There is nothing, absoloutly nothing, more fun than messing about in boats
(The wind in thre willows, Keneth Graham)
A sound nights sleep. We could not of found a better place to stay here in Alleppey.
Sat on the patio, kingfisher in hand after yet another fabulous meal. We have always found the food in India highly over rated, but not here in Kerala. Everything we have had has been first class. Currys in them UK are totally westernised traditional Indian cuisine that has very little resemblance to the real thing. They have been tamperred with so much that they are unrecognizable. This as a rule is not a bad thing as most of the stuff over here is almost inedible to the western pallete. For example, if you ask for a chicken curry over here, thats exactly what you get. A chicken, guts and bone and all, hacked to pieces and cooked in a highly spiced gravy. Most people in the UK dont want the head of the poor bird staring up at them from a masala sauce. It can be a tad off putting. Also I have never seen a tikka masala, jalfrezi or vindaloo for sale anywhere on this continent.
If its chicken curry, then its chicken curry, but cooked in the sauce or style of the region you are in. Hence if you are in Madras then you will get chicken Madras. If your in Bangalore then its chicken Bangalore. So on and so forth. Here endeth the lesson.
Up at seven and a nice cup of Chai (get me, thats tea to you guys). Then off for breakfast.
We dont really like "spicy food" for breakfast. Typically English I suppose but hey we are who we are. I like a couple of fried eggs with toast or chapati. Crispy likes a nice onion omellette. You would not believe the difficulty in trying to order two simple fried eggs. Its as if the chef thinks " That cant be right, Ill just throw in some chillies, garam, turmeric, coriander and pepper, there thats better". We think that we may finally have cracked it here though. the secret is to ask for two bulls eyes. Simple unadulterated plain fried eggs. Result.
The plan today was to explore the beach. We walked into town as we needed some supplies. Simple stuff like a razor and some shampoo. Mission accomplished we jumped into a tuk tuk and headed for the beach. Kerala is beautiful. Spectacular backwaters. Jungle clad hills, tea plantations and mountain. A beach resort it is not. Goa is beach paradise. Thailand, amazing. but if you had to make a comparison with Kerala think Morcombe bay. The beaches are neglected. They could be spctacular but the locals seem to think of them as a wasteland between the land and the sea and not worth bothering with. Dont get me wrong they do have a forlorn type of attraction but definitely no ammenities. There is a paradox in this. On one hand I think "your missing a trick here guys" but then you look what has happened to Goa with its endless all inclusive beach resorts and armies of cheap package tourists. In retrospect I withdraw. Stay as you are guys and leave the package tours to Goa. There is definitely only room for one asian Benidorm.
Sat on the beach under a makeshift sun shade and watched numerous sea eagles finding there dinner in the surf. We saw sea eagles in Malaysia but it was amazing to see them here happily going about thier daily buisness completely oblivious to our intrusion. I managed a swim, albeit a short one as the waves along this stretch of the Malabar coast are huge. There are trecherous under currents on all the beaches here. As there are in Goa by the way, and you have to be careful. We never saw a single local in the water and they must think we are mad. But we are British and we are not going to let the threat of drowning from keeping us out of the sea. Its a tradition, if we can swim at blackpool then we can damn well swim here. Crispy, pass me the knotted hankie.
As I said there are no ammenities (thank god) on the beach and as such no shade. Our make shift shelter was completely ineffectual against the best efforts of the midday sun so we retired to a beer parlour. Of course.
This beach stretches approximately one mile in length and there are
1 coffee shop
1 restaurant/beer parlour
2 cool bars selling soft drinks and ice cream
As you can see the rot has already set in.
It was hot today. The effects of the cyclone have passed and its getting hotter by the day.
I would gestimate around thirty - thirty five degrees. humid and the sun is fierce.
We made our way back into town and called at the one and only money exchange. We are ok for cash at present but I need to pay for this hotel in ruppees and dont want to be caught short.
