India (Frommer's, 4th Edition) (135 page)
GUIDED TOURS, CRUISES & PACKAGED TRIPS
Alappuzha’s well-meaning
District Tourism Promotion Council
(near Boat Jetty, Alappuzha;
0477/225-3308
) organizes tickets for the daily backwater ferry between Kollam, Kottayam, and Alappuzha (see above). DTPC also offers private cruises costing upwards of Rs 200 per hour on a motorboat, and around Rs 150 per hour on a “country boat”; an overnight trip (22 hr.) on a
kettuvallam
houseboat will run you Rs 3,500. See “Hiring the Best Houseboat,” below, for recommended guided overnight trips. Alternatively, any of the accommodations listed below can organize backwaters cruises—for many it’s part of the package, though this is definitely not the same as having a houseboat to call your own. Finally, if you don’t feel like planning any of this, but don’t mind entrusting yourself to a classy, top-notch organization, take one of the all-inclusive deals offered by
Malabar Escapes
(the owners of The Malabar House in Kochi;
www.malabarescapes.com
); not only do they have one of the best backwater properties in Kerala,
Privacy,
and a super houseboat (see “Hiring the Best Houseboat,” below), but they can line all these options up to give you a truly upmarket sojourn, taking in the best southern Kerala has to offer.
Cruising Kerala on the World’s Smallest Luxury Liner
Leave it to Oberoi to take the traditional backwater cruise to new heights with the
MV
Vrinda
—not exactly a liner, but the ultimate in luxury on Kerala’s backwaters, and very Agatha Christie. After all, only on board the MV Vrinda can you find yourself watching life along the river from a comfy rattan chair on the breezy upper-deck lounge, or from your plush settee in the air-conditioned dining room while staff keeps a watchful eye out for a raised finger. On the first night, after a scenic 4-hour cruise on Vembanad Lake, you dock at a jetty for dinner (a thoroughly elegant affair accompanied by Kathakali dancers), then bed down in one of only eight smart cabins, each decked out with luxuries like TV and DVD, en-suite showers, and lovely king-size beds. The following day, the boat makes its way to Lake Pamba, where you can climb aboard a small rice boat to explore the narrower backwaters; the following day another rice boat excursion takes you to see an 18th-century church and century-old Hindu temple at Nedumudy, with a qualified guide. Three nights later you wend your way back by road to Kochi. Typical of the Oberoi, food is outstanding (there’s an a la carte menu but you can pretty much get what you want) and you are treated like royalty—perfect if you prefer to travel in a somewhat sanitized manner, ensconced in a luxurious cocoon. The 3-night package runs from October to April and costs Rs 95,000 for two, including all meals, excursions, and Kochi airport transfer. To reserve your berth, contact Oberoi Hotels & Resorts at
or 011/2389-0606 (
www.oberoihotels.com
); children under 12 are not permitted.
CRUISING THE BACKWATERS
Reset your watch to a rhythm of life that has gone unchanged for centuries by boarding a
kettuvallam,
the long, beautifully crafted cargo boats that ply the waterways with cargo (if you don’t mind being referred to as such). An engineering feat, a
kettuvallam
is made from lengths of ironwood,
anjili,
or jackwood, and not a single nail is used in the construction—it’s joined with thick coir (from the outer shell of a coconut) ropes, and sealed with fish oil and a black caustic resin produced by boiling cashew kernels.
The houseboat experience allows you to aimlessly drift past villages, temples, and churches and be thoroughly exposed to the rural lifestyle of the backwaters. As if you’re on the very large set of a reality TV show (with a huge dollop of the Discovery Channel thrown in), you can watch as women, unperturbed by your drifting presence, wash their long ebony tresses or pound away at laundry; children play at the water’s edge and men dive for mussels; and elephants and water buffalo wade at will. Fishermen suavely holding umbrellas above their heads suddenly drift by, while floating vendors using single-log canoes and other modest craft deliver commodities such as rice and coir fiber. On the shore, toddy tappers whisk up palm trees (note that you can ask to stop at a village to buy unforeseen necessities like beer or coconut toddy); see “Scrambling for Their Tipple,” below. And when the sun sets, the sky lights up in magnificent shades of orange and red. Gliding past the rural communities that cling to the banks is without a doubt one of the most relaxing and romantic ways to witness a timeless lifestyle, where people rely on impossibly tiny tracts of land to cultivate subsistence crops and keep a few animals, using slender jackfruit wood canoes to get around, deliver goods, and do a spot of fishing. And of course it is always rather marvelous to be waited on hand and foot by three servants.
