diameter and mostly clear, save the odd bright blue one. 

At dusk we finally reached the town of Kumily - the end to three fantastic days on the very unique and special area of the Kerala backwaters. The boats had been uncomfortable and I'd got completely lost at times, but I'd loved every minute of it - another India highlight.

Luxury tourist houseboats - there's thousands

Locals off fishing