Today was a travel day and after 7 hours we are 200 km from where we started in the city or town of Alappuzha (aka Alleppey ). We were in the "Super Fast" bus and in case you forgot they had it painted on the side. Whatever they pay these bus drivers it isn't enough. They drive so fast down mountain roads passing other vehicles. They get so close to the edge with nothing between the side of the road and an enormous drop. I'm happy we don't have to make a return trip.
We had no accommodations booked when we arrived, so we walked towards a Home Stay sign that I spotted. There was no vacancy, however, the next one had a room available.
As it turns out this place is a 100 year old heritage house with 5 guest rooms. We have a covered front porch with a table and chairs where I am currently sitting writing this post. It is priced very reasonably at $18.00 per night including breakfast and taxes. After staying in a few of these home stays now I have to say that I much prefer them over hotel rooms. You get way more room with easy access to the outdoors. The owners try very hard to please and are a great resource for local information.
I have hired a converted rice barge to take us south to Kollam leaving tomorrow morning. It will take about 24 hours to get to our destination via the Kerala back waters.
From our guide book, "The Backwaters of Kerala are a maze of lagoons criss-crossed with rivers, shallow pools and canals, all separated from the sea by a narrow strip of sand banks. Backwaters are present throughout the state but Alappuzha and Kottayam are most notable in this regard."
Other than the crew, Sue and I have the boat to ourselves. It should be very cool. No WiFi here and probably none on the boat so I will post up when I can.
All Aboard......
no wifi on the converted rice barge?!
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