"A Slow Boat to Alleppey" Alappuzha by tayloretc

Alleppey looked nice enough as we zipped through (the downside to schedules), but getting there was excellent. Alleppey is the beginning or end point for most of the backwaters traffic.

The Kerala backwaters are lakes, canals, and lagoons on the edges of the Arabian Sea. Life here happens on and around the water, and there are jetties and stairs leading down, bridges cross the smaller canals and canoes ferry across the wider ones. Low houses, palm and banana trees, friendly people (and some less-friendly poultry) – it’s a beautiful and peaceful part of India.

Cruising on the backwaters is easy to do – there are hundreds of ferries, canoes, fishing boats, and houseboats to choose from. If you want to splurge and don’t mind adding to already strained and crowded waterways, the houseboats are an elegant way to see some beautiful places (although something smaller is necessary to get right into some of the best places). They’re basically floating five-star hotels with one or two rooms (a very few are larger), and large open areas where you can sit and watch the world slide by. All traffic stops at 6pm, and if you’re docked somewhere near a village you can jump off and meet nice people, have a cup of tea, and watch the sun go down. The nights are quiet.

One of the hands said that the number of houseboats here has doubled or more in the past two years with little or no regulation, and more boats are being built. They’re powered by diesel engines so there’s noise and pollution to think about. I’m never a fan of regulations, but I hope a few show up here.