Bandipur -> Wayanad -> Kozhikode -> Guruvayur -> Cochin -> Periyar
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When we were planning a Kerala trip, the backwaters was something we had in our mind. The backwaters seem to be Kerala’s most prominent attraction, and I had heard every one who visited the backwaters raving a lot about it.
A bit of research revealed that the houseboats – fully equipped boats in which you can spend a day or two in the backwaters, are expensive and can leave a hole in the pocket. The next option was a much inexpensive day-long shared boat trip from Aleppey, but many reviews said it can get monotonous and boring after sometime. We looked around in Fort Kochi about our options and finally took a package that gave us a two hour chartered trip on a small boat, along with Ayurvedic massage and a special Kerala lunch.
The place where we would start our backwaters journey was a good thirty minutes drive from Kochi. As we drove, we noticed that we were driving through small, narrow landmasses surrounded by water all around. Ubiquitous coconut trees donned the landscapes. Occasionally we saw water bodies isolated from rest of the backwaters by mud barricades. Our driver told us that these are private properties barricaded to grow fish or prawn. We talked between us and wondered if a person’s value in Kerala is measured by how many acres of water does he own, like it is measured in acres of land elsewhere! The drive that took us amidst endless spread of water and coconut, and was very pretty.
Our journey on the backwaters started from a small channel of water intersecting one of the roads. The boat could take four travelers, a guide and the boatman. Water Hyacinth had conquered a good part of the channel, and the guide and the boatman had to struggle a bit to get through them to reach an open area.
Our guide was a friendly man who smiled often and talked as much as he can. He spoke broken but easy to understand English. And he had two versions of it – one which he used to converse with us and the other when he acted as a guide. When he spoke to us, it was more natural and casual. And when he switched himself to being a guide he became serious, seemed like a robot taught to repeat what had been taught, with no expressions or emotions whatsoever. He would once chat casually, then sit silent for a while and suddenly transform himself into the ‘guide’ mode:
“This backwater is having six months fresh water six months salt water. When rain is coming fresh water is coming.. when summer is coming, sea water is coming inside and it is becoming salty. The water is black but not dirty. The soil color is black, so water color is also becoming black. But clean.. not dirty.. This water hyacinth is growing in fresh water and dying when salt water is coming.. You see these are Chinese fishing nets.. they are putting this in the water and taking it out.. and fish is coming in the net when taking out.. you understanding..?”
It was great fun listening to his ‘guide accent, as he repeated with a machine like non-chalance the same thing that he would have been telling many travellers. But he was informative too, and knew well about all the information that a tourist would be interested in. We went through a wide ground(of water!) where snake boat races were held annually. We saw several Chinese Fishing Nets that were abandoned because they could not function effectively in dense Hyacinth population. He took took us to a place where they manufactured different products from coconut fiber(coir). Not that we wanted to visit one such place, but he said with this ‘guide’ accent –
“Now I will show you coir manufacturing.. understanding? Are you interested in seeing coir making…?”
and without waiting for our answer he jumped out of the boat and started moving on. We followed him mutely like sheep herded in a pre-planned route. We had started our backwaters trip around 4.30pm, spent the sunsets hours in the water and a good 30 minutes after that till it got really dark, and returned back. It was a worthy experience and an excellent introduction to Kerala’s most well known attraction.
The backwaters of Kerala, also called Vembanad lake, spread on a large area from Kumarakom and Aleppey in the south to Kochi in north. Though this region is primarily filled with water, has many landmasses in the middle of it. Boats are as much a means of commute as are the roads in this area. The lake will be filled with freshwater during the rainy season and a few months after that; and salt water comes in during summers. Water Hyacinth grows quickly and fills up the surface of the lake when there is freshwater, but they die when the water becomes salty.
