I'm baaaaack! We're trying to get settled in our new home sweet home, but if I don't get caught up on our last months in India I never will. So, more on our epic summer road trip adventures at a later date. Cast your mind all the way back to March. If you'll remember, we were right in the middle of our Spring Break trip to God's Own Country ... Kerala.
The main reason most people go to Kerala is to float along the Backwaters. The Backwaters are miles and miles of linked rivers, canals and lakes that eventually flow out to the Arabian Sea (the part of the Indian Ocean that washes up against western India). It's a beautiful place, and interesting, because a unique culture has grown up among the people that live along the water.
Lots of people do overnight houseboat tours on the Backwaters, but we chose to do an afternoon canoe tour instead, because the thought of spending 24 hours trying to keep Samuel from leaping off a houseboat just didn't sit too well. It turned out to be perfect for us. The kids stayed interested for the entire tour, and we got to float through village canals where a houseboat wouldn't fit.
Here's the first view of our boat. Yeah, I was slightly nervous ...
The tour was operated by the state government, which apparently has a deal with local villagers who take tourists and the government guides out on their personal boats. Here we are waiting for two more passengers, who turned out to be a couple of backpackers (by far the most common type of foreign tourist in our part of India).
We spent part of our wait at this tiny shop, where we used the second-most disgusting toilet I've ever seen. Maybe I should say it was uncomfortable rather than disgusting. It wasn't that it was super dirty, but it was literally a hole in the ground surrounded by a big piece of tarp. If you're wondering, the MOST disgusting toilet I've not used (because I just couldn't do it) was across the street from the Daulatabad Fort, which we visited in May. More on that later (the fort, not the toilet, because that's just too gross).
Once our fellow passengers arrived, we hopped into the canoe and saw gorgeous village scenes like these ...
To get from one canal to another, we had to float under some pretty tight spaces ...
Each home had at least one canoe just like the one carrying us ...
We passed lots of jackfruit trees ...
... and stopped at one home to buy a couple of fresh coconuts. First you drink the juice, and then they chop open the nut so you can eat the meat inside. Delicious!!
Something interesting over the side of the boat ... not sure what ...
We stopped at a village business where they harvest and process coconuts. They dry and sell the meat for food and use the fibers on the outside of the nut to make rope and textiles.
The kids had fun playing with the piles and piles of coconut shells.
Local traffic ...
This man was working on his boat, oiling and painting the outside.
The villagers also farm shrimp ...
Spot the pineapples ...
A storm came up toward the end of our tour, which had Evie cowering under the seats in the boat but also made for some beautiful scenery.
It didn't actually start pouring rain until we were back in the car and on our way back to the hotel. We had a wild ride, dodging flash flooding and rerouting around closed roads, but I guess that's all part of the adventure.
Coming soon: Kathakali!!
The main reason most people go to Kerala is to float along the Backwaters. The Backwaters are miles and miles of linked rivers, canals and lakes that eventually flow out to the Arabian Sea (the part of the Indian Ocean that washes up against western India). It's a beautiful place, and interesting, because a unique culture has grown up among the people that live along the water.
Lots of people do overnight houseboat tours on the Backwaters, but we chose to do an afternoon canoe tour instead, because the thought of spending 24 hours trying to keep Samuel from leaping off a houseboat just didn't sit too well. It turned out to be perfect for us. The kids stayed interested for the entire tour, and we got to float through village canals where a houseboat wouldn't fit.
Here's the first view of our boat. Yeah, I was slightly nervous ...
The tour was operated by the state government, which apparently has a deal with local villagers who take tourists and the government guides out on their personal boats. Here we are waiting for two more passengers, who turned out to be a couple of backpackers (by far the most common type of foreign tourist in our part of India).
We spent part of our wait at this tiny shop, where we used the second-most disgusting toilet I've ever seen. Maybe I should say it was uncomfortable rather than disgusting. It wasn't that it was super dirty, but it was literally a hole in the ground surrounded by a big piece of tarp. If you're wondering, the MOST disgusting toilet I've not used (because I just couldn't do it) was across the street from the Daulatabad Fort, which we visited in May. More on that later (the fort, not the toilet, because that's just too gross).
Once our fellow passengers arrived, we hopped into the canoe and saw gorgeous village scenes like these ...
To get from one canal to another, we had to float under some pretty tight spaces ...
Each home had at least one canoe just like the one carrying us ...
We passed lots of jackfruit trees ...
... and stopped at one home to buy a couple of fresh coconuts. First you drink the juice, and then they chop open the nut so you can eat the meat inside. Delicious!!
Something interesting over the side of the boat ... not sure what ...
We stopped at a village business where they harvest and process coconuts. They dry and sell the meat for food and use the fibers on the outside of the nut to make rope and textiles.
The kids had fun playing with the piles and piles of coconut shells.
Local traffic ...
This man was working on his boat, oiling and painting the outside.
The villagers also farm shrimp ...
Spot the pineapples ...
A storm came up toward the end of our tour, which had Evie cowering under the seats in the boat but also made for some beautiful scenery.
It didn't actually start pouring rain until we were back in the car and on our way back to the hotel. We had a wild ride, dodging flash flooding and rerouting around closed roads, but I guess that's all part of the adventure.
Coming soon: Kathakali!!
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