I travelled 2,200 miles by train and, surprisingly, it wasn't so bad. With the help of
vicodin, I slept for a few hours during the night on the top bunk on a 4" thick
pleather mattress. I left at 11pm and arrived in
Alleppey at 3:30 the next day. The day trip was very scenic as India gets more and more tropical, in a massively hot and humid tropical kind of way, further south. On the train, you can hang out the side through doors between cars. It's exhilarating, until someone comes up behind you and the fear of being shoved off the moving train creates an urgent need to step away from the door.
Alleppey has a decent beach and is a traveller's hub for entering the backwaters of southern
Kerala.
Today I spent the day on the backwaters. I was picked up by a motorcycle, which is always stressful. About halfway through the ride, as the driver was passing everyone on the road, weaving in and out of traffic and hitting every pothole on the pothole-filled road, I realized I wasn't wearing a helmet. I don't think they have helmets here. I spent the last half of the short ride certain I was going to die and thinking what an ass I was to have gotten on in the first place. Of course, I made it, safely. The backwaters are a series of lakes and canals linking small cities and lined with villages unreachable by land. It is incredibly relaxing, tropical, and beautiful. The water is lined with lush vegetation including perfect coconut palms used to make toddy, which I had for lunch. Although fairly dirty, it is also used to bathe and to wash clothes and dishes. I travelled on a canoe paddled by two locals. There is also an option to get a house boat for a day and night. Some of them are amazing including such luxuries as a flat screen TV and air conditioning. It was a fantastic day and
something I would recommend to anyone travelling in south India.
I travelled 2,200 miles by train and, surprisingly, it wasn't so bad. With the help of vicodin, I slept for a few hours during the night on the top bunk on a 4" thick pleather mattress. I left at 11pm and arrived in Alleppey at 3:30 the next day. The day trip was very scenic as India gets more and more tropical, in a massively hot and humid tropical kind of way, further south. On the train, you can hang out the side through doors between cars. It's exhilarating, until someone comes up behind you and the fear of being shoved off the moving train creates an urgent need to step away from the door. Alleppey has a decent beach and is a traveller's hub for entering the backwaters of southern Kerala.
Today I spent the day on the backwaters. I was picked up by a motorcycle, which is always stressful. About halfway through the ride, as the driver was passing everyone on the road, weaving in and out of traffic and hitting every pothole on the pothole-filled road, I realized I wasn't wearing a helmet. I don't think they have helmets here. I spent the last half of the short ride certain I was going to die and thinking what an ass I was to have gotten on in the first place. Of course, I made it, safely. The backwaters are a series of lakes and canals linking small cities and lined with villages unreachable by land. It is incredibly relaxing, tropical, and beautiful. The water is lined with lush vegetation including perfect coconut palms used to make toddy, which I had for lunch. Although fairly dirty, it is also used to bathe and to wash clothes and dishes. I travelled on a canoe paddled by two locals. There is also an option to get a house boat for a day and night. Some of them are amazing including such luxuries as a flat screen TV and air conditioning. It was a fantastic day and something I would recommend to anyone travelling in south India.
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