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Published: November 13th 2008
Well at last we have been doing some cycling again over the last few days. We set off from Varkala on Sunday and followed the quiet coast road for most of the way. Although it was quiet it was quite potholed in parts as can be seen in the photos. We arrived in Kollom in time to book a ferry that would take us to Alleppey the next day. The ferry left at 1030hrs and was due to arrive in Alleppey at 1830hrs covering a distance of about 85km in all. It turned out to be a pleasant ride through the backwaters and canals of Kerala with plenty to see. We lost count of how many Kingfishers we saw in the day instead we started counting the different species - 5 different types. As we got near Alleppey the ferry was stopped by the river authority inspector to check the boat's documentation etc. This held us up for about an hour and was very frustrating especially as we were on a 'government' boat - pity they don't check the vehicles on the road with the same enthusiasm. As it was going to be late when we arrived in Alleppey we broke
one of our golden rules and phoned ahead to book a room without seeing it first. As it was also dark when we arrived we also broke another rule and cycled at night. I had no rear light and Joy had no front light so we just stuck very very close together and set off in search of our hotel. When we arrived at the hotel we were a bit disappointed. The room was OK but the adjoining bathroom had no roof and thus was open to the elements. The second night there we had a tropical rainstorm - not nice when you are on the loo. Alleppey is described as the Indian Venice. To us it was just another busy Indian town with 2 smelly canals running through it. It was also mozzie fantastic and we both got badly bitten over the 2 days we spent there. The ride from Alleppey to Cochin was along the main highway but we made good progress and managed to cover the 40 miles in about 4 hours. As we approached Fort Cochin a guy came along side us on his motorbike and asked us if we had anywhere to stay. As we
hadn't we followed him to his Home Stay (guesthouse) and booked in for 2 nights for 350 rupees a night (five pounds).
Joy would like to thank all those who sent their best wishes for her birthday and we would also like to thank all those who have sponsored our chosen charity "Cancer Research UK". For those who would like to donate to this good cause you can do so by clicking on the 'just giving' link on our home page. We hope to raise 5000 pounds by the end of the trip but we still have a long way to go to reach this target.
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/Mick Todd
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Oih Lofty!!
As the highlight of my working week is reading your dits, I believe your loafing on producing articles. Could this be due to the beer being slightly cheaper than the Arms? I feel I know Cochin inside out now, so hurry up with the next one!!