My visit to Alappuzha in winter 2014
Alappuzha, a coastal town in Kerala, sits right on the western backwaters of southern India making it one of the most scenic places to visit. I visited the town in the winter of 2014 and had the amazing opportunity to experience a different kind of life by staying in a guesthouse right by the beach. In hindsight, my dream to live by the beach must have its roots in this trip and town!
As a part of our long trip around South India, Alappuzha was one of our stops along the way and will always hold a dear place in my heart. The house was located some 50 meters from the ocean and I can still feel the warm, salty air breeze over me as I think back to the location.
I clearly remember swimming on the beach with my parents, laughing so hard that our tears were indistinguishable from the ocean water. I remember swaying to the rhythm of the ocean on a hammock in the garden of our guesthouse and experiencing, for the first time in my life, what peace must feel like.
Alappuzha is based on an intricate system of backwater canals that form parts of the National Waterway so people in Alappuzha travel everywhere on boats instead of cars! As a tourist, it is almost customary to go on a boat ride through these canals. We took an early morning ride around and saw the town slowly come to life. As the mist rose from the canals, I saw children bobbing away on water taxis to attend school. I saw fishermen fishing with their bows and arrows and men climbing on trees to pick coconuts at the start of their day. The boatman took us to a little cottage sitting in the middle of the canal where we ate some of the most wonderful lachha paranthas for breakfast.
Moving on with the journey, I saw snake boats tied to the shore, waiting for their turn in the local snake boat races the following year. As the pat-pat-pat of the boat’s motor hummed down to a constant buzz, I could feel the serenity of the lifestyle led by Alappuzha. As the calm waters softly parted to give us way, I could feel myself becoming a part of this town where the people lived on water and lived in harmony with Nature.
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