Traditional economy of this area is fishing and coconut trees, but now backwater tourism contributes significantly to the economy. Aleppey is a hub for backwater tourism where you can hire houseboats or take day trips. Houseboats or Kettuvallam are generally expensive and start only at prices above Rs.2000 per night, but a day trip starts at as little as Rs.350. You may be able to find people offering shorter rides at lesser prices, as the one we took. A backwaters trip is one of the most important experiences of Kerala and is a definite must do.
To be continued..
Bandipur -> Wayanad -> Kozhikode -> Guruvayur -> Cochin -> Periyar
+Previous: Arriving at Fort Kochi
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We had arrived at Fort Kochi in the evening and the atmosphere looked festive. There were many open air restaurants next to the beach which made brisk business. There were shops selling fish and restaurants with signs that read “you buy, we cook”. We walked past the restaurants and took a walk on the long beach-side stretch. It looked like low-tide and water was flowing briskly from Vembanad lake to the sea, carrying tons of Water Hyacinth.
We wandered around a bit, scanning the region and quickly got a liking to the place. Quiet boulevards, large open spaces, old fashioned structures and the smell of the sea in the air held us to the place and we decided to stay there tonight. It did not take us long to find a comfortable and sparkling clean, yet cheap accommodation. Next thing in line was dinner.
We had heard that options for food in Fort Kochi are plenty – delicious sea food and local food, starting from budget prices to going all the way to five star prices. We chose the later, as we decided to pamper ourselves for the night and celebrate the evening in Fort Kochi. A bit of homework with our guidebooks and we were on our way to Hotel History in Brunton Boulevard, a short walk away from the place where we alighted from the ferry. Brunton Boulevard is a plushly built hotel in lines of Keralan structures of the olden days. Hotel History lived up to its pricey menu and easily satiated our taste buds. It was a long dinner at the end of a long day and we retired for the day soon after.
The next morning, as it always has been during this tour, we were unsure of plans for the day. We wandered around Fort Kochi for a while and I happened to see people working with the Chinese fishing nets. It is a complex job with one commander shouting orders, and four to five people working together to bring down or lift the net. The heavy array of wooden columns holding the net would easily weigh a few tons. They controlled it with a series of ropes, would immerse the net-assembly in the water, leave it for a few minutes and lift it back up. As I watched them lifting the net, they had a catch of may be a kilo of fish in the net. It probably varies considerably depending on the time of the day and the season of the year.
We wandered around, and went to the nearby four hundred year old Santa Cruz Cathedral Basilica. I have always loved the quiet, majestic feeling inside the large churches and this one was no exception. It was very similar to the well known Portuguese built churches in Old Goa.
We then talked a few tour operators to look for backwater cruises and some Ayurvedic massage packages. We were not too keen on a day-long boat trips but wanted a short backwaters trip or a house boat stay for a night. Luckily for good, we found a guy who offered multiple Ayurvedic massages combined with a two hour backwater trip, and we accepted it gladly. Before we went on it, we decided to take a trip to the town of Ernakulam and look around a bit.
Kochi is connected with Ernakulam by a set of bridges. You take a bridge to exit Fort Kochi and get to Willingdon island. From here, you take another bridge connecting the island to Ernakulam. You can see Cochin harbour at distance when you are crossing the second bridge. Ernakulam is one of the big towns in Kerala, probably biggest after Trivendrum. Keralites seem to be fond of jewellery – the main roads were full of huge jewellery shops, with nearly all of them having plenty of customers inside. Ernakulam is a crowded city, but is very clean compared to similar sized cities elsewhere in India.
We came back and headed to get our Ayurvedic massage. The journey to their place took us through the spider like grid of narrow landmasses which intertwined between the large mass of Kerala Backwaters. It was a scenic 30 minute drive which we really enjoyed. After a refreshing massage, we took the boat to the backwaters at 4.30pm and wandered in the waterways till beyond sunset. We returned to Fort Kochi in the evening, checked out from our hotel and had good traditional Kerala food at Gokulam Restaurant in Ernakulam before we started our drive towards Thekkady.
