Travel – Page 2 – An American in Kerala

Hangin’ Out on a Houseboat

Apparently, going on a houseboat, or kettuvallam, cruise is the thing to do when you’re in Kerala. Really. Check out any Kerala/South India tourism website; they’ll be including a houseboat cruise in your itinerary. For my poor husband, this meant months of listening to me cajole him into going on a houseboat. He had already been on one and thought it was boring. And hot. And full of mosquitoes. I said, essentially, “Too bad, you’re still taking me.” So, in celebration of our first first anniversary, we arrived in Alleppey for a houseboat cruise.

Generally, the houseboats are long, narrow hulls that have almost all amenities. Ours was an air-conditioned one-bedroom boat with a fully modern bathroom. Adjoining the bedroom was the TV, dining and lounge area, and we also had an upper deck on our boat. We had requested the honeymoon package, so we had our bed decorated with flowers, a candlelight dinner, and a honeymoon cake.

For the first day of the cruise, check-in is at 11 am or noon. We had hired a driver to take us from Thiruvalla to Alleppey, and he took us to the wrong jetty first. Thankfully, that was all corrected before we lost any time. When we arrived at the right jetty, two members of our houseboat crew were there to haul our bags onto the boat.

Our houseboat was behind that big one; we had to go through the first boat to get to ours. I was only a little afraid of falling in the water as we were jumping from boat to boat.

Once we got settled and explored the boat, we got our welcome drinks, which was some delicious fresh juice concoction. They either serve juice or tender coconut, and, because I drink coconut water all the time now, juice was a nice change of pace. After finishing, Zac and I went to our upper deck to enjoy the view as our boat started the cruise from Alleppey to Kumarakom. The views were breathtaking.

I should have mentioned earlier that when you book a houseboat, it’s like booking your own personal mini-hotel. The boat has its own crew, including a captain and two cooks. After cruising for an hour or so, the captain stopped the boat so we could be served lunch, which was traditional Kerala-style lunch with rice, Karimeen fry, sambar curry, bhindi fry, cabbage thoran, and pappadum. Unfortunately, ours wasn’t served on banana leaves. 😦

After eating, we started cruising the backwaters again, enjoying the sights and sounds of southern Kerala. We did see some fishermen, diving in and out of the water, trying to catch some fish. We also saw St. Mary’s Church, which is right along the backwaters.

At this point during the cruise, you have the option to stop and do things, such as touring a bird sanctuary or shopping in a village. We, however, stayed on the boat and relaxed because that’s what we are good at doing. And I felt the scenery was too beautiful to compromise by doing something that could easily be accomplished once finished with the cruise.

Next on the agenda was tea time. So I got to sip tea and relax and enjoy the scenery. What a life.

Tea and banana fritters, and the cook served it to me on the upper deck.

After tea time, the boat cruised for another hour and a half, and then anchored for the night. This was when it got boring, for me anyway. The houseboat stops at 5:30 pm, and then dinner isn’t served until 8 pm, so we had a couple hours to kill. When it was finally dinner time, we had our sweet, honeymoon candlelight dinner, complete with our cake. To top it all off, we watched a horror movie, and then finally retreated to our air-conditioned bedroom.

Flower covered bed in the air-conditioned bedroom

The next morning, we were served breakfast and then cruised back to the same jetty from where we left. On the way to the jetty, some locals caught up to us in their boats and held on to the sides for a quicker ride back to the mainland (check out the photo at the bottom). If we had to do it all over again (and who knows? We might do it once more before leaving Kerala), we wouldn’t spend the night on the boat. For Zac and I, it was uncomfortable because the boat kept rocking in the water all night. I feel it’s better to cruise all day and then get off the boat at evening and stay at a resort. Another thing, our cruise route was supposed to be Alleppey-Kumarakom-Alleppey, but we were pretty sure our captain took us halfway (if that) to Kumarakom and then turned the boat around. So, next time, we would do a one direction cruise, such as Alleppey-Kumarakom.

Another tip – be wary of the shops that the houseboat stops at. They have a tendency to overcharge unsuspecting tourists. Zac was furious when he figured out that the locals were charging double price or more for fresh fish and prawns.

