We took a tuk-tuk early Friday to Thoppompady bus station from Kochi to get on a bus to Alappuzha or Alleppey. When the British colonized India, cities and towns were given English names. However, after India’s Independence in 1947, some renaming was done and various states and cities were changed to native languages. It is the reason why a lot of places have two names, one usually easier to pronounce.
Before reaching Alleppey, we booked 2 nights at Dazzle Dew homestay which is only 2km from the city centre and 1 km from the backwaters of Kerala. This stay was definitively a great choice as our cottage was nice, clean with a small little terrace.
Being well located, we went for a walk along the backwaters to reach finishing point. The view was excellent. The backwaters are a very quiet and peaceful place and worth the 2 hours bus ride full of people with all backpacks weighting over 10 kg.
There are different ways to enjoy the backwaters, depends on your budget or simply preference. There are hundreds of house boats where you can spend a few nights in it drifting around the rivers. This is the most expensive way to visit the area as it could cost between 3,000 to 5,000 rupees per person per night. There are also other smaller private boats who offer few hours around the villages and it costs around 300 to 350 rupees per hour. The third choice is the ferry! It was our favorite as it goes around the villages of the backwaters. It goes back to Alleppey after a 2,5 hours ride, and it’s only 80 rupees each. The ferry has a second floor with the perfect open seating and cover to enjoy the ride and the views. Along the ride, you will see all of the villages as well as the Kerala rice fields which are beautiful and unique. You can get off to visit the villages but then will have to wait for the next ferry which may not be as convenient.
Alleppey is also known for the nice beaches around. There are two choices, Alleppey beach and Marari beach. Alleppey beach is clean and has more of a feeling of a beach as opposed as Kochi. Although the water is still a bit dirty, it’s the perfect place to relax and take the sun. Of course, it’s still India and not very wise to be in a bikini or swimsuit but relaxing nevertheless. There are a few choices of restaurants and shops around and even camel rides. There is a lighthouse not too far as well which you can go up and have the view of the beach and Alleppey.
After a long day, we had a nice cooking class with the house wife at the home stay – Dazzle dew. She cooks delicious vegetarian meals so we decided to take and learn how to prepare southern Indian food. The recipes are here.
Now we go to Amrita ashram, to stay and have blessing from Amma. You can see more information here in the meantime.
Enjoy the photos and we’ll see you soon
Nāmastē!
Useful information:
– For budget traveleres, take the ferry for a tour in the backwaters. It costs only 80 rupees and the ferry leaves at 10:45 and 13:30 from Jetty boat station. There may be earlier or later departures.
– Homestay Dazzle Dew is best value for money. The cottage are cosy with a small terrace and the family is very welcoming.
– The view from the Finishing point, where the houseboats are, is splendid.
– The beach in Alleppey is very nice and clean. We still cannot be in bikini though…
