Peace and Serenity in the Backwaters

One of the main reasons that Em and I signed up for the G Adventures tour that we picked is because of the "backwater home stay" that was included. When we went on a Toucan Tour in Peru years ago, the home stay on Lake Titicaca was one of our favorite parts and something we were eager to experience again. So as morose as we were becoming as it dawned on us that there weren't very many days left, Em and I were super excited to experience an Indian home stay. 

To say that this home stay was a completely different experience than our previous one would be an understatement, but not necessarily in a bad way. We arrived at the boat dock in Alleppey and were directed into very low, handmade, wooden canoes for a short trip (200 meters) across the waterway. 

We stepped back onto land in the town of Chennamkary and surveyed our new home for the day. We're we're on an island made from reclaimed earth that has a circumference of only 28 km and is home to ten thousand people, but you would have thought it was just a few hundred hundred based on how peaceful it was. The interior of the island is comprised of rice fields with raised pathways that criss cross their way across the fields, while the majority of the homes hug the outer edges. 

While we were expecting small homes with two or three rooms and an outhouse outside, what we got was similar to a bed and breakfast. We were shone to the home of Matthew and Bina and their son, where we were given our own room, complete with an in-suite bathroom. The room was simple, but contained all the necessity we'd need and had a homely feel to it. Outside the residence was a small garden, offering lots of shade to help hide from the days heat. 

Matthew and Bina provided delicious meals and waited on us like honored guests no matter how many times we told them to come join us and sit down. The food was amazing and the little bit of communication we could attempt was well met, but I still felt more like a dignitary and they were my servants, than one of the family.

We were given a few hours to ourselves to wander the pathways around our area of the island and to relax some before meeting back up with everyone in our group and a few of the other home stayers (there were quite a few people spread between the three homes in our area) for a village walk. 

The village walk consisted of getting back in a canoe, rowing to the other bank, taking a casual stroll along the outer edge of the island, and then getting to come back down the waterway in a larger canoe, while the rowers sang traditional folk songs. It was beautiful and we learned a lot about the area. 

The islands in the backwater are below sea level and as such the homes on them need to be repaired or demolished every few decades or else they will slip into the ever sinking soil and be lost. Some of the homes that we saw were magnificent and it seemed not only a shame, but a lot of money to rebuild them every 40 years.

Because of the former Catholic rule in the area, there are a large number of churches and church run schools that dot these islands. Many of the residences have learned how to incorporate the Catholic views into their Hindi religion and vice versa. The churches, temples, and celebrations, and names of locals all contain evidence of this integration.

We also learned that a large percentage of the revenue that now comes into the area is from the booming tourist industry. In addition to the home stays, there are floating hotels in the form of houseboats that provide half day tours and overnight accommodations. Over a 1,000 of these floating palaces zip up and down the twisting canals, carrying their precious cargo and allowing you to catch sight of the locals washing their laundry/dishes/children in the cool waters, or construction of boats being created. The boats look quite inviting and Thomas urged people to try them once or twice (but no more as they are large polluters and he doesn't want the backwaters destroyed any faster than nature is doing on its own).

The walk was refreshing (a nice long stretch after days of bus rides), and the scenery couldn't be better. I could see why families chose to live here, although Thomas, our walk guide, told us he may be the last generation. Thomas's family can trace their roots in the backwaters back a thousand years and talked about how the rice trade was a skill passed down from father to son and mother to daughter through the ages. Now, though, children are receiving better education and learning about the outside world through visitors, tv, internet, etc. and leaving the next to work in different jobs and different countries. I say more power to the children for following their dreams, but I fear for the continued existence of places like Alleppey.

After a pleasant night's sleep and a healthy breakfast, we enjoyed a leisurely boat ride down the river to Alleppey proper, where we met back up with our van and returned to Fort Kochi; losing group members one by one as they left for other cities, countries, and tours. And then there was just the two of us and a day and a half to wander the alleys and streets of this relaxing beach town before starting our own day long trips home.