Another lovely sleep! With the pool just next to to our bungalow it was easy to jump in. At 7 in the morning there were no other people in it, so we felt very spoilt. Very tranquil!
We were not leaving until 11, so today was very relaxing. A glorious breakfast, which consisted of pretty much everything you would want and more. Sweet lassi to drink, freshly made omelettes, fresh vadu, fruit and even a cheeky little strawberry milkshake, which had the nostalgic taste of Nesquik.
We did a bit of bird bothering, too!
We had another opportunity to play table tennis, which meant I got thrashed again. We talked about coming back here when we are much older, staying three weeks or so and being pampered over out winter months, which seems a great idea, as it was only about 40 pounds a night.
Param picked us up and we travelled towards where we would have a houseboat for the afternoon. Kerala is just so different to Tamil Nadu in so many ways, the housing, the roads, the pavements, pretty much everything. I think if I were to describe it, I would say it is definitely India, but with the edges smoother, in fact smoothed and rounded and polished. We could see why we could spot more white people now, it is more geared to Western tastes, but there was a rawness around Tamil Nadu that was challenging and engaging in equal measure.
We had the option to stay on a houseboat overnight, but opted for just an afternoon, and that was a good call, it was just what was needed.
I hadn’t appreciated how big it would be, it was huge, we had a bedroom, if we wanted a lie down, a bathroom, dining room and a settee.
We were greeted by the captain of the boat and introduced to the cook. They would set off once the vegetables from the market were delivered.
We were hemmed in by other houseboats, but after a bit of wrangling managed to navigate out. The captain seemed very chilled, especially as he had group of ‘back seat drivers’ on the path next to the boat, shouting what to do.
A fresh glass of lemon juice and a relax into the comfy settee. Before booking this part of the trip I had envisaged that it would be like wehen we were in Costa Rica , which was more of a wildlife trip. This wasn’t like that, the backwaters had so many houseboats snaking up and down, including party boats. It also had locals going backwards and forwards with shopping, building supplies etc.
But despite this, cocooned on the boat it felt like we were the only ones on the water. The rythmic movement and the hum of the engine had me almost nodding off.
Eventually we stopped and a banquet appeared on the dining table. All vegetarian. Coconut fry, vegetable curry, dahl, poppadoms, salad and fresh pineapple. They had also made long bean curry that was delicious. Here it is Achinga Payar Thoran, a semi-dry coconut based stir-fry made with mustard seeds, curry leaves, and yard long beans. All such intense and fresh flavours.
Along the way we saw people washing their clothes and themselves on the edge, a boy swimming with his pet dog, and by now the constant blaring out of polical slogans from loudspeakers.
We later found out when we passed rallies and cavalcades of hundreds of motorbikes with flags attached fluttering defiantly. It is because in Kerala this is the last day that parties can drum up support.
I don’t
Random Acts of Travelling 