More Backwaters in Allepey

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We decided to stop to Allepey to see some more of the world famous Keralan Backwaters. Allepey itself didn't hold much appeal but we did manage to scope out a branch of the Indian Coffee House where we could fill up on cheap dosas. We booked a six hour canoe trip on the backwaters for the very next day through our guesthouse so we didn't have to hang around.

We were joined on our canoe by a nice German guy called Mauritz. The canoe had a canopy to keep us in the shade and lots of cushions for us to lie on, it was pretty luxury. The trip around the waterways surrounding Allepey was not as serene and picturesque as our trip from Kollam and if anything we were left feeling a little underwhelmed and disappointed. Allepey is the main base for backwater trips and due to this the waterways are busy and polluted. Many tourists go out on huge houseboats which have air-con, kitchens, bathrooms, TVs...everything are a little vulgar. Most of these run on motors and are noisy and leave a film of grubby oil on the water as they go. There were hundreds of these things on the waters the day we went out.

Even though the the waters were busy and dirty it was still a pleasant way to spend the day. We did manage to find a few quiet spots down some narrow canals away from the hum of the big houseboats on the main waterways and here we saw many villagers going about there daily chores and it felt slightly more like the real backwaters with a tangle of thick, luminous green vegetation crawling over the banks and even the odd Kingfisher flying overhead. That said it was still hardly the isolated, peaceful backwater experience that most people imagine or that we had in Kollam. On our way back to town we stopped at a restaurant by the water to have a traditional Keralan banana leaf lunch, basically curries, pickles and rice eaten from banana leaf.

So as i said, although it was a pleasant enough day this definitely isn't the place for a relaxing and quiet backwater experience and we think that the waterways around here are a little overrated. No where near as beautiful as the area around Kollam.

We left the next day with no reason to hang around. We left our guesthouse on a bit of a sour note as i had a big argument with the owner about the cost of the boat trip...always confirm the price first! We headed to Munnar with our new friend Mauritz.

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