Money sorted and back along the boat jetty towards the backwaters. We were determined to enjoy a backwaters cruise whilst here in Alleppey. After several negotiations with the boat captains we chose our craft, bartered a deal and set off on a three hour ride along the back waters. We had considered a house boat for the night but the thought of being moored in a swamp for eight hours, at the mercy of all the mossies, did not fill us with excitement. Its bad enough sitting here on the patio. Its around Twenty five degrees and already I have had to move five enourmous creepy crawly things from our immediate vicinity. Christ knows what they are but they have big bitey bits and numerous legs. Crispy is tucked up on the bed nice and cool under the fan. Bless her.
The cruise was amazing. We got to see a good selection of the backwaters. The waterways are the major transport arteries of the local villages. We saw rice boats laden with fresh crops headed for the cities. People in the local villages going about their daily chores. For the ornithological out there this is a paradise. I thought that birdwatching was always a bit of a pansy pastime. No way. Those birdwatchers are well hard bastards. Rare birds live in some of the most extreme environments on the planet. Birdwatchers have to spend days if not weeks upto their bits in swamps or at high altitudes in the jungle to try and get a glimps of the elusive avians. Some of the toughest Mo Fo's we have met on our travels have been ornithologists. Respect.
The cruise was very pleasent and relaxing with no incident to report. Apart from the captain allowed the boat to run out of fuel just as he was trying desperately to avoid a collision with one of the big houseboats. The engine died and we were drifting directly into the path of the larger boat. Thankfully the wash of the houseboat pushed us into the wall at the side of the canal. Bang, the boat hit the wall and the captain, who had run to the front of the boat to try and avoid the imminent collision was taken off guard and lost his little skirt in the incident. Thanks be to god he was wearing skimpy green knickers or Crispy would have been traumatised forever...
Tomorrow we plan to take the train back to Fort Cochin to relax for a few days before flying home. We could easily take the bus, as its only a two hour journey, but Crispy has not yet been on an Indian train and is looking forward to the experience. The past eleven days have bee full on and not a little tiring. Crispy has loved it. I think its time she had a rest. She has deserved it.
Bare and Crispy. signing off, Alleppey, Kerala, India
(The wind in thre willows, Keneth Graham)
A sound nights sleep. We could not of found a better place to stay here in Alleppey.
Sat on the patio, kingfisher in hand after yet another fabulous meal. We have always found the food in India highly over rated, but not here in Kerala. Everything we have had has been first class. Currys in them UK are totally westernised traditional Indian cuisine that has very little resemblance to the real thing. They have been tamperred with so much that they are unrecognizable. This as a rule is not a bad thing as most of the stuff over here is almost inedible to the western pallete. For example, if you ask for a chicken curry over here, thats exactly what you get. A chicken, guts and bone and all, hacked to pieces and cooked in a highly spiced gravy. Most people in the UK dont want the head of the poor bird staring up at them from a masala sauce. It can be a tad off putting. Also I have never seen a tikka masala, jalfrezi or vindaloo for sale anywhere on this continent.
If its chicken curry, then its chicken curry, but cooked in the sauce or style of the region you are in. Hence if you are in Madras then you will get chicken Madras. If your in Bangalore then its chicken Bangalore. So on and so forth. Here endeth the lesson.
Up at seven and a nice cup of Chai (get me, thats tea to you guys). Then off for breakfast.
We dont really like "spicy food" for breakfast. Typically English I suppose but hey we are who we are. I like a couple of fried eggs with toast or chapati. Crispy likes a nice onion omellette. You would not believe the difficulty in trying to order two simple fried eggs. Its as if the chef thinks " That cant be right, Ill just throw in some chillies, garam, turmeric, coriander and pepper, there thats better". We think that we may finally have cracked it here though. the secret is to ask for two bulls eyes. Simple unadulterated plain fried eggs. Result.
