Kerala Backwaters

Kerala is famous for beautiful backwaters that run through the state. Some call Kerala the “Venice of the East” because of the resemblance to the canals in Venice, Italy. People live along the banks of the water and in order to leave their home or little community, they need to take a boat.

One of the main backwater canals

One of the smaller canals

A major tourist activity in Kerala is to take a houseboat ride throughout the backwater canals. The houseboats are elaborate luxury boats that include a private captain and chef. Tourists relax on these boats as they are driven through the canals. Most people who opt for the houseboat tour spend at least one/two nights in a luxury suite on board. In order to do this, you must reserve the entire boat yourself. If you had friends, you could all chip in but it is not like the Halong Bay boat trip I went on in Vietnam. In the olden days (not sure when that was!) the houseboats were used to transport the Maharajas.

Laundry along the canal

swimming along the canal

When I first started researching Kerala, over a year ago, I planned to take a houseboat ride.When I got to Kerala and saw the price, I changed my mind! Instead, Linda and I opted for a day trip which cost 850 rupees which is equivalent to almost $13.00 USD. I don’t usually do organized day tours, as I prefer to just go off and figure stuff out on my own. Also, sometimes I feel you get so rushed along on day tours that you don’t really get to enjoy it. I thought about finding a fisherman to take us out in his boat, but Linda was not that keen on this idea (and it probably would not have worked anyway!). But our day tour turned out fabulous and I am happy we did it! We got picked up directly at our guesthouse and were driven to the dock where we boarded a boat. We then sailed down the backwaters for a while enjoying the sights until we stopped for our first activity.

Our boat for the day

Rush hour!

We stopped at this small island and learned how to make lime powder ( also called calcium hydroxide). I did not pay as much attention as my mom did, but it was pretty cool. The lime powder was made out all these little shells. It was then smashed and burned, which turned it into a powder. It was neat to learn about, but calcium hydroxide powder is not a huge interest of mine. The best part of this stop was watching how excited my mom was! She told me she was “quivering with excitement!” I have never heard my mother utter such a phrase!

A man working with the toxic powder and not wearing a face mask

My excited mother!

I did not think that my mom could get any happier or more excited, she was, after all, quivering with excitement! However, the next activity was, even more exciting than learning about calcium powder! After sailing for a while longer, we again stopped at a little island and learned how to make coconut rope. My mom is a longtime weaver and she has a fiber farm so learning how to weave coconut fiber into rope was right up her alley! Again, my favorite part was watching how excited she was!

My mom was the best coconut fiber weaver of the day!

Demonstration

After learning how to make coconut rope, we sailed a little longer and then had a delicious lunch that was served on banana leaves.

Eating with her hands like a local!

So delicious!

After lunch, we all took an hour long canoe ride. This ride was definitely my favorite part of the day. It was calm and peaceful as we were rowed through the smallest canals. I also realized that if we would have taken one of the houseboat tours, I would never have gotten to ride in the canoe. The houseboat also would not have fit through the small canals.

Canoe ride

Canoe selfie 🙂

The entire day was very fun and very exhausting. We got a lot for our money and it was definitely worth the $13.00 we each spent. And when my mom told me that she liked everything about the day, it made it even better!