Kerala Part III – Kettuvallam (House-Boats)

Alleppey - Houseboats

During our coach journey to Alleppey where the houseboat (kettuvallam) was waiting for us, our Guide delivered the bad news that 'tomorrow is another Dry Day' in Kerala. The previous dry day was in honour of Gandhi's birthday (he didn't approve of alcohol) but the 1^st of every month is also a dry day here as it is pay day and the Govt doesn't want all the workers going out and spending their wages on alcohol.

Good news was that our coach stopped at a Government Liquor store where we could purchase essential supplies to take on board our houseboat. Men Only! Ladies aren't permitted to queue for alcohol but I did get off the coach to take this pic of the menfolk waiting in line.  Our guys were put in a priority queue and whisked through quickly which was a bit unfair on the locals but they didn't seem to mind too much.  

David bought 2 bottles of beer, a half bottle of local rum and a bottle of Indian wine … Grand Total £7.60 (or the equivalent in rupees). One bottle of local Indian wine in every hotel so far has been £22.00 so this was a really good result

Whilst waiting to board our houseboat I had a little wander and watched these ladies hard at work in the rice fields. Note their clever hats to keep the sun off them – and all the egrets in close proximity.

The houseboats are great. 3 double bedrooms with en-suites on ours, a large seating/dining area which is covered with a tarpaulin to keep the sun off but open sided to catch the breezes which are much needed as it is pretty steamy and sticky weather.

We had 3 crew on board who cooked us lots of Indian snacks and looked after us really well. Far too much food though. Just had a quiet evening on the boat, enjoying our 'cheap' drinks and chatting 

lunch - David calls this my 'Camilla Face'

So many seabirds here and beautiful tranquil surroundings. Lots to see 

The locals call this 'floating hyacinths' because the flowers do look like hyacinths but it is a fast growing weed and a nuisance to the boats

This is a darter (Snake Bird) which swims with its body underwater and its neck and head held high looking like a snake above the water. This one was startled by our boat's hooter so was scrambling to get out of the way

This is an Openbill Stork – for obvious reasons

Bee Eaters

White Breasted (or White Throated) Kingfishers

and ducks .... we saw lots of 'compounds' like this.  Not sure if the ducks are destined for the table or for egg production:

Life on the water/side

Taking a break from the housework

We got off the boat a couple of times to join up with the rest of the group and wander round local villages and watch/meet the local folk.

these ladies were sewing blouses but happy to stop and chat for a while

and this was one of a group of men sculpting religious icons for sale to churches and private individuals ... he's working on an arm here

and a cat ... seems the Kerala folk don't have the same bad feelings for our feline friends  as the people in Northern India do.  we saw lots around

Sunset as we walked back from the village to our boat

and this was taken early morning (approx 6.30am) - can't say it was peaceful as we woken at 5am by the 'call to prayer' from a local mosque.   Very loud and you know how sound carries over water, went on forever it seemed but it did get me out bed earlier than usual