Today was extremely relaxing. We got up, had breakfast, sent some laundry out to be done, and sat around all morning. Lovely. We tried to do laundry in the sink at the beginning of our trip (our usual approach for long trips). The trouble here is that it is so humid our wash began to smell like mould, and never seemed to dry. This can't be good for you. The hotels here don't charge too much to do laundry, and the heat and humidity require upkeep of one's clothing. The photos below are from our walk after breakfast
At noon we walked over to the houseboat for our lunch and ride around the lake Vembanad. The lake itself is the second largest in India. From the lake are a number of smaller waterways called Thanneermukkam bund which keep the sea water out. The houses along these waterways are extremely close to the water and the captain of our boat said any extra rain would flood them. Right behind the bund are rice fields. Charlie and I imagined that the waterways would be remote and far from human activity. Very wrong. Every waterway was filled with houses, people going about their daily activities, and shops. On board Charlie and I had a bedroom and bathroom. I guess we could have slept after lunch. There were two cabins on the boat. There was a hall way from the main "entrance" and the cabins were off to one side - kind of like a train. We spent our time in the front watching the trip.
Below are photos of the ride on the lake and through the bund
A Kingfisher close up. He didn't seem to mind being photographed. When they take off, their underside is white.
Charlie on one of the little bridges in the resort.
Some house boats seen from the resort.
This gorgeous little bird is coloured spectacularly. He's iridescent blue, with a bright red chest
Our maid at the resort is an expert towel origami artist! The piggy's eyes are little pieces of leaf. I wish I could take him home!
At noon we walked over to the houseboat for our lunch and ride around the lake Vembanad. The lake itself is the second largest in India. From the lake are a number of smaller waterways called Thanneermukkam bund which keep the sea water out. The houses along these waterways are extremely close to the water and the captain of our boat said any extra rain would flood them. Right behind the bund are rice fields. Charlie and I imagined that the waterways would be remote and far from human activity. Very wrong. Every waterway was filled with houses, people going about their daily activities, and shops. On board Charlie and I had a bedroom and bathroom. I guess we could have slept after lunch. There were two cabins on the boat. There was a hall way from the main "entrance" and the cabins were off to one side - kind of like a train. We spent our time in the front watching the trip.
The houseboats have a large bottom shaped like a rounded canoe. Coconut thatching is attached to a frame affixed to the bottom and tied with coconut rope. The photo above shows another houseboat similar to ours. The rear of the boat had the kitchen.
Cormorants filling a coconut tree
Vine covered something - The figures look like they belong in an episode of Supernatural
Lunch on the boat - prawn curry, chicken curry, rice, chapatis, and dessert pastries. It was delicious
Rice paddies seen beyond the bund wall
The long boat in the back is a Snake Boat. Over ninety guys sit on the boat and paddle through a race of these things
The row boat is filled with bags of rice
Dishes and clothes get washed in the water
Getting from one side of the waterway to another
A shop
Rice paddies beyond the bund - there were sandbags along it to keep the paddies from over-flooding
What the bund looked like from the boat
We weren't the only houseboat out there
This floating dispensary went passed us
Cooking with crows. The hotels have netting and strings to keep these very aggressive birds at bay
The front of our boat as seen from the dining area.
We got back around 4:30. I took a shower, which as I mentioned is outside, with claps of thunder roiling around. Never had a shower with thunder before.
We're both too full for a real dinner - we'll get a snack. Tomorrow morning we leave at 8 AM for Madurai. It's an 8 hour drive.
No comments:
Post a Comment