We had to get up at 6am to get our train to Alleppey to begin our Kerala backwater tour. We booked the trip from Varkala and all our connecting transport to the boat was sorted out for us. Needless to say at 6am neither of were functioning very coherently. We got packed and went outside to wait for our rickshaw driver to turn up and take us to the train station. After a short wait he turned up. I was so tired I left a full bottle of water by the side of the road when I got in the rickshaw - much to Phil's amusement. We made it to the train station just in time to catch our train. It was a two hour trip and we both had a bit of a snooze. We only just woke up in time to get off at our stop. In all the rush and commotion Phil left his full bottle of water on the train - much to my amusement.
We were met at the station and took to boat company's office. We had a two hour wait before the boat trip began so we had a spot of breakfast and then I wandered around the town of Alleppey while Phil went online. There wasn't really much to see so it wasn't long before I got bored and decided to go online as well. Finally we got taken to the boat. It wasn't quite as nice as the one in the photo but it was nice enough. The trip itself didn't really involve much other than just sitting on the boat in the sunshine while it made it's way through the maze of canals and waterways. The scenery was great and it was a very relaxing day. Unfortunately the water looked far too manky to have a swim in. We were fed very well by our cook and in the evening we stopped up by the canal-side in what seemed like the middle of nowhere. Despite the remote location there was the odd house dotted about. Looked like a very boring albeit beautiful place to live to me.
Well the nightlife wasn't exactly kicking here so we had to make to do with a few beers on the boat and played cards to amuse ourselves. The night was very hot in our room and neither of were able to sleep very much. The following morning I managed to get a few cool pics of the sunrise and then had a snooze on the deck before getting back to Alleppey. The boat trip was very pleasant but we paid a lot more to do an overnight trip and we were probably better off just doing a day trip instead.
Once back in Alleppey I hopped on bus to Cochin while Phil had to go back to Varkala to file a police report for his stolen bag, after which he would then come and meet me in Cochin. I got chatting to a guy on the bus and he soon decided that I was his best friend and I would find him a job in a petrochemical plant in the UK. He was a very happy man when we got off the bus and gave me a copy of his CV and references. Not sure what I'm supposed to do with them. On arriving in Cochin I took a local bus to the Fort Cochin area and then found a place to stay and went to sleep for the afternoon.
I got up a little later on and had a wander round. It seemed a lot hotter here without the sea breeze. It's a very quiet relaxed place though. I found the Santa Cruz Church and a look round that. In the evening I had a bite to eat and a beer. They take the whole pretending they are not serving you beer thing to the next level here. You get given your beer in a teapot and then pour it out into a mug. So much more sophisticated than the old hide the bottle under the table routine in Varkala. From now on beer in Cochin was to be referred to as 'special tea'.
Moved hotels the following morning to a nicer place, then started investigating Cochin a bit more. Saw another church then walked along the shoreline. The fishermen have these weird massive contraptions for catching fish. I saw them pull one of these massive things out of the water. It took four or five people to operate the thing. The fruits of there labour where about three pretty measly looking fish. Didn't strike me as a particularly effective way of catching fish. I had a nice pleasant walk along the beach then hopped on a rickshaw to go and the Mattancherry Palace built by the dutch. I had a lot of fun with my rickshaw driver who wanted to take me to lots of shops where he would get a commission rather than the palace. I remained firm and eventually got to the palace without too many detours. The place itself was actually now a museum: there wasn't that much to see but with an entry price of 2 rupees (about 3p) you can't complain too much.
I had a nice walk back to my hotel through a bustling market area then had a lie down and waited for Phil to arrive. When he arrived we went out for a food and then got obliterated on special tea and had a long argument about whether human beings possess free will or just the illusion of free will.
The next day I was too hungover to do much so just took it easy. Saw some kind of elephant festival in the evening. Not sure what it was all about but elephants really are impressive beasts. So huge and yet they seem to walk so elegantly and with very light feet. I started to feel pretty ill later on so just went back to the hotel and had a lie down.
I was still feeling pretty rough the next day but managed to get up and have a look at the Jewish synagogue. I wasn't that impressed by it. Thought it would be bigger. There was a market there as well so had a look round that then got back to our hotel. We had planned to fly the next day to Goa and had already bought flights. We then found out that there was a strike the next day and taxis and buses weren't allowed on the road meaning it would be impossible to get to the airport. We had two options: either get a taxi at 5am before the strike began and then wait all morning in the airport for our flight or move that evening to a hotel near the airport. We plumped for the second option. Getting up at 5am was never really a serious option.
And so we took a taxi to the airport found ourselves a hotel with air-con and tv. The party scene and endless beaches of Goa were awaiting us...
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