I arrived in Cochin, Kerela at 430am tired and hopeful that this would be a great place. With so few tourists around, when one is spotted you are instantly drawn to each other! That being said, I met a great friend, Jon, from England! Thankfully he had already booked a place to stay...since its 430 in the morning, dark, thunder storming, and nothing is open, so I tagged along! :p I just have to add, Kerela is already seeming like a QUIET place! Only a few honking horns! (And the time of night really doesn't make a difference in this country!)
Fort Cochin is a very small ancient town. There are old Chinese fishing nets which are still being used, and buildings resembling Dutch and British arcitechture. A weird mix of things but somehow it all fits together quite nicely! And Fort Cochin is QUIET and peaceful and just what I was hoping for!!! (In a country like India you need to find these little places in order to keep your sanity!)
The next day Jon and I headed further south to Alappuzha where we planned to do the backwaters trip. The backwaters is the main attraction to Kerela. It is a network of waterways 900 km off the southern coast of India. We decided to spend the day on a Canoe going through these water canals. I was very worried about spending 6 hours on a canoe in this extreme heat but we somehow managed to pick the BEST day to do it. Since it had thunderstormed the night before the air was a bit cooler and the sky was a bit cloudy! PERFECT for a trip like this! We would have died otherwise. It was just the two of us on this tour and our guide took us into his village along the backwaters. It was really incredible! We ate amazing traditional Kerela cuisine and enjoyed the company of the children in the village. We then sat back and enjoyed the peaceful and beautiful surroundings as we paddled through the backwaters surrounded by kingfishers, rice fields, jungle forest and watersnakes. It was everything I'd hoped for and more!
It's been so nice having company the past couple days and being able to have a normal conversation which doesn't consist of the same 3 questions: Name? where you from? Are you married? Traveling alone can be very stressful in India! Especially as a solo female traveller. Unfortunately Jon is on his way back to England now so I'm back on my own...but excited for the next adventure!
Next stop...the tea plantations in the hills of Munnar! :D
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