Well, Trivandrum was a little boring, so I'll spare you the details of our long rambles around the zoo with the Indian bourgeousise (apparently its quite the thing to do on a long hot Sunday!).
We left quite rapidly for Kollam to begin our real mission in Kerala - exploring the backwaters... For a fair section, the coast is intersected by a river delta (I think), which has lead to many canals, inlets and streams a fair way inland. This part of the region is known as the venice of India, as lives happen along the river - most people are fishermen and women, and everyday we saw kids being paddled to and from school along the canals, no cars required. As Steph had her heart set on it, we shelled out what seemed to be an exorbitant amount (in reality only about $85 ea) for a tour package that included two days on tourist cruise boats, three nights accomodation (one in an ashram, and one on a houseboat) and most meals. It'll probaly be the most expensive thing we do here, but it was more than worth it...
The backwaters are beautiful, thick with lillies and a lotus flowers. It really is just like a series of roads, with boats cruising up and down all day. Lush palm saturated jungle creeps right to the waters edge, dotted with tiny houses and the giant chinese fishing nets that are the unofficial symbol of the state.
I had a bit of reverse culture shock getting on the tourist boat though - I hadn't seen any other white people since we arrived, and now the place was choked with them! Indications are that from here on in the route gets clogged with 'goras' along with the inevitable rise in prices, touts and hassle. :) What has amazed me most about the other travellers we have met (mostly very lovely people) is the clothes that the women wear. Short shorts, cleavage bearing singlets and tight outfits prevail. I was almost disgusted by the amount of flesh on display (although the Indian men were loving it!). Surely if you travel to a place it just makes sense to be respectful of their customs and habit of dress?. I'm loving the big floppy salwars :).
If I had culture shock on the boat, Aaron nearly had a heart attack when we reached the ashram. It was a curious, spiritual and thoroughly cringe-worthy experience all at once. To be continued...
