Why you must visit Alleppey

Alluring Alleppey

    Alleppey is famous for its backwaters but we always think of something unique. During our trip, we enjoyed both the backwaters and the beach. Don’t forget to read our trip plan at the end of the article

A trip down south was long due and when we were planning our holiday destination during our son’s summer break, the first name that came to mind was Kerala. We decided to take the train one way as we wanted to enjoy Konkan railway’s scenic route that meanders its way through lush monsoon greenery and the captivating and mystical ghats. We were lucky tickets were available on the Thiruvananthapuram Rajdhani Express. Feedback from friends, locals and reviews on the net helped us zero in our destination. The journey was quite long as we crossed several states starting with Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka and finally landed in Kerala. The scenic beauty was equally breath-taking and enamouring, especially after we entered Maharashtra with greenery in abundance, long tunnels, misty waterfalls and vast water bodies – all soothing to the eyes.

Goa with its mountains on one side and the sea on the other was just sublime and exhilarating. The wet, muddy and moist smell in the air gave such a sense of reprieve from the heat and dust of Delhi’s mundane life and the urban morass. As we passed by the tiny Canacona station, we recollected our last trip to this tourists’ delight and the fun-filled moments on the pristine Palolem beach, lazing in front of the roaring waves from morn to dusk, doing nothing. Karnataka was equally awe-inspiring with its greenery and the sojourn through the majestic ghats.

 Kerala is known for its hills and tea gardens but as we are from Assam, these are not new to us, and so we chose Alleppey to experience the enchanting backwaters and soak ourselves to the bone in the Kerala monsoon. We reached Alleppey early morning and the first thing we noticed were lungi-clad men and women in saris with flowers in hair. We took a taxi and in a few minutes we could view the sea, and we knew our resort was near. Though he charged an exorbitant fare for the short journey, the driver was decent enough to return the change one hour after he dropped us. We had booked a cottage at a sea-facing resort; the first look itself was impressive with the fresh morning air blowing in from the sea. We thought that since check-in time was 11 am and we reached quite early, we would spend the time frolicking at the Alleppey beach. But the resort guys let us in, in the early hours without charging anything extra.

 The cottage was very well maintained and as we stepped inside, we already got a homely feeling. Though we thought we would hit the sack for a while but after we freshened up, we had other thought with the sea beckoning us. We could see and hear the surging waves from our room and could not stop ourselves from letting ourselves loose on the white sand. With monsoon at its peak, the sea was at its roaring best and the white sand was complementing it too well. The umbrella was a must-carry for locals whether it was rainy or sunny. We were already famished and we discovered a small food joint where we relished on Kerala porotha with lip-smacking ghugni (we could not find out the Malayali name as the man knew little English). When we asked for a dosa, he said, ‘no dosa’. We realised how people in other parts of India had a misconception that people in the south eat only idlis and dosas. Dosa is served as a snack, mainly in Tamil Nadu, and not so much in Kerala. For lunch, we returned to our resort bang opposite the beach. We devoured the spicy Kerala fish curry and steam rice and it was simply yummy. We were also served Kerala papad while we were waiting for the lunch to arrive; it had a different shape but it was again delicious.

 

We enquired about the backwaters at the reception and finalised a shikara ride for four hours the next day. Staying on a houseboat for 24 hours would have restricted us, as anyways they park the houseboat after sunset. Being sea lovers, we would definitely prefer to come back to our resort for the rest of the evening.

 We were given a spa brochure and we thought that being in Kerala, we should definitely try the herbal famous Kerala massage.  With little hesitance, I and my husband went for it and at the end of it we found it relaxing. In the evening, sonny enjoyed a camel ride on the beach, we already had the experience in Udaipur so didn’t try this time and instead we enjoyed mouth-watering pakoras. This time we did not forget our umbrellas and sonny’s raincoat, as the drizzle was playing hide and seek. People generally were seen in traditional attire so I went for Indo-western outfits.

On day two, we had a quick breakfast of poori-bhaji, upma, some fruits and our taxi was ready to take us to the shikara parking spot. When we reached, our boat was already waiting for us. We stepped into the shikara and our journey started from a backwater canal that extended to lakes and then rivers. Lines of houseboats had just started their day or about to start with enthusiastic tourists clicking endless pictures of the astounding backwaters. The view was awesome with water till our eyes could see. ‘Water, water everywhere…’ as Coleridge had said.

