Alleppy
–Venice of the East.I never expected the place to be exactly like Venice, until
I completed the backwater ride !
Day 1 :We
left Bangalore the previous day night at 9.30 PM and arrived at Ernakulam bus
stop the next day morning around 6.30 AM.
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| Ernakulam Bus station |
The weather was really cool and
without wasting no time, we decided to move towards Alleppy .Luckily we got a
bus immediately and stated towards Alleppy.Drizzles welcomed us throughout an
hour and half journey .Though we didn’t knew the local language Malayalam , we
somehow managed to chat with the bus conductor and a lady next to our seat about
all the tourist places.We reached alleppy around 8.30 AM and roamed around for
a while for the rooms.There were many boatmen asking us for the boating
tour.”Mohan” , a boatman took us to many hotels which we were not satisfied.Somehow
we managed to find a good hotel and got refereshed.Then we headed to a hotel
for breakfast and tasted Kerala paratha and curry.
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| Our Room in Alleppy |
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| Our Room |
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| Kerala Paratha |
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| Our Room |
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| Our Room |
From there, straight we
started for our main ride .The back waters ! It was a 4 hour ride .A long way
to Kuttanad and back. Experiencing winter, monsoon, the sunside in 4 hrs was
thrilling.We also stopped for a tea
break in a village house.The stillness and calmness throughout the journey ,
the narrow paths was amazing.
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| Me and Kesang |
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| Alleppy |
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| A hotel in the back waters |
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| Me :) |
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| Narrow Canals |
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| Narrow Canals in Kuttanad |
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| A tea break |
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| Backwaters |
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| Backwaters |
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| Backwaters |
After discussing for a while , we thought of
walking in the beach side.So we headed off to Ernakulam beach in a local
bus.
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| Alleppy beach |
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| Me and Kesang after the heavy rains |
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| Alleppy beach |
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| Alleppy beach |
The weather was horrible.Heavy rains ! I mean really heavy ! Finally it
stopped and we managed to take a walk and few clicks J In a hotel
next to our room was our dinner place.The day ended really well with a
beautiful weather throughout J
Day 2:
Breakfast was aapam, the traditional Kerala breakfast ,in the same hotel which
served breakfast the previous day.
Our next
destination was Fort Kochi. Since there was no direct bus, we had to take a bus
to Toppumpady and from there, another bus to Fort Kochi.We found a nice guest
house and rested for a while .
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| Our guest house in Fort Kochi |
Then we had a nice view of Fort Kochi with a
beautiful view of fishing nets J Later we boarded a ferry to
Ernakulam to see the Marine drive.The ferry ride was amazing with rains around
and was a cheap transport too Jwe took a
long walk in the Marine drive and had lunch in a mall.
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| Fishing Nets in Fort Kochi |
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| We tried fishing |
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| Ferry ride |
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| A ship on the way |
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| Chinese bridge |
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| Promenade |
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| Chinese bridge |
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| In the ferry |
It was Eid and entire
muslim community were in the Marine drive with their best clothes .It was a
pleasure to watch them celebrate J.We headed
back to Fork Kochi in the ferry .We thought of going for a walk .I took a
different route unlike Kesang and did shopping too J
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| Church |
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| Church |
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| Kochi beach |
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| Kochi beach |
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| During the walk |
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| During the walk |
.I reached
guest house quite soon but didn’t find Kesang.The key was with her.Then I
called the owner and got the doors open.It was Kathakali time ! Yes.The state
dance .Kesang was a bit late .I somehow managed to call her and she reached.It
was a beautiful show .We then had dinner in a nearby hotel J and headed
back to our guest house.
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| Kathakali dancer getting ready |
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| Kathakali dancer getting ready |
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| Kathakali Dance |
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| Dinner near our guest house |
Day 3:It was
a pleasant morning with a bright sunshine J .It was
time to visit Muttencherry .kesang’s favourite place.After breakfast in a hotel
, We moved to Muttencherry in an auto.It
was just 15 min away J Guess what.Rains again.Heavy one ! We
visited Dutch palace and Jewish Synagogue.
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| Jewish Synagogue |
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| Ginger Hotel |
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| Some shots in Ginger Hotel |
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| Dutch palace |
It was almost 12 noon.I purchased
fragrance oil,a boat and we headed to Ernakulam in a ferry J.We had our
buffet lunch in a hotel and then Kesang moved towards railway station.Her train
was @ 4.30 PM,I took an an auto and moved LULU mall..The biggest mall in India J
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| I visited a church near LULU mall |
Afer
roaming for a while, I took a local bus to Fort Kochi .from there I took an auto
to Ernakulam bus stand to bangalore J
Wow..I just loved kerala and the beauty of
nature J Would love
to visit again J
