Kerela - Backwater Experience
Day 4 - Sunset at Kumarakom
Our Backwater experience of Kerela began as we drove towards Kumarakom on the 4th day of our Kerela trip. Kumorakom is a small tourist village set in the backdrop of Vembanad lake. Going from Kottayam towards Kumarakom, we could see the narrow water channels sandwiched between the road and row of small picture-perfect Kerelan houses. We could also see small canoe-like boats tied in front of almost every house, evidently the preferred mode of transport.
We reached Tharavadu Heritage home which had near perfect reviews at trip-adviosr. After our day's stay, there we have no reason to refute any of the good things written about the place. From our first impression, as we entered the gates of the 120 year old traditional Kerela home, to the hospitality of the staff and owners, the quality of food, the location, we liked it all. The fact that all this came at a price which was within our budget was an added bonus.
The main accommodation is within the neat structure of the heritage home. The heritage AC rooms for 2500 Rs looked really spacious and comfortable. But we choose to stay in one of the bamboo cottages (1500 Rs per night.) which are a bit separated from the main building by lots of trees and bamboo plants. It was a picturesque cottage surrounded by lots of greenery, and a small fish pond (not sure whether to call it pond or puddle) but it looked beautiful anyways. The room was neat and open and very well lit. We settled in quickly and ordered our lunch. I decided to try some fish after the wholly vegetarian diet for 3 days. The fried fish tasted as good as it looked (no offense to the departed soul).
Our plan to explore the surroundings had to wait for an hour because of rains. When we did finally venture out, it was almost sunset time, and we decided to enjoy the sunset near the lake, which was only 5 minutes walk from the hotel. Right across the street is the ferry terminal along the side of the narrow water channel that leads straight to the lake. There were plenty of houseboats parked on the channel, while many other made their way back after the day's excursion.
The first view of the lake was truly breathtaking. I hadn't expected the lake to be so huge. As it turns out Vembanad lake is the largest lake in Kerela, and supposedly the longest lake in India. The lake was made all the more beautiful by the countless lilies and hyacinth floating on the surface of the lake. The yellow, orange and blue shades of the setting sun provided the perfect backdrop. We were left completely mesmerized and I felt like we were finally getting to see the Kerela as advertised in all those travel magazines and websites. There was a small church at the edge of the lake. We sat on its short boundary wall with our legs hanging over the lake, wishing we never had to move from there. Sitting there we had another pleasant surprise. Vasu suddenly noticed a head bobbing out of the lake, then another and then yet another. They turned out to be a family of otters playing in the lake. Too bad, they never popped up long enough to let me take a good photograph.
As it started to get dark, we noticed many small boats carrying 2 people each heading towards the lake. One of the boat crew told us that they were going to fish. We asked if we can come along and he laughed saying that they would be gone all night. At that moment I thought he was just joking, but later at the houseboat we learnt the same thing, that the fishermen indeed spend the whole night fishing in the lake and return by first light, after which the houseboats and other bigger vessels start plying on the waters.
On the way back, we tried to rent a houseboat for the next day to take us to Alleppey. All the houseboats, were asking for a steep rate due to Diwali holidays.We also didn't quite like the inside of the few houseboats that we checked. We figured it was best to rent a houseboat at Alleppey. But even that seemed unlikely at the moment given the sudden rush due to Diwali holidays.
Back at the hotel, we asked the hotel staff about the nearby places to see. They advised us to visit Kumarakom bird sanctuary early in the morning. We also got timings of the public ferry that runs between Kottayam and Alleppey. The hotel staff was most helpful in providing any help or information that we needed. For dinner, I ordered Kerelan fish curry with rice. After the delicious fish fry in the afternoon, I couldn't wait to try some more fish, but I had no idea, Kerelan fish curry was going to be too hot to handle. It was tasty but the more I ate the more it burnt the insides of my stomach. In the end I had to drink almost a litre of water, and when that didn't help I ended up eating a full bowl of sugar, before I could go to sleep. So here is a tip straight from my heart - guys unless you have been brought up on tabasco peppers, dont try Kerelan fish curry if you have any love for your stomach and intestines. Go for coconut curry instead.
