Finding Peace and Harmony in a Country With Over 1.2 Billion People

We left Havelia Island well rested. It was a lovely three day stopover and we hope the new owner, a young Austrian lady, prospers. She seems to be on the right track.
Our next stop was further north up the coast at Trivandrum, the capital city of the Kerala state in the south-west region of India. We spent the afternoon at their renowned zoo where the highlights were the tigers, lions and leopards. They were confined in some spots but at least they were safe from poachers and human encroachment which has become a big issue over here. The nearby Art Museum was also interesting. Trivandrum (pop. 750K) was the cleanest city we have visited so far, consistent with other capital cities that we have been to (extra government money spent to beautify their surroundings).

Next we took a bus to Kollam, the start of more backwater adventures. After having heard and read so may positive reviews about Munroe Island, we decided to spend all of our time there, travelling the extra 25 km's via a short ferry. We spent two nights at a Homestay with a really special family.......a father and mother (Vimelon and Serrasa), and their two twenty-something children (Vijeesh and Aderra). The ladies were both excellent cooks and the men were great guides and advisors. They all took excellent care of us and ensured that we were enjoying our time with them. They welcomed us into their dining room for our meals and the recently built guest rooms were very clean and much bigger than their tiny bedrooms. Vimelon gave us a 3 hour backwaters canoe tour that was peaceful and informative. Rhonda learned how to make rope (coir) from dried coconut husk fibres at one neighbours home. We paddled by inland tiger prawn farms and had to practice 'water yoga' when our canoe passed under many of the low bridges in the spread out village. It was a fabulous diversion and we would highly recommend their Homestay for an authentic and genuine experience.

At the conclusion of our visit, we took a tuk tuk back to Kollam where we boarded a full day ferry trip (10:30 - 19:30) north along the Intercoastal Waterway (similar to the SE U.S) to Alleppey, where we are right now. We only had to go through one hand-cranked lock on our journey which is also a popular area for houseboat travel and fishing boats returning from the Arabian Sea with massive volumes of small fish. Many other locals did their fishing right in the waterway, using unique Chinese fishing nets which resembled large spider webs. Many huge jellyfish were spotted from our coveted shaded rooftop seats but that didn’t stop the locals from swimming, bathing and washing clothes and dishes while immersed in the water. It was yet another pleasant and relaxing trip, distant from the busy traffic noise that permeates India.

After our lengthy voyage yesterday we decided to take it easy today rather than take another backwater trip that we had originally planned to do while in this region. It turned out to be another brilliant (or lucky) decision. It seems the people of Kerala decided to strike today to show the national government their displeasure with the way things are going (one of the opposition parties is popular in this state). As a result, all transportation services (even tuk tuks) were not operating and all stores were closed, including the many street vendors. We spent the morning walking around the Alleppey waterfront (lake and canal) and the city seemed like a ghost town for a day with everything closed and very little traffic and noise. Fortunately our guest house serves meals otherwise we would have had to survive on locally grown cashew nuts which we purchased yesterday.

Tomorrow we will board a 2 hour train to Cochin where we will spend a couple of days in the historic Fort Kochi area near the Arabian Sea.

Trivandrum Zoo - the large and endangered Bengal Tiger was our prime reason for going. Less than 2,000 of them left in India and still declining mostly due to human encroachment of their habitat.

Our bus ride to Kollam was interrupted by a local parade celebrating the upcoming National Games in the Kerala state. The students led the way while the teachers (above) followed.

Our first dinner at our Munroe Island Homestay. This was Serassa's tasty thali meal served on a banana leaf. Note the absence of eating utensils. Aderra's valsan breakfast (rice flour, shredded coconut, jaggery - sugar cane) the next morning was also delicious.

The start of our backwaters trip. Tree carved canoes were standard issue.

Rhonda learning how to make rope (coir) from dried coconut husk fibres.

My first ever selfie while in the backwaters. Vimelon was our pilot and guide.

The full-day tourist ferry we took from Kollam to get to Alleppey. Picture was taken when we arrived allowing us to get excellent viewing roof-top seats under cover. The boat filled up shortly after and some people 'fried' themselves on the front deck.

Just a few of the many waves we got from young children along the waterway.

A Chinese Fishing Net being lowered into the water.

Some of the many fishing boats that venture out into the Arabian Sea early in the morning.

Time to do the dishes.