The drive to Alappuzha passes fairly quickly. The guide (whose name I don’t think I ever caught) gives us a brief history of India in general, and the area in particular, explains there are 17 different languages (each denomination of rupee is translated into all 17 languages on the back of the note), all signage is in 3 languages – the local language, Hindi and English, and all the kids learn all 3 languages in school. He also tells us there are 3 things you need to drive in India 1) Good brakes, 2) Good horn, 3) Good luck. Oh, and is that ever true!
We’re in the back of the van with a very crappy window seat, so we really can’t see very much – and definitely not anything directly in front of us, but the poor lady who is in the front seat is constantly gasping in fear. They do drive like crazy people here. And the horns are incessant. They honk all the time, for everything. Mostly to pass and particularly for scooters, but really, just all the time. Nutso.
We arrive safely in Alappuzha and the moment we step out of the van are immediately are inundated by trinket sales guys. They’ve got everything, bracelets, necklaces, pashminas and yes – peacock feathers! It’s the national bird, and they will end up being pretty ubiquitous throughout this trip.
We manage to escape their grasps and walk down the pier area looking at the many houseboats docked here. There are tons.
We have to pass through another boat to actually board our houseboat (just like river cruises), but we are finally led into the “lobby” (which the guide pronounces “low-bee”) to find a seat before we head out into the canals, rivers and lakes of the area.
It’s a small houseboat with 3 bedrooms, and teeny kitchen in the back where our crew is making our lunch.
We sit back and relax as the captain tries to back out of the congested pier area, but eventually we are on our way…
….marveling at the thousands of boats that are out here. These are all tourist boats too – some of the crew may live aboard – or at least stay overnight, but they are mostly used for day and overnight trips for tourists.
We glide quietly down the canals and then into the huge lake that looks like an ocean. We pass rice paddies, that are burning now that the season is over…
….and will then be converted into fish farms until the next rice season. It’s a lovely serene little cruise with only one problem: It’s hot and we are all melting. The humidity has got to be 95% and there is precious little breeze out here. There may be a/c in the bedrooms, but it’s not turned on and I seriously doubt all of us would be comfortable stuffed in there for the remainder of the cruise. So, we soldier along, some of us better than others (I won’t start in on the whiners….but let’s just say it will become a continuous irritation throughout this trip), and try to enjoy ourselves.
We’ve been smelling our lunch, cooking in the teeny back kitchen for a while now, making us all (well, some of us) drool over the thought of real Indian cooking. When the food finally comes out, it is served family/buffet style on the solitary table that is in the lobby area. It feels more like a neighborhood pot luck, with mismatched bowls and serving dishes. But, regardless, it’s all local and all delectable.
There is curry, rice, chicken, freshly made papadam, and crispy fried whole fish. Yay! The fish is awesome, prepared perfectly, the delicate white meat falls off the bones (if you know how to do it properly – and since we’ve been schooled in Thai Crispy fish for years – we are all over it). Excellent lunch. And there are tons of fish leftover too – because, well, most of these people won’t touch a whole fish and don’t know what to do with it – like the people sitting next to us complaining that there are bones in it, and they don’t like their food staring back at them. ‘Nuff said.
We’re happy with the meal, and wish now we’d gone back for seconds on the fish – but we didn’t want to look like piggies!
With that, the tour is basically over. We sail back into our mooring – passing villages
and children playing (but we’re eating lunch and it is impossible to take pictures), then back into the van with the anemic a/c and the 90 minute ride back to the ship. We pass by a few Kochi sights and try to snap pictures out the window…
…then get a little city tour and finally go to the Spice Market to shop. This was actually a really cool store – it is run and managed solely by women. There are 36 women working there, supporting 60 families. They make all the products in the store, from spices to jewelry to clothing. It started out small – and just kept growing. The market became so famous (after Prince Charles and Camilla visited) that many imposters set up shops with the same name. The ladies finally went to a lawyer and got their store name trademarked so no one could steal their business.
We get to wander around here for a while. Right away we buy some curry mix to bring home. Then I get into a cyclical conversation over some earring I liked. They had green beads though, and I didn’t want green. So the sales girl said she had more upstairs, but I didn’t think we had enough time for me to go upstairs. So, she ran up stairs to bring me different earrings, but all had green beads. I kept saying no, not green. But she kept bringing me more. Finally I ran upstairs with her and managed to buy a cool pair of traditional earrings with lapiz colored beads. Finally! Of course we were the last ones back on the bus, and I felt bad that we were the people we normally hate. Oops.
Back in the van, we headed to the ship without further incident, passing over the bridges and past the Chinese fishing net apparatus.
Good first day in India – tomorrow – New Mangalore.
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