Day 5 - Diwali on Vembanad Lake
It was the first time in my life, and I don't imagine it happening anywhere else, that I spent almost the entire day and night on the waters of a lake. We got up while it was still dark, hoping to get to Kumarakom bird sanctuary with the first light of the day. We boarded a bus from the front of the hotel that dropped us at the bird sanctuary for 10 Rs. At the sanctuary, we were told that there aren't many birds inside the sanctuary at this time of the year, and we would be better off hiring a boat to take us around the sanctuary. I had my doubts about the sincerity of his advice, but I went with it anyways. We hired a boatman cum guide for the tour for 250 Rs for an hour, may be bit steep price, but I wasn't really in a bargaining mood.
I would easily rate this boat ride as our best experience in Kerela. It was a small boat though bigger than the small canoes a lot of fishermen were using, propelled and steered by a long pole by the boatman standing at the back of the boat. The boatman who was a retired army jawan also doubled up as the local guide, who had more than sufficient knowledge about the birds. Vasu was quite amazed at his ability to identify a bird even at a distance at which we could barely make out any distinctive feature. Initially, we moved along a wide water channel, and then joined the main lake. The guide took keen interest in spotting birds and pointing them to us, explaining their names, distinctive features and habits. I wish I could say I remember any of it, but I do remember seeing two purple heron (which are supposedly rare), and plenty of indian pond heron, cormorants, ducks, egrets, and some others.
Remember or not, I had an absolutely wonderful time, spotting these magnificent birds and trying to capture them with my camera. Even more than that, I loved the way our boat glided between the beautiful lilies, on the absolutely stunning lake on a clear day. And after the Periyar madness, I especially enjoyed the fact that there was absolutely no one else there apart from us. To use the cliche, I felt as if I was in nature's lap, the time holding still while we glided slowly across the lake, listening to bird calls instead of the usual traffic horns, a feeling of peace soaking into our souls, healing the scars left by the craziness of a city life. This is what a vacation is all about, to find a place, where time is no longer a precious commodity, where there is no hurry to get anywhere. To find a place where you can sit all day doing virtually nothing, without experiencing even a hint of boredom. For me, Kumarakom is definitely such a place, one which I would like to visit again and again to spend some quite time.
The boat tour also took us in front of a few resorts that were built right on the shores of the lake. For the first time I was actually tempted to stay in one of these, especially Taj that was right in the nesting area, and Kumarakom lake resort that had beautiful lake view cottages. For all the positive things about Tharavadu, one negative is that it was some distance from the lake. Ofcourse, the biggest negative with these resorts being that they are way out of my pocket, and I quite appreciated the homely feel that Tharavadu had.
As we moved into a very narrow channel right alongside Taj, our guide opened an umbrella for us. He explained that we were entering the nesting area of cormorants, and the umbrella was to protect us from the countless droppings that would be fired upon us. In the end, looking at the state of the umbrella, I was really grateful that he had this foresight. Along this canal, on a number of trees, we could see numerous nests being occupied by cormorant families. Our trip lasted for about two hours, and I was so delighted by the experience, that I offered an extra 100 Rs tip apart from the 500 Rs.
After that we had idlis at a nearby shop, took a bus back to the hotel and checked out. The hotel owner advised us to take a taxi to Kottayam as there was no direct bus to the ferry terminal, but by now we were really in backpacker mode, ready to slog it out. As we moved out of the hotel with our rucksack, a bus was already waiting at the bus stop, and we had to run to catch it. As I was standing in front of the bus with Vasu, she pointed out the strange fact that all the women were seated or standing in the front of the bus, while all the men were on the back side, and perhaps I was supposed to follow the same scheme. It took us 30 mins to reach Kottayam, which seemed like a crowded metropolitan after the quite Kumarakom. At the bus station, a friendly co-passenger lead us to another bus which would take us to the ferry terminal. Overall, I found that buses in Kerela, were quite cheap, well connected, frequent and easy to use.
At the ferry terminal, we were told that the public ferry to Alleppey that we waned to take has been canceled. It was quite a shock to hear that, after all the effort we had spent in getting to Kottayam specially for the ferry, when we could have reached Alleppey by road in the same amount of time. Luckily, a group of locals, who were also waiting for the same ferry, hired a private boat and invited us to share the cost with them. Though, I would have liked to experience the public ferry, the ride turned out pretty well, both of us choosing to sit on the roof of the boat.
Initially, the boat traveled through narrow water channels, with houses on both side of it. An interesting thing was that there were small draw bridges built over the channel to connect the two sides, and everytime our boat had to pass through, someone would rush to open the bridge by pulling a rope. Later on the channels started to open up in the main lake, presenting spectacular views. It took us nearly couple of hours to get to Alleppey and we reached there around noon.