 

Both sides of the canal were dotted with small, freshly painted houses where people were busy in their daily chores. One thing that caught my eye were traditional women busy in both household as well as outdoor activities such as fishing, managing small shops, giving a helping hand to their husbands in sailing boats and even building small embankments.

 

Our driver was a chatterbox and was constantly  charting out information about where the annual boat race starts, where houseboats are mended, paddy fields, and what not. After each information, he would instruct us ‘click picture, click picture’! He showed us the long boats used in the annual race in August and the place where men were trained. After two-hour ride, our driver parked the shikara at a home restaurant where we had scrumptious prawn and basai fry masala. We also saw a man climbing a coconut tree, making preparations to make homemade beer from toddy. 

We bid adieu from the family and our boat driver rode us to Vembanad Lake. The backwaters extended to the lake. It is the longest lake in India and the largest in Kerala. It is also known as Punnamada Lake. It covers an area of 2033.02 sq km, making it the largest wetland system in our country. It enjoys rich biodiversity and is home to several marine, bird and animal species. It also witnesses the annual snake boat racing every year. And then finally we started our return journey towards the town.

 

On day 3, we spent some time chilling out at the resort pool and spent most of the day at the beach as it was our last day. Our last supper was quite elaborate and we scanned the whole menu and ordered everything authentic whatever we haven’t tasted. The next morning, reluctantly we stepped out and took the taxi to the airport. On the way we saw shops lined up selling hammocks and as it is difficult to find one in Delhi, we couldn’t resist from buying one.  The towns were clean and developing fast. Kochi was bustling and the airport was quite impressive.  

 

While we were waiting for our flight announcement, we heard some commotion and saw actor Rana Daggubati and a Tollywood actress. I could recognise Rana as I saw him in Baby. Fans were approaching them for a selfie moment and they too were obliging. In another row, I saw Baichung Bhutia engrossed in his mobile. I could recognise him immediately as I interviewed him a few years back, but only a very few football buffs could recognise him. At last we bid adieu to God’s own country and reached Delhi after four hours. Though Delhi was hot and humid, but we had a feeling of homecoming.

Our trip plan

If you go by flight till Kochi, two nights are enough. But we decided to take the train one way to enjoy Konkan Railway’s scenic route. We took the Thiruvananthapuram-Rajdhani Express from New Delhi railway station. We crossed several states — Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka and finally landed in Kerala.

We reached Alleppey early morning after two-night journey. We took a taxi and reached our sea-facing resort. You can enjoy breakfast in the hotel or explore outside. We went out for breakfast and relished on Kerala porotha with ghugni (we could not find out the Malayali name as the man knew little English). When we asked for a dosa, he said, ‘no dosa’. Dosa is served as a snack, mainly in Tamil Nadu, but not much in Kerala. For lunch, we devoured spicy Kerala fish curry and steam rice at our resort. We were also served Kerala papad; it had a different shape but was delicious.

We were given a spa brochure and we thought that being in Kerala, we should definitely try the famous herbal Kerala massage.  You should also try one. In the evening, sonny enjoyed a camel ride on the beach while we enjoyed pakoras. Don’t forget your umbrellas or raincoats, if you travel during the monsoons as the drizzle plays hide and seek. We went in June.

On day two, we had a breakfast of poori-bhaji, upma, fruits and took a taxi to the shikara parking spot. We stepped into the shikara and our journey started from a backwater canal that extended to lakes and then rivers.

After a two-hour ride, our driver parked the shikara at a home restaurant where we had scrumptious prawn and basai fry masala. We also saw a man climbing a coconut tree, making preparations to make homemade beer from toddy.

We booked the shikara ride for four hours as staying on a houseboat for 24 hours would have restricted us, as anyways they park the houseboat at one place after sunset. Being sea lovers, we preferred to come back to our resort near the sea.

On day 3, we spent some time chilling out at the resort pool and spent most of the day at the beach. For our last supper, we ordered everything authentic whatever we haven’t tasted.

The next morning, we took a taxi to the Cochin International Airport. On the way, we saw shops lined up, selling hammocks, and we bought one. Kochi city was bustling and the airport was quite impressive. If you want to spend a day in Kochi, you can give it a try. 

You can also visit if you have time in hand:

*Marari Beach

*Ambalapuzha Sree Krishna Temple

*Revi Karunakaran Museum

*Alappuzha Lighthouse

*International Coir Museum

*Krishnapuram Palace (built by Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma in the 18th century)

*Alappuzha Beach

*Mary Forane Church

*Triveni Floating Market

*Alappuzha Zakariya Market

 

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