So, yes, the Kerala houseboat. It was an overall good experience, and I’m super glad we went. The scenery was beautiful, and the cruise was relaxing. The food was very tasty, and our crew was very nice. There are just some things we feel we would do differently next time.

Breakfast - idli, sambar, and coconut chutney — Breakfast – idli, sambar, and coconut chutney

Highlights From Our Honeymoon

I have a mild case of tonsillitis this week. That, coupled with the incredibly strong antibiotics the doctor gave me, has left me feeling a little under the weather. So, in all of this down time I have now and I keep mentioning them, I thought I would finally make a post about the Andaman Islands, where we honeymooned.

The Andaman Islands are known mostly for their diving and snorkeling excursions, but it’s also a good place to simply relax. We spent most of our time on Havelock Island. Havelock is about 2.5 hours away by ferry from the capital, Port Blair. We were on Havelock for five nights and Port Blair for two. We didn’t do too much in Port Blair – I was violently ill the first night there and the second night we had decided to just relax at our resort. In short – we had all of our fun at Havelock. Here are some of the best parts (if you haven’t already seen these photos on my Facebook):

The mangrove cruise, where we kayaked through the sea and estuaries to get the low-down on mangroves, was the favorite part of our trip. We dragged ourselves out of bed at 5:30 am, put our upper bodies through a strenuous workout, and loved every second of it. I am serious on the workout part. Even Zac, who is the buffest person I know, had to say a few times, “I need a break. Can you handle it for a couple minutes?” Looking back, I realize, with humor, that the whole kayaking thing is also a good test for newlyweds. You have to be communicating and working together in order for the kayak to move in the right direction. However, at one point, our kayak was just not moving the right way no matter how hard we tried to turn it, and we floated right under some thick mangrove branches. Aside from having to lie down in the kayak, I had my hat and sunglasses knocked off and Zac sustained a few scrapes. The rest of our cruise was peaceful; the water was so calm and quiet, even the sea was quiet that early in the morning. An added bonus to the cruise – we saw a brown-winged kingfisher, which is one of the rarest birds to see (no pics of it though).

Aside from kayaking, we didn’t do much activity, just walked around the different shops and ate a lot of grilled fish.

Swapan's grilled fish - AMAZING. — Swapan’s grilled fish – AMAZING.

I also fed a stray kitty when we were at Swapan’s.

Hey, they only stressed not feeding the DOGS; they didn't say anything about cats — Hey, they only stressed not feeding the DOGS; they didn’t say anything about cats

Speaking of strays, I have to mention there is a stark difference between the two sides of the island where we stayed. One side is definitely the “budget” side and the other is a “you’ve got money” side. The budget side is normally where the backpacker divers stay, and the beaches have a lot of stray animals running around. This side of the island also has an extreme low-tide (thanks to the 2004 tsunami) from early afternoon until nighttime. There is more action on the budget side however. The two biggest villages are within walking distance from almost all the resorts. We stayed at two resorts on this side, Island Vinnie’s and Eco Villa Palm Beach Resort, with the latter being our favorite.

Sitting in front of our second-story view

And we got to eat our breakfast in front of the sea. Not bad.

We had to break up our two nights at Eco Villa with a night spent at Barefoot at Havelock Jungle Resort, arguably the best resort on the island and for good reason. This resort is only a couple minute’s walk to the Best Beach in Asia – Radhanagar Beach. There are no stray animals on this side of the island (I wish to remain blissfully ignorant of how they keep it that way), and it is soooo clean. At Barefoot, we booked the nicest room they have – the Nicobari Villa, of which they only have one.

While we were at Barefoot, we also received our glorious three-day Ayurvedic massages in two days. One of mine included something called “Chocolate Therapy,” and it’s exactly what it sounds like. They slather you from face to feet in a chocolate pack (after the massage), and it was so refreshing. I smelled delicious.

In between our massages, we went to Radhanagar Beach and got in the water for a little while. And by “got in the water” I mean, Zac went up to his knees, and I went as far as I could before my fear of sharks kicked in.

