When we decided to focus our trip to India on the South rather than the North one of the must do activities we both agreed on was renting a houseboat on the backwaters of Kerala.

Houseboats and Canoes share space on the waterways

Houseboats aren’t expensive relative to what you are getting. For anywhere between $100-$200 a night you can get a decent, private floating hotel room with 3 crew members to cater to your needs, but you want to make sure you pick the right boat since there will be no escaping it and its crew until the trip is done. As we slowly made our way south from Mumbai to Kerala we spoke with travelers who had done the houseboat experience and were surprised to receive a number of mixed reviews. Some said it was worth it but others said because of the holidays prices were jacked, the backwaters were clogged with boats making the experience less than relaxing and apparently garbage could be seen floating freely down the waterways. Our idea of renting a houseboat seemed less and less attractive, but we were also worried about missing out on experiencing the backwater culture and scenery.

A woman digs in the mud for clams in the backwaters of Alleppey

There are two locations well-known for house boating in Kerala. The first and most famous is Alleppey which offers plenty of options and therefore competitive prices and the second is Kollam where there are fewer boats resulting in more peaceful waterways, but it comes at a price.

We spent two nights in Alleppey, staying at the Sona Tourist House recommended to us by a fellow traveler. The colonial style home provided us with one of our favourite rooms of the trip and our hosts were eager to help us find the activities we were looking for. They suggested that, instead of committing to a houseboat right away, we take a day trip with their friend James down the backwaters in his small motorboat to give us a sense of the experience for a fraction of the price and time.

James’s boat

We were introduced to James the next morning and headed out straight away. While there were many docked houseboats along the river’s edge the water ways were peaceful. Our captain pointed out island after island saying the same thing “No road, no cars, but electricity, school and hospital!” He was quite proud of the self-sufficiency these backwater islanders demonstrated. He pulled the boat over numerous times so Steph and I could walk along the narrow canals lined with houses.

A woman does laundry on the river’s edge

When we reached the wider part of the river James allowed us to jump off the boat and swim for as long as we liked. The water and air had a stillness and silence that cannot truly be described in words or captured in a photo, but it felt as though we were swimming in a painting. Of course we found out after jumping in that the boat had no ladder for re-entering, but there was a tire attached to the side. Steph had no problem getting in, but I, with my horrible coordination and complete lack of upper body strength, could not make it in unassisted. As James generously offered his hand to pull me in he said with enthusiastic surprise “Wow, you are really heavy!” I smiled graciously and thanked him for his assistance.

Attempting to capture the stillness of the river

After the swim we were permitted to sunbathe on top of the boat which got a lot of cheers from a passing barge full of Indian men. We put our clothes back on promptly after that, but I won’t lie, it helped me bounce back from the captains earlier comments.

Perhaps I had swallowed a bit too much river water during the swim, but just as we pulled over for lunch I started to feel a bit queazy. The timing could not have been worse since we were taken to a small restaurant one would have never really noticed when passing by and were served one of the best vegetarian Thalis we had had in India. I could only handle a few mouthfuls, but Steph happily accepted the second serving that was offered to her.

Meal time!

When we returned to the boat James tried to up sell us to staying on the boat until sunset, for an extra price of course. We explained that I was not feeling well. We thought that would be an easy out, but James then proceeded to ask me in what way I was feeling sick. “Do you have Diarrhea??” he asked “because if it is Diarrhea I can give you a banana and that will help. So is it Diarrhea?” It was not Diarrhea but he really wanted to be helpful so I took the banana with the same smile I wore earlier and longed for the time when he wanted to talk about how heavy he thought I was instead of how runny he thought I was.

A man paddles next to our boat as we head home

We decided that given my delicate state and our satisfaction with the tour James had provided us we would not commit to a big 2 day boat trip from Alleppey, but would instead make the 2 hour bus trip to Kollam the next day and see what was on offer there.