Kerala Part 2.

Kerala part 2.

Part of our trip to Kerala included a night on a paddy boat. Our driver dropped us off late one afternoon in Alleppey, one of Kerala’s famous backwaters. It was a private trip, so there were just the two of us and three staff members. All men, and without a shared language, we did our best to decipher the plan.

We had a little twin room with an en-suite. Luckily, it had air conditioning, as the heat was extreme with little let-up.

The Keralan backwaters are absolutely stunning. The rivers are clean, and the vegetation is emerald green and lush. We relaxed on the deck as we sailed with ease and flow, marvelling at all the little houses on the banks and whole families laughing and shrieking as they took their evening baths in the clear, warm waters.

The sunset was stunning, and if any of you are contemplating a holiday in Kerala, just go. I highly recommend it.

The lovely staff were busy preparing a three-course feast, and we were unsure what to expect. There was some lovely rice with vegetables, which was very delicate and fresh-tasting, and other dishes that were unrecognisable to our delicate Western palates but tasty. But then fanfare the fish…

It was completely whole, with fins, scales, and eyes complete with eyelashes and what seemed a fairly surprised look on its face. It was fairly flat in shape and seemed to have been fried and dusted with spices.

We had no idea how to eat it, and even after cutting into it, there was very little flesh.

We managed to move it around the plate and hide bits to make it look like we had made an effort.

After an evening of sitting on the deck with an assortment of lizards, geckos, and bugs, we retired to our cabin and the relief of the air conditioner.

The next morning, after the staff turned the air conditioner off to drive us out, we sat down for breakfast. It was some sort of cumin and masala-spiced omelette that looked like it contained about a hundred eggs.

Pippa decided to cut hers up, wrap it in a napkin and hide it in her bag, and as it was so big, we threw the rest overboard, where we quickly realised that it was floating around the boat and refusing to sink - not sure if the chef noticed it when he came to clear up, we never meant to upset him.