At Alleppey, we got down near the Nehru Trophy Boat race start point, as I wanted to stay in one of the lake side huts. I called up Malayalam lake resort and few others that were recommended by tripadvisor. But seemed we were running out of luck. All of the resorts were fully booked, due to Diwali holidays. Earlier, I had tried renting a houseboat for the next day through a contact provided by a friend. Even, his response was that it was almost impossible to get a houseboat at this time and if we do get one it wouldn't be for anything less than 10K. So there we were, standing on the road with all our luggage, wondering what to do next, when a person approached us on a motorcycle, and asked if we were looking for a houseboat. I told him we were looking for a hotel, and our plan was to rent a houseboat tomorrow. He said he got a canceled houseboat booking for today and was willing to give it for 4500 Rs. That got me excited but I had half the doubt that at this price he would be renting me a decaying, smelling houseboat, so I asked him to show the houseboat first. What we had was a brand new looking, well furnished single room houseboat, just what we wanted. I could no longer contain my excitement, I wanted this boat, and I managed to further bargain it down to 4200 Rs. See this is what I talked about in the beginning, unexpected surprises when you go unplanned. One day earlier we couldn't get any booking at all, and the next day we got the houseboat cheaper than we ever expected. We wouldn't have received such a lucky break had we done either the houseboat or hotel booking in advance. But then it could have gone the other way too, and we were prepared to leave Alleppey without enjoying the houseboat experience at all.
The houseboat consisted of a living room in the front, a double bedroom in the middle, and a kitchen area towards the end. The houseboat had all required facilities like AC, water heater, shower, TV etc and was almost like a floating hotel. We settled in our room, while the houseboat staff prepared lunch for us. The lunch again was pretty delicious, the scenery adding to the whole experience. After lunch, we lifted anchor and took to the waters. We went around the Punnamada lake where Nehru Trophy Boat race is held. I sat on the front tip of the boat enjoying the views of the backwater life, capturing as much of it as I could with my camera. There was a lot of hustle bustle compared to the serenity of Kumarakom, houseboats moving to and fro, smaller boats carrying fishermen and locals, women washing clothes, kids swimming. We also saw some birds including kingfishers and herons, and the highlight was spotting a water snake.
By now we were quite used to the fact, that no matter what, it would start raining at exactly 4 pm every evening. Today was no exception, and it started really pouring. I have always loved rain, and rain in such green surroundings is most pleasing. Slowly we entered the main Vembanad lake. We could just make out the outlines of Kumarakom at the opposite end.
As the sun started to set, the staff parked the houseboat and started preparing for dinner. I requested them to prepare coconut fish curry as well. Vasu decided to learn the Kerelan recipes from the cook, while the beautiful sunset put me in the mood for some drinks. By now the lake was almost shining with the last light of the day, and in the distance I could see firecrackers going off in the sky. Fish curry was as good as any I have ever tasted, the Kerelan food continued to treat our taste buds. More often, we expect to compromise on food when away from home, but we will remember Kerela for food as much as for its natural beauty.
I almost passed out after dinner and woke up at around 3am. Immediately I was pissed to see that we were still parked at the same spot at which we had dinner. Somehow I had assumed that we would be moving all night on the lake, while we sit outside enjoying the cool breeze. I suspected that the staff was saving on diesel to make up for the low rate. I peeked outside through the window and the rest of the houseboats seemed to be anchored at one place as well. So this is what all of them do at night, stay at one place. I personally found it quite irritating, to me it would have been great fun to be cruising on the waters all night,.Whats the point of renting a houseboat instead of a hotel if it stays at one place all night. I expressed this point of view to the houseboat driver, who explained that they aren't allowed to move in the lake at night, as there are small fishing boats there.
Finally we started moving, after breakfast. We joined in the traffic of houseboats returning to Alleppey after the night's outing. This is the routine they follow day after day, moving off for the lake at noon and coming back the next morning.The houseboat dropped us at the same place from where we got an auto to Gowri Residence. It was almost in the middle of town not exactly a beautiful setting but I guessed this was the best we could do due to the rush. What also sold me is the fact that they offer free cycles to explore the town. Our backwater experience was over, short but sweet. Now it was time to explore the Kerelan beaches and that too on a cycle.....
