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Published: September 30th 2015
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Kerala was one of the places we were most looking forward to in India, and it did not disappoint. A world away from the hassle and mania of the big cities, the pace of life in Kerala slows down to a tropical stroll.
We spent our first few nights in Alleppey, which used to be the centre of the Keralan spice trade through the huge network of canals and backwaters, until the trade modernised and moved to the big cities. Now the boats have all been converted to houseboats for tourist trade on the backwaters instead. We stayed in the brilliant Wind n' Waves hostel which was right on the beach there - the first (vaguely) clean beach we've seen in India so far, a brilliant place for people watching, complete with packs of very well fed, friendly and playful beach dogs. We spent happy, relaxing hours wandering up and down it and through the chilled out town, trying (and often failing) to avoid the occasional monsoon downpour.
The main reason for going to Alleppey, though, was to take a backwaters trip on a houseboat. After a couple of easy days by the beach, we headed down to the
docks. We went for one of the cheaper options - they all looked pretty similar - and went off around the backwaters. The day spent on the boat was fantastic - the boat puttered slowly around scenes of tropical paradise, palm trees lining the canals and lakes, lotus blossoms floating past... bliss. There is a complete community lining the backwaters, living much the same as they ever have, so you see kids being punted to school on little boats and washerwomen beating clothes on rocks as you pass, which definitely adds to the ambience of the place.
The boat was crewed by a helmsman and a dubious looking cook - proof you shouldn't judge a book by its cover as he proceeded to produce three huge, varied and delicious meals from his tiny kitchen during our stay. Once we were moored up for the night, though, we discovered why ours was a cheaper option - they save on cleaning! Once darkness fell, we found the boat was pretty much infested with cockroaches. We've obviously seen loads of cockroaches while in India, and they're not something that normally bothers me much. However, when one actually scuttled over me in bed...
Let's just say it wasn't conducive to the best night's sleep. Still, it was a brilliant day on the water, and we saved a few rupees - it's all good!
Our other stop in Kerala was Kochi. The oldest Western settlement in India, it's been through the hands of the Portuguese, Dutch and British over the years, resulting in an atmospheric mish-mash of cultures and architecture through the town. It's full of fantastic homestays, like the ChristVille Homestay where we stayed, which give you an authentic experience of staying in an Indian home, complete with delicious home-cooked meals. The first night we were there we went to a Kathakali performance, which was really interesting. A traditional Keralan dance / theatre, it blends martial art with Indian classical music and dance, performed in full face paint and costume. It relies on exaggerated facial expressions to tell the stories, as the actors don't speak. The actors train for at least eight years before they perform, and have astonishing facial control. The show was preceded with a demonstration and explanation of the art form, and the guy was moving eyes, eyebrows and cheek muscles in ways that I swear shouldn't even be
possible (and yes, of course I tried in the mirror later - I can't do it). Afterwards, I couldn't help feeling that the highly skilled performers deserved better than showcasing a one hour bastardised version of their art to a bunch of tourists every night - but a full performance lasts eight or nine hours and goes on until about 5 AM, and while I enjoyed it I don't think I could quite sit through that!
One of our favourite experiences in Kochi was chancing upon a religious festival at the cathedral near our homestay on our final night in Kochi, the feast of some saint or other. Catholicism in India would appear to be a little different, and much more vibrant, than in the West... We walked past a big candlelit parade and went to the cathedral entrance to see what was going on, and found the whole cathedral lit up in gaudy flashing neon, complete with multicoloured umbrellas atop the spires and a giant orange and red flashing cross, with a huge, happy crowd piled in to the courtyard singing and dancing. As the parade walked into the cathedral, loud music continued to play on speakers while
a brass band marched in and a choir followed - all playing completely different pieces of music in a glorious cacophony. To top it off, as the statue of the saint was carried into the church, hundreds of firecrackers were set off alongside the procession - it was brilliant! Catholicism done Indian-style. Almost enough to make a man turn to religion...
That was it for our time in Kerala - I write this near the end of an epic three day train journey up to Varanasi. It was great recharging in Kerala for a week - now to the madness of the big cities of the north.
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