The plan today was to explore the beach. We walked into town as we needed some supplies. Simple stuff like a razor and some shampoo. Mission accomplished we jumped into a tuk tuk and headed for the beach. Kerala is beautiful. Spectacular backwaters. Jungle clad hills, tea plantations and mountain. A beach resort it is not. Goa is beach paradise. Thailand, amazing. but if you had to make a comparison with Kerala think Morcombe bay. The beaches are neglected. They could be spctacular but the locals seem to think of them as a wasteland between the land and the sea and not worth bothering with. Dont get me wrong they do have a forlorn type of attraction but definitely no ammenities. There is a paradox in this. On one hand I think "your missing a trick here guys" but then you look what has happened to Goa with its endless all inclusive beach resorts and armies of cheap package tourists. In retrospect I withdraw. Stay as you are guys and leave the package tours to Goa. There is definitely only room for one asian Benidorm.
Sat on the beach under a makeshift sun shade and watched numerous sea eagles finding there dinner in the surf. We saw sea eagles in Malaysia but it was amazing to see them here happily going about thier daily buisness completely oblivious to our intrusion. I managed a swim, albeit a short one as the waves along this stretch of the Malabar coast are huge. There are trecherous under currents on all the beaches here. As there are in Goa by the way, and you have to be careful. We never saw a single local in the water and they must think we are mad. But we are British and we are not going to let the threat of drowning from keeping us out of the sea. Its a tradition, if we can swim at blackpool then we can damn well swim here. Crispy, pass me the knotted hankie.
As I said there are no ammenities (thank god) on the beach and as such no shade. Our make shift shelter was completely ineffectual against the best efforts of the midday sun so we retired to a beer parlour. Of course.
This beach stretches approximately one mile in length and there are
1 coffee shop
1 restaurant/beer parlour
2 cool bars selling soft drinks and ice cream
As you can see the rot has already set in.
It was hot today. The effects of the cyclone have passed and its getting hotter by the day.
I would gestimate around thirty - thirty five degrees. humid and the sun is fierce.
We made our way back into town and called at the one and only money exchange. We are ok for cash at present but I need to pay for this hotel in ruppees and dont want to be caught short.
Money sorted and back along the boat jetty towards the backwaters. We were determined to enjoy a backwaters cruise whilst here in Alleppey. After several negotiations with the boat captains we chose our craft, bartered a deal and set off on a three hour ride along the back waters. We had considered a house boat for the night but the thought of being moored in a swamp for eight hours, at the mercy of all the mossies, did not fill us with excitement. Its bad enough sitting here on the patio. Its around Twenty five degrees and already I have had to move five enourmous creepy crawly things from our immediate vicinity. Christ knows what they are but they have big bitey bits and numerous legs. Crispy is tucked up on the bed nice and cool under the fan. Bless her.
The cruise was amazing. We got to see a good selection of the backwaters. The waterways are the major transport arteries of the local villages. We saw rice boats laden with fresh crops headed for the cities. People in the local villages going about their daily chores. For the ornithological out there this is a paradise. I thought that birdwatching was always a bit of a pansy pastime. No way. Those birdwatchers are well hard bastards. Rare birds live in some of the most extreme environments on the planet. Birdwatchers have to spend days if not weeks upto their bits in swamps or at high altitudes in the jungle to try and get a glimps of the elusive avians. Some of the toughest Mo Fo's we have met on our travels have been ornithologists. Respect.
The cruise was very pleasent and relaxing with no incident to report. Apart from the captain allowed the boat to run out of fuel just as he was trying desperately to avoid a collision with one of the big houseboats. The engine died and we were drifting directly into the path of the larger boat. Thankfully the wash of the houseboat pushed us into the wall at the side of the canal. Bang, the boat hit the wall and the captain, who had run to the front of the boat to try and avoid the imminent collision was taken off guard and lost his little skirt in the incident. Thanks be to god he was wearing skimpy green knickers or Crispy would have been traumatised forever...
Tomorrow we plan to take the train back to Fort Cochin to relax for a few days before flying home. We could easily take the bus, as its only a two hour journey, but Crispy has not yet been on an Indian train and is looking forward to the experience. The past eleven days have bee full on and not a little tiring. Crispy has loved it. I think its time she had a rest. She has deserved it.
Bare and Crispy. signing off, Alleppey, Kerala, India
No comments:
Post a Comment