The HouseBoat

In previous posts, I had pictures of house boats that travel around in the Kerala backwater areas. The folks at G.O.C. hooked me up with an overnight stay on a house boat. Before going on the boat, I met Kumar of G.O.C and I had a traditional Kerala lunch off the banana leaf for his house warming. Kumar has built a house for home stays, and he was showing me around the place along with dozens of other people who were invited. After lunch, I was dropped off at the house boat.

 

This house boat consists of the kitchen area in the back, a single bedroom with bath and shower, the living room area, and the wheel house area where the driver sits. There are 3 people who run the boat - the mechanic, the driver and the waiter\cook. As we started to depart, I was served fresh pineapple, and we turned on some traditional Kerala music.

 

 

We traveled around for hours looking at the sights. It was very relaxing. I sat on a cushion next to the driver to be right next to the water. Here is a pic of the driver doing what he does most of the day, and the tool of his trade:

 

We saw a number of old and new temples:

 

There were a lot of churches.

 

Later in the afternoon, we stopped by a Ayurvedic Rejuvanation Therapy "with holisic touch" massage clinic. A doctor took my blood pressure, and asked if I had any ailments or problems with muscles or joints. I was then taken into a small hut in the back where I was introduced to the masseuse, and he said he was going to use natural herbal oils that would be good for a healthy mind and body. I guess a person can never be too healthy, but I never knew cracking\popping a toe was considered healthy until this experience.

 

Here is a good link to learn more about how to properly season skin before baking:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayurvedic

 

We continued to travel around the backwater. With all the scented oils and herbs, the guys on the boat probably though I smelled like a Ceaser Salad. It's a good thing they were not cannibals. The sign below shows how far to the farthest police station in case I needed one - 83 km to Kollam.

As night started, we ported near a place where the guys lived, and I they served chicken curry which was really good. The waiter\cook and I talked a while until I realized he had to get up at 5:00am, and we decided to call it a night and go to bed. He stayed on the boat in the living room as security...more for the boats security rather than mine. I'm sure the boat was worth a lot more than I was worth.

 

The morning turned out great. There were blue skys, and it was a great day for being in a house boat on the Kerala backwaters.

 

The rice fields were very green, and the day was tranquil.

 

As the day closed to an end. I was glad I spend the night on the backwater instead of just a few hours. The entire experience is needed to feel fully relaxed and give you the incentive to never work again...