2 minutes before we reached our hotel, we finally heard 'boating?'. Before we knew what was happening, a little guy on a scooter was telling us to both climb on board, whisking us down the dusty side-streets to the houseboat dock. I wa surprised at how safe I felt, considering that Pat was clinging onto me like a monkey, and I was clinging onto my seat!
So, this guy shows us his very nice boat, with an upper deck and everything, and tells us his initial price- 4000 rupees non air-conditioned. It was time to get cheeky. With his best haggling smile, Pat asks for 3500 rupees, air-conditioned. The guy pretended to look shocked and appalled, and said the lowest he could go down to was 4500 A/C. We pretend to think about it, before getting up and saying we have another boat to go and look out. He panics; his price drops to 4000 rupees. We say a final firm 'no' and walk back towards Alleppey. Wihtin 30 seconds, he runs after us and breathlessly tells us that we can name any price. Result! We're finally learning the art of haggling! BUT we still played hard to get. Like we said we would, we went to look at our hotel owner's houseboat- also very nice, but refused to negotiate the price. So back to our original guy and his bargain, to tell him we'd accept! He was a bit of a cheeky git, asking for service charge before we even set off, but hey, he saved us a bit of cash!
I've been recommended the houseboat experience by a few people in India, and I have to say that its definitely worth it! The boat itself is beautiful, designed in the old 'rice-barge' style. We were worried that the on-board crew (2 men) might have been told to shun us because we'd been so stingey with the price- however, they were nothing but friendly and helpful!
The food was exquisite too, as all Keralan food seems to be! If we hadn't already been to Chennamkary, I think cruising the backwaters would have made even more of an impact, as they truly are a world apart from crazy India. We encontered some crazy parties along the river, and when we were docked in the harbour for the night- no doubt the Kingfisher beers had been flowing freely in their boats! They certainly had in ours!
The next morning was a beautifully sunny day, which have actually been few and far between since we've been here! We left our houseboat, after saying a big thank-you to the crew, and headed towards a rickshaw. We were all prepared to head back to where we stayed before in Alleppey, when our driver (who possibly has the friendliest smile I've ever seen) suggested going to the beach. 'Very nice place,' he said, 'lots of coconut trees!' Both in the mood for an adventure, we agreed. For some stupid reason, I was wondering about the quality of this beach as it hadn't been mentioned in Lonely Planet. But it soon became clear that although Lonely Planet is bloody brilliant, it doesn't know all. My mouth fell open when he turned onto the quiet lane towards the beach. We had stumbled upon paradise! In our window of sight was palm trees lining vanilla-coloured sand, and all we could hear was waves crashing upon the shore.
This was definitely the place for us! After the driver told us that the other options were a 15,000 rupees a night hotel, he took us to a tiny homestay minutes from the beach, where we were immediately greeted with warm smiles by the family. And Pat was happy as he spotted one of his favourite things in the world in the garden- hammocks! Not quite believing our luck, we agreed to stay there and asked our rickshaw driver his name- Ali. The happiest and most helpful rickshaw driver we've met so far. This was the kind of place that if we hadn't been taken there, we would have never known it existed.
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| I asked for a fruit juice; they gave me half a coconut with a straw! Amazing! |
So we spent the next few days lazing in the hammocks, strolling along the near-deserted beach save for a few fishermen and Indian families, and getting to know the adorable family we were staying with. Every member of the family introduced themselves to us and asked us many questions. There were two houses; one was for Dominic (the home-stay's owner) and his family, the other for his older brother and his family. I spent ages chatting to Neethu, Dominic's 17 year old niece. We were yabbering away for ages about our hobbies; hers were 'watching TV and Bollywood dancing'. When I told her my age, she asked me if I was married; I've noticed that people assume I'm either Pat's 'wife', and if not, 'friend'- they never ask about anything in between! She walked me to the local shop, where I met the toothless, humorous shop owners, and got a gage of how mall this fishing village was! On the way back, she turned to me with a big smile and said very innocently 'I like you very much!' That really touched me- such a sweet girl! I've told her I'd keep in touch; it would be great it we could. I loved her baby cousin as well, who kept wandering around naked and beating things with a stick!
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| The grandfather of the family with the baby boy |
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| My new friend Neethu with her baby cousin |
I'm so grateful we stumbled across this gem, just the chill-out haven we needed before we tackle the hectic North! Tomorrow we head to Bangalore, then fly to Calcutta. City life is going to take a lot of getting used to after these relaxed two weeks! Goodbye, Kerala- I'll miss your palm-tree lined canals, your delicious coconut- based curries that suit my mild palette so well, and your ambling pace of life. But don't worry- I'm pretty sure I'll be back...
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