Cruising the Backwaters of Kerala

 "Madam. You can stay on the bus and watch the country pass by you or you can get off the bus and feel the country pass through you"
Ian Gill - Kerala, Backwater, India, Feb 2016

This was to be an unexpected and memorable experience. About an hour north of Kochin, our driver brings us to Kerlovam Lake Resort. Beautiful. I'll take a room by the infinity pool. Alas, this was not to be as we were scheduled to embark on an overnight boat cruise. Our two bedroom home for the next 20 hours was manned by a captain, cook and cabin boy just for the two of us! Complete with A/C, full bathroom and shower facilities, the only thing missing was Wifi capability, so a DVD and "Passage to India" was to be the evening entertainment.

The boat trip was enchanting. Passing by small villages and rice paddy fields. Up and down narrow canals and passage through a large lake. Local school children returning home by makeshift boats, women doing the laundry by hand at the water's edge and men and women alike, working in the rice fields. The waterways were filled with other riverboats, passenger taxis, dug out fishing boats and small day excursion vessels.

Completely relaxed, I had planned to take time to read and write, but afraid I would miss something I opted to drink wine and snap innumerable pictures.

Our private enclosed dining room for two had unobstructed views all around as it was glassed in. The food was typical Indian and plentiful with four courses plus coffee or tea. Far too much food but we were told it would not go to waste and the crew would see to that.

The evening and subsequent sunset found us hitched to a palm tree by the side of a waterway and a casual walk along rice paddy fields dikes was in order before dinner. Three large bottles of beer and two bottles of Sauvignon Blanc, got the DVD warmed up but we never made it past the first 15 minutes. No wonder.

Up at 7 am, we were witness to fishermen plying their craft from dug out canoes. They would stick poles into the lake bed for guidance, then slip under the water for upwards of a few minutes before resurfacing with a basket of shellfish. Very primitive but necessary to maintain their livelihood.

It was a pleasant float back to the resort for breakfast, prior to our taxi pickup to the train station. Our rewards were numerous with enough memories to share for a lifetime.

Upon arrival back at the resort a snobbish woman from Toronto asked if it was like camping. Hardly further from the truth. Then she asked Jennifer if she actually ate the fish from the lake, to which Jennifer declined to answer, turned her back on her and walked away. I responded to her with my quote from the beginning of this post. Indeed, get off the bus, there is so much to discover. We miss our new found friends. Namaste.

Note to Reader: Alas we know that Al Gore claims to have invented the internet. It is assumed the Indians have enhanced it many times over but I realize now that the ISP here in India have perfected it. I got some great videos of our river boat trip but cannot upload them because the hotel bandwidth is being throttled. Sure I could pay them an extra $20 a night but screw 'em. Complimentary internet means access to email and maybe a FB site or something just as mundane. I can never upload to Blogger unless I purchase a premium package and forget about Youtube. IMPOSSIBLE!!!  Time to come home. These guys are starting to get under my skin.

As another side note here is a copy of an email I sent to our tour director of a  bizarre encounter.

We were met at Cochin airport by our driver, Sabine who drove us to the hotel along with the local rep. About a half hour drive. The following day he did a half day tour in the morning with us and a local guide of the old city. This was followed by a subsequent drive to our Backwater boat trip the following day about an hour drive away. He met us the following morning after the boat trip to take us to the train station about half an hour away. After arrival at the train station it was a bit of a Monty Python skit when he escorted us to the supposed platform after scurrying from ticket counter to ticket counter to find from which platform the train was supposed to leave. About twenty minutes later and further inquiries he had us go upstairs and cross over to another platform. He insisted we were properly positioned for the appropriate carriage upon the train's arrival. Train arrives and he realizes we are not properly positioned and a mad dash to the opposite end of the platform. He helps us get our luggage aboard and breathlessly disembarks. We find our seats and as we were waving goodbye to him, and as the train started to leave the station, I notice him wiping tears from his eyes then the tears really started to flow.

We were both upset to see him crying and wondered what may have come over him. I had tipped him 1500 rupees, well above the recommendation of the tour company (approx. $30CDN) and thought maybe he was upset the tip may not have been enough. We also thought he might have been sorry to see us leave or perhaps he felt guilty of not getting it straight at the station. He previously had told us that he was going to visit his 91 year old grandfather after leaving us and while waiting at the station there were a few phone calls and thought perhaps bad news about his Grandfather.

As said, we were both upset to leave him this way and thought you might have a feel for the situation of might have been going on. Maybe nothing but we thought we would ask anyway. Thanks

I guess we will never know.