Day 5 - Diwali on Vembanad Lake
It was the first time in my life, and I don't imagine it happening anywhere else, that I spent almost the entire day and night on the waters of a lake. We got up while it was still dark, hoping to get to Kumarakom bird sanctuary with the first light of the day. We boarded a bus from the front of the hotel that dropped us at the bird sanctuary for 10 Rs. At the sanctuary, we were told that there aren't many birds inside the sanctuary at this time of the year, and we would be better off hiring a boat to take us around the sanctuary. I had my doubts about the sincerity of his advice, but I went with it anyways. We hired a boatman cum guide for the tour for 250 Rs for an hour, may be bit steep price, but I wasn't really in a bargaining mood.
I would easily rate this boat ride as our best experience in Kerela. It was a small boat though bigger than the small canoes a lot of fishermen were using, propelled and steered by a long pole by the boatman standing at the back of the boat. The boatman who was a retired army jawan also doubled up as the local guide, who had more than sufficient knowledge about the birds. Vasu was quite amazed at his ability to identify a bird even at a distance at which we could barely make out any distinctive feature. Initially, we moved along a wide water channel, and then joined the main lake. The guide took keen interest in spotting birds and pointing them to us, explaining their names, distinctive features and habits. I wish I could say I remember any of it, but I do remember seeing two purple heron (which are supposedly rare), and plenty of indian pond heron, cormorants, ducks, egrets, and some others.
Remember or not, I had an absolutely wonderful time, spotting these magnificent birds and trying to capture them with my camera. Even more than that, I loved the way our boat glided between the beautiful lilies, on the absolutely stunning lake on a clear day. And after the Periyar madness, I especially enjoyed the fact that there was absolutely no one else there apart from us. To use the cliche, I felt as if I was in nature's lap, the time holding still while we glided slowly across the lake, listening to bird calls instead of the usual traffic horns, a feeling of peace soaking into our souls, healing the scars left by the craziness of a city life. This is what a vacation is all about, to find a place, where time is no longer a precious commodity, where there is no hurry to get anywhere. To find a place where you can sit all day doing virtually nothing, without experiencing even a hint of boredom. For me, Kumarakom is definitely such a place, one which I would like to visit again and again to spend some quite time.
The boat tour also took us in front of a few resorts that were built right on the shores of the lake. For the first time I was actually tempted to stay in one of these, especially Taj that was right in the nesting area, and Kumarakom lake resort that had beautiful lake view cottages. For all the positive things about Tharavadu, one negative is that it was some distance from the lake. Ofcourse, the biggest negative with these resorts being that they are way out of my pocket, and I quite appreciated the homely feel that Tharavadu had.
As we moved into a very narrow channel right alongside Taj, our guide opened an umbrella for us. He explained that we were entering the nesting area of cormorants, and the umbrella was to protect us from the countless droppings that would be fired upon us. In the end, looking at the state of the umbrella, I was really grateful that he had this foresight. Along this canal, on a number of trees, we could see numerous nests being occupied by cormorant families. Our trip lasted for about two hours, and I was so delighted by the experience, that I offered an extra 100 Rs tip apart from the 500 Rs.
After that we had idlis at a nearby shop, took a bus back to the hotel and checked out. The hotel owner advised us to take a taxi to Kottayam as there was no direct bus to the ferry terminal, but by now we were really in backpacker mode, ready to slog it out. As we moved out of the hotel with our rucksack, a bus was already waiting at the bus stop, and we had to run to catch it. As I was standing in front of the bus with Vasu, she pointed out the strange fact that all the women were seated or standing in the front of the bus, while all the men were on the back side, and perhaps I was supposed to follow the same scheme. It took us 30 mins to reach Kottayam, which seemed like a crowded metropolitan after the quite Kumarakom. At the bus station, a friendly co-passenger lead us to another bus which would take us to the ferry terminal. Overall, I found that buses in Kerela, were quite cheap, well connected, frequent and easy to use.
At the ferry terminal, we were told that the public ferry to Alleppey that we waned to take has been canceled. It was quite a shock to hear that, after all the effort we had spent in getting to Kottayam specially for the ferry, when we could have reached Alleppey by road in the same amount of time. Luckily, a group of locals, who were also waiting for the same ferry, hired a private boat and invited us to share the cost with them. Though, I would have liked to experience the public ferry, the ride turned out pretty well, both of us choosing to sit on the roof of the boat.
