Kerala backwaters

I'd been looking forward to taking a cruise down Kerala's famous backwaters for some time. National Geographic rates it as one of the '50 Places of a Lifetime'. Unfortunately, a couple factors curtailed my ability to really do it 'right' (e.g., limited time, my sole co-passenger being an obnoxious bigot). Still, I'm glad I got a taste of the backwaters and I hope I have the chance to return and go on a canoe down the smaller canals:



Or on a houseboat:



I took a ferry boat down the major canal from Kollam to Alleppey from 10:30AM - 6:30PM. The boat stopped twice -- once for lunch and once for tea accompanied by deep fried bananas, deep fried onions, and a deep fried pastry.

Along the banks of the canal you can catch interesting glimpses into backwater village life (I think I may have grabbed that phrasing verbatim from Lonely Planet while re-reading the 'Kerala backwater' section repeatedly):







One of the best moments was when a large fishing boat pulled up next to my boat and a bunch of brightly dressed fishermen stared at us intensely:



Eventually sunset rolled around and I knew my cruise had come to an end. As the honorable Arnold Schwarzenegger says, though, "I'll be back..."