1001 things to do before you die

I gave my sister a book once, entitled “1001 Things To Do Before You Die”. Like me, she has the travel bug so I thought it was a great gift. It is inspiring to read about all the amazing places in the world, or it can also be depressing as you realise you haven't even scratched the surface on this amazing planet. I decided to borrow it before I left so I could see what the recommendations were for some of the places I was planning on travelling to. In India, there was the obvious Taj Mahal amongst other historic sites and for Kerala, it listed the backwaters. Lonely Planet describes the backwaters of Kerala as the undisputed main attraction of India's far South but I had heard mixed reports on whether it was worth the effort or not. Some fellow travellers we had met along the way said it was a bit over rated, and somewhat touristy, but we thought we would make our way to Allepey the main port for back water tours and decide once we got there. We rang ahead and booked a hotel that sounded ok and made our first train journey of our trip. Three and half hours on a local train all for the princely sum of 44 Rupees (about $1 AUD). Bargain. The train journey is almost an entire story in its self, not for anything overly exciting for us, but more for the excitement for the locals on the train with us....I felt like a celebrity. Children stopped and waved, people greeted us hello, we were asked our name, where we were from, were we travelling alone? Where were our husbands (easy, at home playing cricket) and how much money did we earn? All completely acceptable and normal questions to ask a random stranger, or so it seems. But back to Allepey, and the infamous backwaters of Kerala.

The front proch our guest house

We arrived after dark and experienced our first ride in a rickshaw (this was turning out to be a day of firsts) with a driver who seemed to have no idea where he was going, we finally found the sign for our hotel. The driver, with no english and who previously didn't know where he was going, indicated we should follow him. So loaded down with our backpacks, we scampered out of the rickshaw and proceeded to follow this little man down a dark pathway that hugged the waterway. It was only after about 5 minutes that it even remotely dawned on me that not even 10 minutes ago this guys had no idea of where our hotel was, yet here we were, following him down a dimly lit path surrounded by water. Oh well, it would be fine. And fine it was, we arrived at our hotel that was perfectly positioned on the banks of the backwaters. Our host Jose was expecting us, and although we were late arriving, managed to rustle up a simple meal of omlette, toast and the most delicious milky tea. Perfect end to an interesting day. We arose the next morning with all intents of making use of the bamboo sit out that was perched over the waters and meditating as the sun came up. We found ourselves too distracted by the constant flow of boats that were passing, all shapes and sizes, and when the offer of breakfast and hot coffee arrived shortly after, the idea of meditation was completely gone as we settled into to watch the world go by. It did not take long before Stella and I looked at each other and said “we HAVE to go on one of those house boats!” So our host Jose, arranged a boat for the following day, we even got to see the one we would be on as it cruised past later that morning. Whilst it is quite an expensive experience for India, the $100 AUD we spent for 24 hours was money well spent.

Our hang out

Later that day, while perched on what became our favourite hang out, the bamboo sit out. A couple arrived at our hotel looking for a room – I looked at the guy, and thought, I know you...what are the chances of running into someone you know here though? But he turned around and for sure, it was Gav, Bec's old housemate from the UK. Who would believe it, checking into the same hotel. We caught up and arranged to meet for dinner that night. So nice to run into old friends and to meet new ones along the way.

We set off on our houseboat adventure mid morning the next day, we had a one bedroom boat complete with dining table and chairs, a TV, lounge chairs and an upstairs area with day bed. We spent the entire afternoon watching the scenery, our books nor conversation really could drag us away from the other boats passing by, the expansive open lake where we purchased fresh water prawns for dinner or the more narrow water ways where we were privy to village life. Women washing their sari's, men brushing their teeth, children bathing – the waterway providing a necessary source for the local villagers. The waterways were lined with palm trees and houses dotted the foreshore. The sun shining through the trees made for a truly magical experience as we watched local fisherman trawl for their daily catch. We moored late in the afternoon and after a snack of home made hot chips and steaming tea (Stella was as happy as a bird with a french fry) we took a wander around the local village area. As soon as we were spotted by the local children, the ran up to us “Pen,Pen!”. These kids were used to tourists and begging. Westerners are known for handing out pens to local children which is not actively encouraged, donating to a local school is a much fairer way of donating to these local communities. I much preferred the shy children on the train that were more interested in playing peek-a-boo with us. But that's what western tourism does for you I guess. As the sun set over the rice paddies, we made our way back to our boat for another delicious meal – I think I counted 7 different dishes this time! We could not wipe the smiles from our faces. Sorry fellow travellers, but I have to agree with the Lonely Planet on this one, and the Kerala backwaters is really one of the 1001 things to do before you die.