The Love Boat

(December 17th-19th) Okay, I know this sounds cheesy, but we did have a nice time on what I call the love boat of Kerala, technically called a kettuvellum. As the guide books say, it may be your most expensive night in India, but worth every rupee. Indeed it was!



The backwaters of Kerala are an extensive network of canals and lakes, used as the main highway system for many of the locals. Here you can see all sorts of bird wildlife and the daily life of the people as they fish, ferry across the river, wash their clothes, or (the children) simply jump in the water to ask you if you have a school pen to give them!







First we stayed in a nice cabin alongside the water at the Palmgrove Resort. It was our nicest place in India yet, a splurge for us at $22 a night and we were the only guests as their are just too many places to keep full. We had a verdana, 2 hammocks nearby, an open air bathroom, and even a mosquito net! This is our definition of luxury these days!



It was perfectly peaceful except for the fact that it was temple festical season, meaning that every Hindu temple in the area blasted their holy music from about 7-11 pm and then started again at 5 am until whenever they felt like. Most of the songs mentioned "Oh Krishna" in every verse and I could have learned them well. Some fancier temples hired decorated motor boats to blast the music while moving through the canals. I kept hoping for a power outage and Dean wondered if guns are legal in India.



We scouted around town and without not enough time to really shop around, we just booked a night on a boat, not really knowing what kind of boat it would be and our receipt was just handwritten on a scrap of paper. I'm sure we paid way too much but oh well. It all worked out in the end, as you can see me posed and ready to start our journey!







Our reservation guy told us that the boat included the "American Plan." Being Americans, we felt silly that we had no idea what he was talking about. He explained that this means that your water, snacks, and all meals are included. This unknown term cracked us up!



The excursion was 22 hours total and included a cook and two drivers- one in back and one in front. Mostly they ran the motor but at other times they used the silent bamboo poles to moved us along through the canals.



The kettuvellum is made from local wood lined with tar and then strung together with coconut coir ropes. No nails necessary. The top covering is woven bamboo fronds, and has an inner lining of plastic if it rains. They have nice decorations inside with a double bedroom and bath, a nice dining area and places to lounge in the front of the boat.



Our journey took us south of Allepey to have lunch on some lake, and then to view a snake boat used in the famous snake boat races. These boats hold up to 100 rowers and include men with drums to beat out the rhythm in hopes of being the fastest to win a cash prize and bragging rights. We also saw a small market and a shop that carves out intricate wooden Christian figures.



The meals were great and we had way too much food in the end. For breakfast our cook even sliced up the pineapple into a checkerboard design- it was so lovely! Dean demonstrates his happiness over lunch! Notice that he was growing a beard here but it is no more.







The evening ended at sunset on a river smack between two Hindu temples and their loudspeaker singing battle. It gave us a chance to walk to one of the loudspeakers and view all the candles and locals. But we enjoyed the noise in the end as it reminded us that we were still in India.







We woke up the next morning to the sound of birds and paddle boats gliding by before the roar of the temple loudspeakers fired up. And then we were back to our starting point for the end of a relaxing day.