Initially, the boat traveled through narrow water channels, with houses on both side of it. An interesting thing was that there were small draw bridges built over the channel to connect the two sides, and everytime our boat had to pass through, someone would rush to open the bridge by pulling a rope. Later on the channels started to open up in the main lake, presenting spectacular views. It took us nearly couple of hours to get to Alleppey and we reached there around noon.
At Alleppey, we got down near the Nehru Trophy Boat race start point, as I wanted to stay in one of the lake side huts. I called up Malayalam lake resort and few others that were recommended by tripadvisor. But seemed we were running out of luck. All of the resorts were fully booked, due to Diwali holidays. Earlier, I had tried renting a houseboat for the next day through a contact provided by a friend. Even, his response was that it was almost impossible to get a houseboat at this time and if we do get one it wouldn't be for anything less than 10K. So there we were, standing on the road with all our luggage, wondering what to do next, when a person approached us on a motorcycle, and asked if we were looking for a houseboat. I told him we were looking for a hotel, and our plan was to rent a houseboat tomorrow. He said he got a canceled houseboat booking for today and was willing to give it for 4500 Rs. That got me excited but I had half the doubt that at this price he would be renting me a decaying, smelling houseboat, so I asked him to show the houseboat first. What we had was a brand new looking, well furnished single room houseboat, just what we wanted. I could no longer contain my excitement, I wanted this boat, and I managed to further bargain it down to 4200 Rs. See this is what I talked about in the beginning, unexpected surprises when you go unplanned. One day earlier we couldn't get any booking at all, and the next day we got the houseboat cheaper than we ever expected. We wouldn't have received such a lucky break had we done either the houseboat or hotel booking in advance. But then it could have gone the other way too, and we were prepared to leave Alleppey without enjoying the houseboat experience at all.
The houseboat consisted of a living room in the front, a double bedroom in the middle, and a kitchen area towards the end. The houseboat had all required facilities like AC, water heater, shower, TV etc and was almost like a floating hotel. We settled in our room, while the houseboat staff prepared lunch for us. The lunch again was pretty delicious, the scenery adding to the whole experience. After lunch, we lifted anchor and took to the waters. We went around the Punnamada lake where Nehru Trophy Boat race is held. I sat on the front tip of the boat enjoying the views of the backwater life, capturing as much of it as I could with my camera. There was a lot of hustle bustle compared to the serenity of Kumarakom, houseboats moving to and fro, smaller boats carrying fishermen and locals, women washing clothes, kids swimming. We also saw some birds including kingfishers and herons, and the highlight was spotting a water snake.
By now we were quite used to the fact, that no matter what, it would start raining at exactly 4 pm every evening. Today was no exception, and it started really pouring. I have always loved rain, and rain in such green surroundings is most pleasing. Slowly we entered the main Vembanad lake. We could just make out the outlines of Kumarakom at the opposite end.
As the sun started to set, the staff parked the houseboat and started preparing for dinner. I requested them to prepare coconut fish curry as well. Vasu decided to learn the Kerelan recipes from the cook, while the beautiful sunset put me in the mood for some drinks. By now the lake was almost shining with the last light of the day, and in the distance I could see firecrackers going off in the sky. Fish curry was as good as any I have ever tasted, the Kerelan food continued to treat our taste buds. More often, we expect to compromise on food when away from home, but we will remember Kerela for food as much as for its natural beauty.
I almost passed out after dinner and woke up at around 3am. Immediately I was pissed to see that we were still parked at the same spot at which we had dinner. Somehow I had assumed that we would be moving all night on the lake, while we sit outside enjoying the cool breeze. I suspected that the staff was saving on diesel to make up for the low rate. I peeked outside through the window and the rest of the houseboats seemed to be anchored at one place as well. So this is what all of them do at night, stay at one place. I personally found it quite irritating, to me it would have been great fun to be cruising on the waters all night,.Whats the point of renting a houseboat instead of a hotel if it stays at one place all night. I expressed this point of view to the houseboat driver, who explained that they aren't allowed to move in the lake at night, as there are small fishing boats there.
Finally we started moving, after breakfast. We joined in the traffic of houseboats returning to Alleppey after the night's outing. This is the routine they follow day after day, moving off for the lake at noon and coming back the next morning.The houseboat dropped us at the same place from where we got an auto to Gowri Residence. It was almost in the middle of town not exactly a beautiful setting but I guessed this was the best we could do due to the rush. What also sold me is the fact that they offer free cycles to explore the town. Our backwater experience was over, short but sweet. Now it was time to explore the Kerelan beaches and that too on a cycle.....
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