Aleppe, the Backwaters of Kerala....

Tuesday, 19th January 2010

We left the Spice Village Hotel in Thekkady at 8 am because we would require about 4 hours to reach Aleppe where we were to embark our houseboat for the cruise in the backwaters of Kerala at 12 noon. We made it in good time and the houseboats were all anchored in a row at the jetty waiting for their respective passengers to arrive.

Our house-boat was the 'Mermaid 11' - run by the Rainbow Houseboat Company. It was a deluxe houseboat with 3 ensuite bedrooms, an upper-deck dining lounge with the satellite TV and the lower deck lounge behind where the skipper of the boat navigated the vessel from.

The boat had 3 staff, the navigator, the cook and an assistant who both helped the cook as well as the skipper.

From the embarkation jetty, the houseboat cruised out into what appeared like the open sea but was actually only a wide lagoon. Further on the houseboat was directed to cruise along narrower canals of the backwaters passing along many paddy fields and villages.

We were served a delicious spread of fish and chicken curry, a few types of vegetables, sambar and chutneys to go with the light and fresh Keralan rice and chappatis.

The cook even made some local savouries to go with masala tea or bru-coffee at about 5 pm. We checked out a local fish and sea-food shop and bought 12 tiger prawns, each the size of a 1-kg lobster, to be cooked for dinner. The chef was ordered to grill the prawns with masala seasoning!

After the marketing we checked out a local ayurvedic spa. Some of us wanted foot reflexology - but they do not offer that in their establishment. It was strictly Ayurvedic Spa and Massages. So we decided not to go through the 'oily' experience.......

We anchored at a quiet corner somewhere in the backwaters for the night and had our delicious grilled prawns for dinner apart from the other dishes that came with the standard menu that was included in the houseboat package.

houseboats in anchor at the jetty....

many different types of houseboats

with different levesl of comfort and luxury...

our houseboat...the Mermaid 11...

the skipper navigating the boat out of the jetty...

the comfortable air-conditioned ensuite bedroom...

relaxing and waiting for lunch...

the upper deck lounge where lunch and dinner were served...

a contented look after a hearty lunch....

disembarking to a local village....

marketing for fish and seafood....

12 kg of giant tiger prawns....

still alive.......!

a local ayurvedic spa centre....

make a choice.....

pleasant evening breeze and many photoshoot opportunities....

anchoring for the night....

sunset over Keralan backwaters...