Alleppey is definitely different from the places we have been so far. It cleaner, friendlier, and calmer. It is hot & humid (feels much hotter than Tamil Nadu). However, the people are much easier to get along with and are more genuine from my experiences. They want to help, they do help, and they want little or no money for it. Even our hostel owner someone kept decreasing the price of our stay and backwaters canoe package even though we didn’t ask and had no idea why he did that! And the place we stayed at was dirt cheap anyways ! ($5/person/night!!). I am scared that moving on from Kerala, the north will be much less pleasant and much more of a rip off. I genuinely hop its not, but I have a bad feeling…
As for our stay here, Alleppey is a great quiet town to stay in. It’s not very big and it’s the starting point of the famous backwaters (lakes and rivers inland that you can do day trips on—they go through Keralan villages and there are also big, nice houseboats you can stay on). We opted for a day canoe tour of the backwaters through our hostel. It was significantly cheaper than getting a houseboat for the night, and we were told better, because you actually get to check out the small villages and waterways that the big houseboat can’t do. We did not regret our decision. Our day was splendid. We were taken by ferry to a small village where we had breakfast with a local Keralan family to start the day. It was delicious---some mango mix with rice and coconut flakes and chai tea. Then we spent the day in a 4 person comfy canoe roaming through the backwaters of Kerala- serene, lush green, with village life surrounding us---fantastic! The views were so peaceful and so beautiful. We finished the day with lunch at the same family home which was another delicious treat- rice with mango chutney and yogurt spices and some kind of delicious crunchy bread etc etc! Fresh and fantastic! Well worth the $15 we spent for the whole day trip with food!!!
Overall, our stay in Alleppey was calm and relaxing. The atmosphere of the place is really nice. We hung out on the rooftop our last night just watching the waves come in. No one was swimming here either, but apparently because there was a strong undercurrent and it was dangerous. It is still odd for me to see the ocean and no one in it!
The adventure began the day we were leaving. Initially, when we had arrived in Alleppey we had asked our hostel manager about the backwaters tours and options to get from Alleppey to Munnar and then Kochi. Munnar is a hilly, interior area of the south famous for its tea plantations which are apparently beautiful and a must see. Kochi is a big Keralan city on the southwest coast only about an hours drive from Alleppey. Our flight to Jaipur, Rajasthan was out of Kochi, Kerala but we still had a few days to kill. We wanted to spend a few days in the cooler climate and peaceful setting of the tea plantations. The guy at the hostel told us it would be an easy pleasant trip. I am not sure you should believe anyone in India when they tell you a trip will be easy or pleasant. Also, Indians tend to be VERY vague about giving directions, they usually just point a certain way and expect you to know where that is. It is quite amusing!
So, the manager suggested we take a ferry to Kottayam and then from there a bus to Munnar. The ferry would take under 2 hours and the bus 3-4 hours. Already a long trip, but we should have known to always add extra time in India for everything. The ferry start was smooth, it left exactly at 730 AM as we were told. The boat ride was pleasant through the backwaters. Instead of getting us all the way to Kottayam, the boat stopped about 7km short and we were told we had to walk a bit and catch a bus into Kottayam, then from Kottayam catch the bus to Munnar. By the time we figured all of this out and FINALLY found the obscure bus to Munnar somewhere in the middle of Kottayam (people were helpful but, again, just pointed you in the right general direction) it was already after 11AM. The boat ride part was not supposed to take that long! Anyways, this was a local bus and it was a bumpy ride! Similar to East Africa, Indian bus drivers seem to think they are manoevring a motorcycle instead of a massive bus! They weave in and out incessantly, and always feel the need to get ahead of the next moving vehicle. It is bad enough on city streets, but it is entertaining (albeit terrifying) when they do it on steep cliffs while we climb hills and mountains to get to Munnar! I have to admit I thought I was plummeting down a few cliffs along the ride….