The original concept of turning cargo boats into tourist cruise vessels was the brainchild of Babu Varghese of TourIndia (an outfit that incidentally fell into temporary disarray since Varghese employed a hit man to punish his partner—high business drama, India-style). Varghese transformed the
kettuvallam
into a livable houseboat by expanding the original size to include two or three rooms, a flush toilet, a shower, and a small viewing or sunbathing platform. With designs that owe some allegiance to the Chinese junk but that more closely resemble a small Sydney Opera House, these beautiful crafts were initially propelled by pole but now more usually by a small (and it is hoped quiet) motor. In 2007 the state government finally started taking action against those engines that pollute, and not a minute too soon: 8 years back there were perhaps 15 houseboats operating out of Alappuzha; today the figure is in excess of 650—all the more reason to be careful with whom you book, and to seriously consider coming in the off-season.
While the general idea is to wind your way aimlessly through the waterways, one of the most popular stop-off points for visitors is
Champakulam,
where 500-year-old
St. Mary’s Church
shows definite traces of Hindu influence—from the small statue of Christ assuming a pose typical of Krishna, to the custom of leaving one’s footwear outside. Another stop worth scheduling is at the
Amritapuri Ashram
(0476/289-6179
or -6278;
www.amritapuri.org
), home of the world’s most famous female guru,
Amma,
who is endearingly known as the “Hugging Mother.” The Mother is today a global phenomenon—some call her a living god—and is said to believe in physically manifesting her love and compassion for humanity—she has embraced thousands of devotees, literally; if she’s not on tour, this is exactly what she will do to you! If this sounds a little too touchy-feely, visit just to wander the ashram grounds and have lunch with those residing there; the Raheem Residency (see “Where to Stay,” below) organizes visits here from Alleppey (2 hr. away by speedboat).
Note:
Two more stops worth considering (reached this time by vehicle) are the
Elephant Orphanage,
where you can get up close and personal with the elephants (usually including at least one baby) that are cared for here, as well as
Mannar
and
Aranmula,
towns famous for their metal icons and mirrors respectively.
Scrambling for Their Tipple
For generations, agile young village men have been clambering up coconut palms to tap into the sweet sap known as toddy, or kallu, which is collected from the flower pod. Like their fathers and their fathers’ fathers, these “toddy tappers” have made a good living over the years harvesting the sap to drink right away (sweet and refreshing, but definitely an acquired taste) or to ferment into an alcoholic drink. The morning’s toddy is already a heady tipple by evening—by the next day, it’s prodigiously potent.
WHERE TO STAY
Ideally you will combine a night or two at one of the resorts or guesthouses recommended below with at least two more on a houseboat. Most of the top luxury resorts are strung along the eastern shores of Lake Vembanad; the exceptions are the top-rated
Privacy,
Olavipe,
and
Green Lagoon
(all reviewed below), all of which lie on backwaters on the northern end of the lake. You can reach most of them by car, but many prefer to pick you up from a prearranged jetty, which heightens the sense of escape. Some, like
Coconut Lagoon,
Philipkutty’s Farm,
and
Green Lagoon,
can in fact only be reached by water. In short, this is one area you should plan and book in advance regardless of season, so that the necessary transfer arrangements can be made. Alleppey is the only town worth exploring at any length, and perhaps a better contrast to a lakeside resort; there is also a good guesthouse here—Raheem Residency (reviewed later).
Note:
Taxes usually run 15%; do check whether it’s included when asking for rate quotes. From May to September, rates are generally half those of the peak season, which is December and January (also when the influx of tourists really undermines the experience of being here in the first place); September is a particularly good month to visit for houseboat excursions. Unless you’re staying at one of the smaller places, don’t even think about coming here between Christmas and early January—prices skyrocket and the atmosphere will be anything but relaxing.