This may have been the wave that knocked me back to shore

Also, in between massages, we ate at Barefoot’s restaurant, which was the best overall. The restaurant itself was open air (like most of the eateries on the island) and it had cushions to sit on instead of chairs.

He ate fish curry, and I had pizza with real bacon on it.

Overall, Barefoot was our favorite, and I would recommend it to anyone who is going to Havelock strictly for relaxation. If you’re not going to do any hardcore diving or snorkeling, don’t waste your time with any of the other places, spend the extra money and stay at Barefoot. It’s worth it. Another suggestion – if you’re planning on having any interaction with Rajan the elephant at Barefoot, book that waaayyy ahead of time.

Here’s a few more of my favorite pics from our honeymoon.

I have already planned our next trip which will happen in December – the Himalayas and a few other parts of North India. But I’ll try not to post about that until we actually book it. 🙂

Elephant Wonderland

When Zac and I had gone to the Andaman Islands, we were under the impression that the beaches on Havelock Island were going to be chock full of at least one elephant. We were sorely disappointed, in that respect. So, a couple weeks after we got back from our honeymoon, we were still itching to see some elephants. Then, I did what I do best – got on the internet and found the closest place in Kerala to see, ride, and bathe elephants. It was only a two day trip – we left way too early the first morning and then returned the following evening. Our first stop on our trip was Punnathur Kotta in Guruvayoor. Punnathur Kotta is an elephant sanctuary where many of them are trained to work and perform in Hindu ceremonies and festivals at temples.

My first impression of these gentle giants was how expressive their eyes are, and most of them, I thought, looked terribly lonely. They still seemed to enjoy themselves when possible, especially during shower time.

Punnathur Kotta holds about 50-60 elephants at any given time. It was a good place simply to see elephants, but no one really lets you interact with them. The elephants go about their business, and you walk around and watch them (they are chained up unless they are working, another bad part).

Our next stop, where we stayed the night, was Kodanad. When I had found the resort I wanted to stay at, I didn’t realize that the resort was directly behind the elephant sanctuary there. Every morning, the elephants pass by our resort’s front gate, and this guy –

– goes to the front gate, knocks, and gets a piece of toffee. Just take another look at how cute this little guy is –

I’m pretty sure in that last photo he’s trying to get my scent. He tugged a bit on my arm, and I thought I was going to fly in to the water. So, little guy was definitely the fan favorite, and I think he knew it too. Next on Zac’s and my bucket list was bathing an elephant, since that was one of the things we had hoped to do on Havelock. We had to wait until all of the less cool people left the riverside, and then the mahouts (the guys who work with the elephants) beckoned for us to come bathe a ginormous male elephant.

This experience was astounding. His skin felt like wrinkly, hairy leather, and when I was briefly using the scrubbing brush on him, he flopped his ear closer to me so I would massage him there too. Unreal.

After the bathing was finished, we walked up to the sanctuary to ride one of the elephants. While we were waiting, little guy came through again, after getting blessed at the temple –

Seriously, I could look at his photos over and over; he’s so cute. When our elephant came, we loaded up, and she took us for a very short “safari.”

Like I said, the ride was brief, but it was great. Half of the exhilaration comes from sliding around on the seat. However, Zac and I decided if we ride an elephant again, we’re doing it mahout-style (sitting near the head). It’s kind of overwhelming to be near a creature so large. We were putting our trust in an animal that could have simply swiped its trunk to the side, and we would have been seriously hurt. They are amazing, beautiful animals that I noticed have a lot of human-like characteristics. Little guy kept wandering off and getting in to trouble (not serious trouble, but his mahout would get frustrated – hilarious.), and there was a 16-year-old male in Punnathur Kotta that was rebelling against his mahout by refusing to shower or pose for a photo, just a human teenager would rebel. But maybe all of that is just wishful thinking on my part. I like to personify animals.

We also did a pilgrimage in Malayttoor on this trip – climbed up a mountain to see the apostle Thomas’s footprints – but that is a whole post on its own.

And now, just for giggles, here’s a photo of little guy sticking his trunk in my hubby’s armpit.

Heehee.