I was determined to take pictures of God's Own Country before the disastrous scam filled 2008 ended. It was fueled more because I had shot lots of pictures from rest of the world and had very few from Kerala. This was decidedly unjust to a Kerala loving mallu like me. So there I went, taking precious time off my stay with my parents in a sweet little village near Edappal, Malappuram District, Kerala.
I took the morning Guruvayoor Ekm Push Pull train at 6:50 AM towards Ernakulam. The train was filled with office goers who were on season ticket. The one way fare of 17 rupees for a distance of 100km was a definite attraction for people to get on the train to ernakulam.
This was my ride
The initial part of the journey goes through the inland canals, roughly 70m wide... you can clearly see the life on both sides. It passes through rice fields, houses, churches and other paraphrenalia of rural kerala. The villagers actively help the boat pass by the canal by lifting the "bridge" across the canal. Once the boat passes, the bridge is put back into place so that people can cross from one side to another. See it here:
Sometimes you feel almost like a peeping tom, passing by village huts and houses from a distance of max 20-30 m with nothing else in the neighbourhood.... a few dogs, women washing clothes in the river etc are routine sights....
It is this sheer touch with life that makes this boat ride so extra ordinary. Nothing tourist like in this ride - its so natural, in touch with the reality of day to day existence of the local people...
This is a bunch of INTUC workers in a boat. If you notice carefully you will see that the boat is motorised and it contains some stones too!
The best part of the ride is shots like this:
As you enter the main backwaters, the shore gets more distant but still very clearly within view... this is about midway along the ride.... See this church on the banks - almost picture perfect.
Once you enter the main backwaters, you get to see a flurry of "tourist boats", all of them coming from Alleppey. Remember, National Geographic had once rated Alleppey as one of the top 10 (yea, ten!! its not a typo) destinations in the world. Alleppey is commonly known as venice of the east due to the very extensive network of canals and water transport - exactly the same ones that we have been travelling on till now.
Look into the distance and you see a hell lot of "house boats". Now you have an idea of the number of tourists here....
A typical houseboat looks like this:
Notice the air cooler and the generator set on the boat. It is horribly hot on these house boats in summer, especially if you are out at noon time. Some have full fledged airconditioning, restrooms and all. Very comfortable...!!
Here is one of those bigger "house boats" crossing us.... these cost money, serious money!
By now, one will find how appropriately Kerala Tourism board coined that catch-phrase "gods own country" for this wonderful land.
The sheer joy and beauty of this ride is to be had to be believed. The best part is how low cost it is - 11 rs for a 3 hour ride through heaven, in a boat! wow.
You also get to see fishermen at work....
The final destination of the boat is very close to the KSRTC bus stand in Alleppey. Its just a few minutes walk. I took one of those "superfasts" bound for Calicut and reached my home town! :)
Strongly urge you to take these kind of trips if you are keen on exploring the rustic beauty of Malluland.
WELCOME TO KERALA - God's Own Country!!
After reaching ekm at 9:30 and a trip to the bank, I set out on a bus to Kottayam.
At Kottayam bus stand, took an auto to Boat Jetty.This was my ride
The boat was scheduled for departure at 3:30 PM.
The ticket fare was 11 Rupees for the full Kottayam Alleppey stretch. The journey takes you through the middle of the highly scenic kuttanad, the rice bowl of kerala, for a full 3 hours. I decided it was the best deal for my money. Besides, you get to go through the same transportation the locals use to get from one place to another.
As the boat left promptly at 3:30 PM, it was clear the journey was going to be fun. There were some 6-10 tourists from europe on the boat, all headed to alleppey. The tourists and me had cameras ready, all set to click at the drop of a hat! :)
The initial part of the journey goes through the inland canals, roughly 70m wide... you can clearly see the life on both sides. It passes through rice fields, houses, churches and other paraphrenalia of rural kerala. The villagers actively help the boat pass by the canal by lifting the "bridge" across the canal. Once the boat passes, the bridge is put back into place so that people can cross from one side to another. See it here:
Sometimes you feel almost like a peeping tom, passing by village huts and houses from a distance of max 20-30 m with nothing else in the neighbourhood.... a few dogs, women washing clothes in the river etc are routine sights....
It is this sheer touch with life that makes this boat ride so extra ordinary. Nothing tourist like in this ride - its so natural, in touch with the reality of day to day existence of the local people...
The best part of the ride is shots like this:
As you enter the main backwaters, the shore gets more distant but still very clearly within view... this is about midway along the ride.... See this church on the banks - almost picture perfect.
Look into the distance and you see a hell lot of "house boats". Now you have an idea of the number of tourists here....
A typical houseboat looks like this:
Boats and more boats!!
Here is one of those bigger "house boats" crossing us.... these cost money, serious money!
The sheer joy and beauty of this ride is to be had to be believed. The best part is how low cost it is - 11 rs for a 3 hour ride through heaven, in a boat! wow.
You also get to see fishermen at work....
Caution: (fisher) MEN AT WORK
The final destination of the boat is very close to the KSRTC bus stand in Alleppey. Its just a few minutes walk. I took one of those "superfasts" bound for Calicut and reached my home town! :)
Strongly urge you to take these kind of trips if you are keen on exploring the rustic beauty of Malluland.
WELCOME TO KERALA - God's Own Country!!
