After spending a lovely day on Captain James’ boat in Alleppey, Marieke and I headed down to Kollam, where we had an interesting stay at a local hotel. Still unsure of whether or not we wanted to commit to a full out houseboat trip, we wandered down to the docks to see if we could get a good deal. We were debating a one night and day trip that was offered to us for a reasonable price, when we walked past a travel agent as we headed out to dinner to think about it. Suddenly, a joyous man ran out of his office, excitedly proclaiming that he had found us! He had just the trip for us and my, how lucky we were! As he steered us towards his office to reveal the truth of this magnificent deal, Marieke and I couldn’t help but look at each other and smile, not because we were in fact convinced we had won a lottery which was going to cost us a lot of money, but because it was one of those “only when you’re travelling” type of moments.
Our houseboat!
Before we knew it, our energetic agent was explaining to us our two night and three day itinerary, complete with hand drawn illustrations. The best part about the trip was that it involved taking the local bus back up to Alleppey where we had just come from, where our perfect boat was awaiting us. Having felt indecisive about the shorter one day and night trip ten minutes ago, it seemed a big leap to commit to a three day two night trip that involved us backtracking two hours on an uncomfortable bus, only to end up three days later back in Kollam. Perhaps the illogical nature of it was what was so appealing and finally convinced us to just do it. Only when backpacking with no itinerary can you possibly afford to make such irrational decisions.
Our awesome crew
The boat turned out to be amazing and the trip was definitely one of the highlights of South India for us. We spent the days reading, writing, taking amazing photos (Marieke, not me) and playing countless games of yahtzee. Oh and eating some of the best food we had on the trip, delicious Keralan specialties whipped up by none other than our personal chef, ironically named Ragu.
Food prepared by Ragu!
Perhaps the only downside was that spending three days on a houseboat with only three older Indian men (our crew) for company, none of for whom English was a strong suit, Marieke and I were itching to talk to some other travelers. Luckily, part of our itinerary included a really neat canoe trip through the local canals of Kollam, where we got to see local rope being made (cue inevitable spinster joke), drink some local chai, and test out the local swing.
Becoming a spinster
We ended up sharing our canoe with Dan, who despite his selfie stick, provided us with a much needed change in conversation. Besides, we got some pretty great “canoe group selfies”. I’m just not sure where they are…but we did get this one!
Dan!
We arrived back in Kollam, but forewent the lovely hotel and its amazing customer service, in favour of grabbing the train on to our next destination, Trivy.