Travel Day 916 – Kochi and Kerala Backwaters, INDIA
We had heard so much about the backwaters of Kerala and with only little time on hand we decided to do a little day-trip…
Idyllic Backwaters in Kerala, India
Even if I personally am not a big fan of organized tours, this one seemed to make sense because it would allow us to see different places in one day. Transportation and guide were equally as included as was a local lunch. The only point of criticism we had heard from other travellers was that even if the first three hours in the villages were interesting, the second part of the day on a much bigger boat was supposed to be pretty unexciting and plain boring…
While a half day tour was in fact on offer, it was in terms of money not really feasible and so experienced exactly what we expected after the reports all fellow travellers. The first three hours in a small boat and on tiny waterways were really enjoyable. It was shady and quiet and we even stopped twice in local villages to see how coconut ropes were done by hand and how spices would grow in the jungle…
Kerala Backwaters on a small Boat in India
I personally was absolutely fascinated by the smells and the aroma of what seemed to be regular trees, but with an intense flavor in the leaves, in the bark or in the fruits as one would only know from a kitchen shelf packed with fragrant spices. But the most amazing thing about this was that all throughout history, the Greeks, the Romans, the Chinese, the Persians, the Portuguese, the Dutch, the French and the British, all showed up here eventually to get some of these unique spices…
After a nice lunch break on an island, the afternoon was then exactly what we expected it to be: boring. We were on a much bigger boat and on a much bigger waterway with not much to see but… water. So everyone was simply dozing off and enjoying the relaxed atmosphere while I couldn’t help but feel bad for the two guys who had to push our heavy boat by hand through the current and in the heat of the day…
Big Boat Backwater Tour in Kerala, India
After the one day of nature we felt we had done the Backwaters due justice and once back in town we obviously had to celebrate the end of the day with some nice seafood again in one of the many outdoor restaurants. Yeah, Kochi was definitely a bit on the hot and humid side, but besides that it was surely a great place to be…
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