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Sailing into Heaven
Starting with these two, my next posts in the coming days will be from the dreamy backwaters of Kerala.
Everything in and about Kerala is so magical... But a houseboat trip in the backwaters is an experience out of this world...
Kerala is famous for its backwaters network of rivers, canals and lagoons surrounded by coconut groves, tiny villages and rice fields. My friend Eren and I rented a traditional houseboat called kettuvallam in the local language (Malayalam). Starting from Alleppey, we rode through the canals for a whole day and spent the night on the boat off a small village. It was a private 22-hour-long cruise with just the two of us and the crew. Undoubtedly, it has been one of the most unforgettable experiences of my life. I don’t even have the words to describe it!
There are so many boats that you can take that it's really hard to say no to one and go for another. We eventually rented a boat called Pickadly, and were so very happy with our choice. The crew have been very nice and friendly to us and we really had a fantastic experience thanks to them. And the food was incredible! One of the crew members, Sanil, had a sister living in the village that we spent the night, and he was kind enough to take us to her little, humble house where she lived with her husband and three sons and their goats.. The family shared their chai with us and they were all so nice to us that I don't expect that either of us will ever forget them. We were truly grateful for their hospitality. And by the way, their goat had just given birth to a couple of babies that day, and the babies were so incredibly cute!
And just what an amazing walk it was through the village, along the narrow canals at the sunset... The scenery was totally surreal. It reminded us of a scene from Spirited Away, Miyazaki's masterpiece.
Thank you, Sanil, for turning what was already a surreal experience into a real dream for us...
Sailing into Heaven
Starting with these two, my next posts in the coming days will be from the dreamy backwaters of Kerala.
Everything in and about Kerala is so magical... But a houseboat trip in the backwaters is an experience out of this world...
Kerala is famous for its backwaters network of rivers, canals and lagoons surrounded by coconut groves, tiny villages and rice fields. My friend Eren and I rented a traditional houseboat called kettuvallam in the local language (Malayalam). Starting from Alleppey, we rode through the canals for a whole day and spent the night on the boat off a small village. It was a private 22-hour-long cruise with just the two of us and the crew. Undoubtedly, it has been one of the most unforgettable experiences of my life. I don’t even have the words to describe it!
There are so many boats that you can take that it's really hard to say no to one and go for another. We eventually rented a boat called Pickadly, and were so very happy with our choice. The crew have been very nice and friendly to us and we really had a fantastic experience thanks to them. And the food was incredible! One of the crew members, Sanil, had a sister living in the village that we spent the night, and he was kind enough to take us to her little, humble house where she lived with her husband and three sons and their goats.. The family shared their chai with us and they were all so nice to us that I don't expect that either of us will ever forget them. We were truly grateful for their hospitality. And by the way, their goat had just given birth to a couple of babies that day, and the babies were so incredibly cute!
And just what an amazing walk it was through the village, along the narrow canals at the sunset... The scenery was totally surreal. It reminded us of a scene from Spirited Away, Miyazaki's masterpiece.
Thank you, Sanil, for turning what was already a surreal experience into a real dream for us...