Pat freezing bits of his anatomy off.
With our boat, S/V Terra Firma safely tucked away in Ecuador, we decide to return to the USA to visit family and friends. During our visit we were asked by a medical device company to come back to work for a while and that most of the work required us to be in India. How could we refuse?! So we prepare ourselves for the extreme heat of south eastern India by buying light weight nylon clothing. As luck would have it, a severe winter storm hits the east coast of the US as we land at JFK in NYC. Our flight to India is cancelled and we head off to a Marriott for the night. Obviously, we’re not dressed for the occasion and are freezing our @#& off and you can tell by the look on my face that I’m really cranky! Nice strart to the trip. Anyhow, we made it and what an experience it was! First, we had the opportunity to work with some wondereful people that just happened to also be great engineers. We were treated like royalty and will be forever grateful for their kindness. This is the first of multiple updates from our adventures in India. This update is of an area known as Alleppey in the south western part of India.
The rice boat crew
After a month of working long hours, it was decided that we needed a little vacation. So we jumped on a plane and flew from Chennai in southeastern India to the state of Kerala in southwestern India. One of our favorite stops was the town of Alleppey. Alleppey, known as the Venice of the East, is a picturesque area of canals and backwaters. The area’s economy depends on tourism, rice, and coir (a natural fiber from the husks of coconut used to make mats, brushes, and mattresses). The major attraction is to hire a rice boat, modified to accommodate tourists, and tour the backwater. Our crew is shown here. We spent 2 days and 1 night aboard.
After shoving off, Carrie takes her turn at the helm. Notice that a qualified helmsman stayed close by.
As you can see from the many boats, tourism is big business here. We saw many boats during our excursion filled with many tourists.
After 10 stressful minutes at the helm our little boat princess relaxes in the lounge. Life is tough!
As we meandered slowly through the maze of canals, we had the opportunity to view life in the backwater.
It’s not all tourism. Here we see a work crew loading a rice boat much the way it has been done for hundreds of years.
My guess is that these guys have very strong necks and shoulders.
Break time! The boat fully loaded and ready to float down the canal.
Fully loaded it’s time to get the rice to market. Notice the lack of freeboard! Any wake at all hits this boat and it gets swamped.
Here we see kids doing their chores. What’s for lunch?
Like anywhere, people need to get around. This is the local ‘bus stop’
Or you can hire a private ‘taxi’.
Or if you have your own ‘car’ you can travel at your convenience.
Wonder where these young ladies are off to dressed in beautiful saris?
Shopping at the local convenience store.
Date night? Here a young couple enjoy the lovely scenery and each other.
A typical backwater home with their ‘car’ parked in the ‘driveway’.
Do you think this was the inspiration for John Mellencamp’s song “Little Pink Houses”?
A spiritual people. The predominant religions are Hindu and Christianity with a smaller percentage of Muslims.
Another typical backwater home, this one with an over the water patio. Bet it’s a great place to watch the sunset!
Ahh..Politics. No matter where you go you can’t get away from Politicians. I wonder who won?
Maybe an impromptu political discussion is in process? They don’t look happy about the selections.
Well, our little journey through the backwater is over as everyone heads back to the dock. Hope you enjoyed the tour. A magical place for sure.