🙂 Peaceful, tranquil, serene…. houseboat heaven…
🙁 Bland food – such a disappointment!
This had long been a bucket list experience and I was particularly looking forward to this part of our trip. The Kerala backwaters is a system of canals stretching across 900Km and incorporates rivers, lakes and lagoons lined with palm trees, paddy fields and colourful houses. Local life continues peacefully … originally this area was the main form of transport for spices being carried to the ports of Kochin and Muzuris on the Arabian Sea. We had opted for one day and one night which in hindsight was too short – we should have taken the two days option. KWT had booked through Xandari Riverscapes. We received a warm welcome and were shown our boat and enjoyed some fresh coconut juice.
Our route was described and shown on the map.
We had a huge 3 bedroom boat all to our selves! There were fans blasting at us to keep us cool and our bedroom was air conditioned. The Captain and Chef were very friendly but had limited English. It was tranquil and idyllic as we slid through the waters watching the world go by… every now and again we would pass a mosque and hear he call to prayers. Other boats passed us – some had music blearing and others had family groups who waved and sheered at us…
We were not told that they do not serve drinks on board but the Captain stopped off en route for us to buy some cokes and beers.
We also stopped off to buy some (expensive!!) prawns to supplement our dinner.
Then we were on our way again…
Lunch was soon served. The fish was tasty but small and bony. We were also served a beetroot dish and some vegetables which were ok, but definitely at the lower end of the spectrum of food which we had so far enjoyed … this was a bit of a shock as we had been told that the food was a particular highlight. The usual vermicelli kheer desert was pleasant as always.
Go to: India
… we were so relaxed that we headed upstairs for a snooze with the breeze keeping us cool.
After our nap we played Cannasta. I won! 🙂
We were then collected on a rowing boat to enter the little canals off the main waterway. It was interesting watching people go about their daily lives: washing clothes, bathing, swimming, cooking and chatting…
It was really hot and we hopped back on our boat. The sun started to set which made for a magical environment…
Dinner was served… we were devastated! It was the blandest chicken you have tasted. The vegetables were soggy. There was simply no flavour at all. We were so shocked. Every person we had spoken to and every review that we had read and every YouTube Vlog that we had watched had raved about the delicious flavours and spices on the houseboats … ours had clearly been toned down for a western palate – what a shame as it was such an ante climax to what had been such a wonderful journey 🙁 We went to bed feeling a little aggrieved 🙁
We had to leave at 02h00 to get to the airport for our flight to Goa… highly recommend doing two nights BUT taking into mind two very important Top Tips: i) Take your own soft drinks, wine and beer ii) Specify beforehand that you want LOCAL, SPICY flavours!
Go to: India
