Back from India. Trip report part 2 Kerala
Dec 3rd, 2006, 11:35 AM
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Back from India. Trip report part 2 Kerala
Part 2
We left Brunton Boatyard in the morning and after a 1 ½ hour’sn drive reached the jetty where we boarded our kettuvallam. This is an amazing looking boat completely made out of coconut rope. Our particular one had the big advantage of having a seating area at the front in the open air where you could lie in the sun and see outside properly. Most of the other boats we passed were completely covered and didn’t seem nearly as comfortable. You can see a huge variety of these boats in the backwaters especially in how they are furnished. Some seem really uncomfortable so I would suggest checking which boat you are going to get very carefully. Some have 2 storeys and those are really good. We saw pictures of the one belonging to the Malabar House group and it looked fantastic though very expensive but unfortunately we didn’t see it going by. We boarded the boat in lake Vembanadu and sailed south towards Allapuzha . Then we had to cross the lake a again to reach Coconut Lagoon. If I could do it again I would insist on boarding the boat at Allapuzha because crossing the lake twice can be a bit boring whereas cruising the canals near the villages is really fascinating. The food on the boat was absolutely amazing. We got at least seven different side dishes with our fish at lunch and seven different ones again with chicken and prawns for dinner. The cook was great and all the spices were freshly ground by hand each time. We found the crew to be a bit difficult to communicate with as they spoke very little English. One night on the boat was perfect. We got to see an amazing sunset. It was hot at night but not unbearable. We were terrified of the mosquitoes (not having taken malaria pills) but in fact there were very few. At night we moored in the middle of the canal rather than on the banks which was a good idea as we felt safe from rats, pirates and other nasties.
Next morning a couple hours’ cruising took us to Coconut Lagoon. This is a beautiful resort with sprawling lawns, canals running through it and friendly rare cows tethered to the trees. We were upgraded to a heritage “mansion” room 201 which was one of the best on the property with a 180 degree view from the upstairs bedroom of the lake. I would insist on this room if I ever went again as it was so special. You could lie in bed and watch the boats go by. There were quite a lot of people staying in the hotel and it had a resorty feel about it as if you’re secluded in an oasis far from the buzz of Indian life. However it was peaceful and once again the food was amazing even at the buffet restaurant.
That evening we discovered why we got the upgrade…….our flight to Bangaram island in the Lakshadweeps was cancelled due to problems with the plane. We were worried as we only had 4 nights on the island and there was no flight scheduled on the next day either. Our reservations man called and said he would do his best to get us there asap. We were a bit sceptical. Next day they moved us to Mararari Beach resort as CL was full. MB was only about a ½ hour drive from CL. Although we weren’t thrilled it turned out to be quite fun. The beach and sea were much better than I expected. The beach especially was very beautiful and incredibly long, clean and virgin. The sea was warm and not choppy at all for the ocean. An elephant was brought over from the temple as they were pruning the coconut palms and I had my first ride on an elephant which was cool. Around dinner time they called to say we would be leaving early next morning for Bangaram ….hooray! We had the most delicious stuffed fish for dinner…….definitely putting on weight!
We left Brunton Boatyard in the morning and after a 1 ½ hour’sn drive reached the jetty where we boarded our kettuvallam. This is an amazing looking boat completely made out of coconut rope. Our particular one had the big advantage of having a seating area at the front in the open air where you could lie in the sun and see outside properly. Most of the other boats we passed were completely covered and didn’t seem nearly as comfortable. You can see a huge variety of these boats in the backwaters especially in how they are furnished. Some seem really uncomfortable so I would suggest checking which boat you are going to get very carefully. Some have 2 storeys and those are really good. We saw pictures of the one belonging to the Malabar House group and it looked fantastic though very expensive but unfortunately we didn’t see it going by. We boarded the boat in lake Vembanadu and sailed south towards Allapuzha . Then we had to cross the lake a again to reach Coconut Lagoon. If I could do it again I would insist on boarding the boat at Allapuzha because crossing the lake twice can be a bit boring whereas cruising the canals near the villages is really fascinating. The food on the boat was absolutely amazing. We got at least seven different side dishes with our fish at lunch and seven different ones again with chicken and prawns for dinner. The cook was great and all the spices were freshly ground by hand each time. We found the crew to be a bit difficult to communicate with as they spoke very little English. One night on the boat was perfect. We got to see an amazing sunset. It was hot at night but not unbearable. We were terrified of the mosquitoes (not having taken malaria pills) but in fact there were very few. At night we moored in the middle of the canal rather than on the banks which was a good idea as we felt safe from rats, pirates and other nasties.
Next morning a couple hours’ cruising took us to Coconut Lagoon. This is a beautiful resort with sprawling lawns, canals running through it and friendly rare cows tethered to the trees. We were upgraded to a heritage “mansion” room 201 which was one of the best on the property with a 180 degree view from the upstairs bedroom of the lake. I would insist on this room if I ever went again as it was so special. You could lie in bed and watch the boats go by. There were quite a lot of people staying in the hotel and it had a resorty feel about it as if you’re secluded in an oasis far from the buzz of Indian life. However it was peaceful and once again the food was amazing even at the buffet restaurant.
That evening we discovered why we got the upgrade…….our flight to Bangaram island in the Lakshadweeps was cancelled due to problems with the plane. We were worried as we only had 4 nights on the island and there was no flight scheduled on the next day either. Our reservations man called and said he would do his best to get us there asap. We were a bit sceptical. Next day they moved us to Mararari Beach resort as CL was full. MB was only about a ½ hour drive from CL. Although we weren’t thrilled it turned out to be quite fun. The beach and sea were much better than I expected. The beach especially was very beautiful and incredibly long, clean and virgin. The sea was warm and not choppy at all for the ocean. An elephant was brought over from the temple as they were pruning the coconut palms and I had my first ride on an elephant which was cool. Around dinner time they called to say we would be leaving early next morning for Bangaram ….hooray! We had the most delicious stuffed fish for dinner…….definitely putting on weight!
Dec 4th, 2006, 04:55 AM
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I booked directly through the CGH Earth hotel website and they arranged for the flight and visa to Lakhshadweeps. I also asked them to arrange the car transfers which they did at extra cost but reasonable.