To be continued..
Bandipur -> Wayanad -> Kozhikode -> Guruvayur -> Cochin -> Periyar
+Previous: Cherai Beach
+Next: Fort Kochi and Around
+Go to the beginning of the series
We came out of Cherai beach, saw a sign that said ‘Cochin’, and simply drove in that direction. At some point the road ended abruptly and we were not sure what is happening. It turned out we were near a jetty where we had to take the car in a boat and get to the other shore, which is Fort Kochi.
I came out of the car to inquire at the ticket counter for the boats if this is how we go to Fort Kochi. It turned out I was using the wrong words, but we had an interesting conversation anyway.
Me: Is this how we go to Cochin Fort?
The man at the counter: Where?
Me: Cochin Fort?
Man(Again): Where, where?
Me(Trying to be more clear): Fort, Kochin.. Fort Cochin, Cochin Fort..
He started thinking hard while someone else walked in. Similar conversation was repeated. Finally the second person asked:
Second man: Fort with ‘P’ or ‘F’?
Me: ‘F’, ABCDE.. and ‘F’. (I swear, I pronounced correctly, not my fault!)
They looked at each other with the delight of discovery. The second man, whose English was more fluent took over the job of speaking to me.
Seond man: Yes, yes.. this is how you go to Fort Kochi. Say only ‘Fort Kochi’. Don’t say Kochin Fort or Cochin. There is some hotel by that name. Your boat will come now. Take the ticket here. You have a vehicle…?
And so the conversation started and I was happy to have a friendly man to talk to. I put him some questions about the geography of the locale and managed to understand a bit about Kochi, Ernakulam and backwaters of Kerala by the time the boat arrived. And once the boat arrived, getting the car into it turned out to be a tricky job. Several people shouted instructions to turn lef or right, forward or backwards all together and I was hapless for a few seconds. Eventually we were on our way to Fort Kochi which was a short 10 minute journey.
It took some time for us to understand the geography of the region. When we asked people if Fort Kochi is an island, we got mixed answers and sometime vague responses, as though no one knew for sure. Kochi is separated from the mainland by Vembanad lake. Vembanad lake merges into the see near Fort Kochi. This lake is a large waterbody forming the famous backwaters of Kerala, stretching all the way to Alleppey, around 60km south of Kochi. Between Kochi and Alleppey is a maze of water body interspersed with islands of landmasses, some of them connected by narrow roads bisecting the water. This is the region now famously referred all over as the Kerala Backwaters, exploited splendidly to promote tourism in the state. Resorts, houseboat tours and Ayurvedic massage tourism has spread to all corners of the lake and you will notice some or the other signs inviting tourists, no matter where you go.
Fort Kochi is a tourist destination generally advertised as historically significant place, with some of the early Portugese and other European sailors stepping in here few hundred years ago. There are some historic Churches and Basilicas of interest to a traveler. But what is really attractive about Kochi is its calm and quiet atmosphere. Surrounded by sea from all the sides, you can feel the sea in the air, or in the fish served in the restaurants. Despite being close to a city(or being a city by itself) you don’t see the rush of the early hour, traffic overflowing in the road or people hurrying from place to place. Coconut trees, quaint houses and open areas never make you feel that you are in a city. Add to that is the attraction of the sea, people working with the ingenious Chinese nets and long walks next to the jetty. Besides this, you see so many travelers all around Fort Kochi, it adds a sense of excitement and something to look forward to.
Fort Kochi is more of a tourist town, full of hotels, restaurants and places of interest to visit. Though it is host to many monuments, it is the long lines of Chinese fishing nets that epitomizes Fort Kochi. Food, especially sea food is another thing that pulls in tourists in big numbers. Fort Kochi has many exotic restaurants specializing in seafood and Kerala food, some of them pricey enough that a sumptuous dinner would need three to five days’ expenses of a budget traveler! We did savor the delicacies in one such restaurant and came back impressed.
To be continued..