Alleppey: Of Houseboats, Lakes and Toddy

40 Cities| 17 Days| 65 Days. Follow the whole My Way on Highway Journey here.

Traversing the myriad shades of green that get denser with every passing hour, I see with my own eyes how bewitchingly beautiful Kerala is. After getting acquainted with the coy beauty of Bekal, the well-accepted chaos of Kozhikode or Calicut of yore and the multi-dimensional character of Kochi aka Cochin, we arrive at the enchanting waters of Alappuzha often called Alleppey by the locals. Honestly, this is the side of God’s Own Country that I had been dreaming of all this while and boy, was it worth the wait!

Little House on the Backwaters

Okay, they are definitely NOT little. Even the basic one keeps you in the lap of luxury. I am talking about the one thing that Alappuzha is most famous for – the Houseboat. Breathing on a rich network of several waterways, Alappuzha is often regarded as Venice of the East. And witnessing the beauty of the mesmerizing aqua from the comforts of a houseboat is an experience like no other. As adventurous as my husband and I love to be while travelling, we prefer the sensible route to pre-book our accommodation as that’s one thing less to worry about. Picking JCT House Boat Alleppey was an easy choice having looked it up complete with ratings and reviews on MakeMyTrip. Joys of modern technology!

Ahoy Captain

Gulabo, our car, with its UP number is an easy target for brokers and touts. We were approached by many with the guarantee to get us the cheapest and best houseboat stay. Politely turning them down, we sped towards the JCT House Boat Alleppey dockyard. The kind owner, Thomas met us midway to escort us lest we lost our way in the nooks and crannies of the city. It was 11 am and our houseboat, Angel, was ready to welcome its passengers. We were introduced to our crew – Stephan, the Captain; Jose, the cook and Pachu, the assistant. Well-versed in English and Hindi, they made us feel comfortable instantly. By the way, JCT House Boat Alleppey runs 14 houseboats, ranging from one bedroom to four bedrooms. The next time we come here we shall definitely bring our families, as this is the ideal setting to spend quality time together.

Our Guardian Angel

Stephan informed us that between 11 am and 5 pm today and 7 am to 9:30 am tomorrow, we would have covered 40 kilometres on water. What happens between 5 pm and 7 am you wonder? The houseboat is docked between that time to get you modern conveniences like cable TV and AC. This comes in addition to the generator power-supply, to keep the lights and fans functional, even in the middle of the water. Did I tell you how simply awesome our houseboat Angel is? Basically an iron boat, it has been tastefully decorated with a bamboo roof and earthy wooden interiors. We have a deck, a living-cum-dining room, two bedrooms with attached bathrooms and a kitchen to call our own for the night. On top of that a happy and prompt staff to look after us and feed us plenty. There is a music station that plays classic Hindi songs and music from the mid-90s. You can also bring your own playlist if you are picky about your music.

Water, Water Everywhere

After the first 10 minutes aboard the Angel, we enter the famous waters of the Punnamada Lake where the much-esteemed Nehru Trophy Snake Boat Race is held on the second Saturday of August every year. Since we were visiting during off season (which has plenty of benefits), I was more excited about approaching the famous Vembanad Lake that falls on our picturesque route. Vembanad Lake is the largest freshwater lake in Kerala and the longest lake in the country, proudly covering a massive wetland across three districts – Alleppey, Kottayam and Ernakulam. In the company of water hyacinths and gentle strains of Chura Ke Dil Mera Goriya Chali, we approached an unpretentious village called Kopapuram to handpick seafood for dinner. Of course, this was optional as all meals fall under the cover charge paid to the JCT House Boat folks. But we wanted to make the most of the opportunity and picked succulent Tiger Prawns, which on hindsight look expensive at 650 rupees for half a kilo. Jose has promised to cook them for dinner. Yay!

Kerala on Our Plate

For lunch we were treated to a delicious meal comprising of local rice, sambhar and veggies cooked the Kairali way. But the highpoint was the Black Fish marinated in a piquant masala and then fried to crispness. We had fresh fruits for dessert. Since then we have been served refreshing chai, coffee and dal vada. All this while our cameras have been busy capturing the too-good-to-be-true moments of natural beauty and bounty! Because of our unique aquatic vantage point we got to spot different types of beautiful birds and flora that thrive in this temperate region. Tariq, my husband, even tried fishing with some help from Jose.

It is almost 8 pm right now and Stephan should be returning with some Toddy (a local mildly-alcoholic drink tapped from coconut palm trees) from the village market, where we have docked. Raindrops are falling on our houseboat right now, as the water insects sing us a mellifluous tune. Catch you tomorrow once I have woken up from this magical dream.

(Photo Credit: Tariq Khan)