DAY 83 TO 85 – ALLEPPEY AND KOCHI
Post updated – Feb 13th 2014
Day 83 – Friday, 17th Jan 2014 to Day 85 – Sunday, 19th Jan 2014
We had booked AC chair car tickets on our train from Trivandrum to Alleppey formerly known as Alappuzzha. The journey was comfortable and we reach Alleppey station by 8:30 pm. As we head outside, we hope to find a rickshaw to our Jain Dharamshala. The distance is just under 2 kms and I was anticipating that rickshaw wallahs might rip us to a cost of around Rs 100. I was prepared to negotiate. Khyati and I ask the first rickshaw wallah in sight to take us to the Jain temple, he will charge a mere Rs 20. My ears didn’t believe what I heard and I reiterated that I wanted to be taken to the Jain temple and he confirmed. Wow, this was just the first instance where we met an honest rickshaw driver and this experience continued all through out our stay here and in Kochi. There are no auto meters but the locals don’t charge an inflated fare. They just charge what is fair and we were very impressed.
We check into our room by 9:15 pm and lucky us, we are the only occupants in the Dharamshala for that night. Our rooms were adjacent to the backwaters and we slept sound.
It’s Friday morning 10 am, we plan to sail through the backwaters today and make some reservations for the afternoon. In the morning, we offer our prayers at the Jain temple and visit the local markets. The locals are a friendly bunch and we mingle with some of them.
Jain temple in Alleppey
It’s 12:30 pm and post lunch, we head to the boat jetty area. We have rented a private boat which will take us through the extensive backwaters for 3 hours.
Alleppey Backwaters
The experience is fantastic and I recommend it to each one of you.
snake boat used in water races
enjoying the ride
Our driver – Mr. Subbu has been riding the boat for over 30 years and is familiar with all the waterways. We sit on the upper deck of the boat and enjoy the lush greenery.
At my request, Mr. Subbu allowed me to drive the boat for some time too. Boat riding is a very cool experience and I enjoyed my time at the wheel.
at the wheels
We saw many house boats and sail boats in the waters. Boating is only allowed between 7 am to 5 pm and post that, all the boats are grounded and need to be parked somewhere.
MVI0297 from Paras Mamania on Vimeo.
We make a brief stop enroute at a local shop and enjoy fresh coconut water. The owner had a pet eagle and we take pictures with it.
with the eagle
We finish our backwater sailing experience by 5 pm and head to the beach area next. The beach was crowded and we enjoy beautiful sunset again here.
sunset
In the evening, Khyati and I catch up on our writing and we call it a night around 10 pm.
It’s Saturday 9:30 am, Khyati and I are at the KSRTC (Kerala State Regional Transport Corp) bus stand and ask some locals for the next bus to Kochi. Kochi is just 70 kms from Alleppey and a little over an hour journey. We manage to board the buses ok but our luggages had a hard time. Unfortunately, buses aren’t made for storing cabin bags and we just have to place them on the bus floor. We reach Mattencherry area of Kochi by 12:30 pm and take an auto to the Jain temple, Kochi. Kochi was FKA as Cochin. Kochi also consists of many small islands and a popular mode of transport is waterways. Kochi is called the Venice of the East.
It’s 4 pm Saturday afternoon and we head out. There is an antiques market near our Jain temple and we visit that first. Post that, we head to the boat jetty stand and take a boat to Ernakulam.
ferry ride
The journey takes 20 minutes and the ride is cheap. We pay Rs 7 pp. Public transport in most cities of India is so affordable. On the other side, we walk along the Marina drive. It’s a promenade and we enjoy our walk here. We visit a children’s park in the neighborhood and enjoy the evening here. It’s 8 pm and we take the boat back to Fort Kochi and our Dharamshala.
One of my friend’s from Los Angeles – Ronak Gala is in Kochi for a work assignment and we plan to spend Sunday together. It’s 10 am Sunday, Ronak meets us at the Fort Kochi boat jetty stand and we walk through the Fort Kochi area. Fort Kochi is a quaint part of Kochi with historic British, Dutch and Portuguese architecture prevalent in some of the houses and buildings around. We see the famous Chinese fishing nets and walk along the pier.
with Ronak
We head back to the Jain temple around noon for a peculiar event that happens daily between 12:15 pm and 12:30 pm. There are around couple hundred pigeons and at 12:15 pm sharp, the pigeons circumambulate the temple dome / spire 3 times and then gather in an open area where they are fed rice / grains. The pigeons are very gentle and they sit on your hands and peck on the grains. It’s a unique event and we were glad we got to witness it.
MVI0363 from Paras Mamania on Vimeo.
Khyati feeding the pigeons
It’s 1 pm and we have a Gujarati thali at a local restaurant. The food was good and filling. We head to the Dutch palace in the afternoon. This palace was built by the Dutch as a goodwill gesture to the king for his kind hospitality. This palace now houses the history of the Kochi kings and Chera dynasty.
It’s 2:30 pm and we take a boat jetty to Ernakulam to our friend’s place. The boat encountered a snag as we were riding in the waters and the staff had to slowly drag it to the side shore. We changed boats and reached Enakulam by 3:30 pm. We relax for a few hours as I catch up on my writing at Ronak’s apartment. It’s 6:15 pm and we head out to visit two other Jain temples in this part of the town. It’s 7:30 pm and we bid good bye to Ronak and take the ferry back home. It’s been a good weekend and it was good seeing my friend after so many years.
Hope you enjoyed Alleppey and Kochi with us. This completes our visit to the state of Kerala. Next, we head to Ooty, a beautiful hill station nestled in the Nilgiris.
Kerala Tourism is promoting their great backwaters and here are some beautiful imagery of the stunning backwaters as seen from the sky. Wouldn’t you love to go there?
Backwaters 1
Backwaters 2
Backwaters 3
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Best wishes,
Paras