Exotic boats and architecture: getting our heads around Kerala

Wednesday 19th September: Fort Kochin to Kumarakom Lake Resort

 It was time to relocate for the last half of the Conference, so we packed up, paid our dues and jumped on the bus headed for Alleppey to meet some wonderful local women.



Rani and Mary are next door neighbours in this quaint town. They are committed to preserving the local architecture and Rani spoke to us about the challenges when there are no rules and regulations about preserving historic buildings. After hearing about the architecture, it was time to walk around town and admire some of the old buildings. The canals, which are the main feature of the town and were used to carry lots of cargo, are now choked with water hyacinth: beautiful when their purple flowers bloom, but not conducive to boat access.

The truckies do love to name their vehicles here!

One of the important transport canals now
 choked with water hyacinth

Then we returned to Rani's house beautifully designed for the climate and surrounded by a lush colourful garden. Local women provided a range of local dishes, and enjoyed us enjoying them I think!

Then it back in the bus and head for the water...again! Hard to know if it was a lake, an estuary, a waterway, a river or what! It turned out to be a huge lake which took us some hours to traverse. 

At the pier we saw some of the results of the recent floods: loads of document slaid out in the sun to dry and furniture being repaired.

But this time we were aboard a houseboat based on the old rice barges which plied these waters for years. Very lovely and very cool. 

Rani and Mary joined us so the conversation continued. Tea, coffee and fried bananas were offered and far too many were eaten, given that the lunch had been so delicious.

Finally we arrived at the stunning Kumarakom Lake Resort: what can I say! Infinity pool. Stunning wood pavilions. Lush gardens. So hard to take.

Some fresh coconut juice, a chilled hand towel and a short sit in the garden revived us. 

But before we could check in we had one more stop: the Kudumba Sree poverty project.

So we arrived (in another boat!) at a modest farm where some of the trees had been swept away with the floods. We were met by two gorgeous twins and given floral necklaces. Then we had 'opportunity' to volunteer for some terrifying activities. I managed to volunteer for the sari tying demonstration: safe and at no risk to me. 

Marcia and Jan decided to have a go at making rope from the primary local crop:coir. It's coconut fibre from coconut shells soaked in water for weeks to dissolve the shell into fibre.















Of course these days its machine-made, but this family also made it by hand. It was amazing how quickly a matted pile of rough fibre turns into exceptionally strong rope when you know what you are doing!

 We were shown around the household with its garden coconut palms and met the family, including lovely 11yearold twins who both love maths.

They were very welcoming and the father was keen for us to understand their life.

An exhibition of climbing a coconut tree using only a ring of cloth was not met with too much enthusiasm from any volunteers. And a mechanical method of climbing was also not very enticing!

Finally it was time to return to the Resort and check in to our absolutely stunning rooms located on a 'snake 'pool ie a pool which winds it's way around the back of all of our rooms, With no further ado we plunged in and relaxed as we slowly swam past everyone's rooms.

Then it was time for more food as we were at risk of starving (not!).

So it was time for a seafood banquet: the delight of being so close to the water has been the fabulous fresh seafood. Dinner was a huge array of curries and salads but the most important feature was endless offers of just-caught barbecued prawns, sardines, calamari and local fish. Superb!

We all staggered off to bed after a busy but very rewarding day getting to know more about Kerala.

your more knowledgeable correspondent

Dianne