Kerala Backwaters, a unique experience
August 2012
We took
the 7:20 am Ernad Express Train from Mangalore to Cheruvathur, which cost Rs. 30 per person. You
can book tickets online
up to a day in advance or, buy tickets at the station (if do so, make sure you
arrive least 30 min before departure time as it gets crowded). We embarked the “chair car” which is a
passenger car for day travel. The journey was very comfortable and scenic
journey through scenic coastal villages with paddy fields infringed with
coconut trees. We reached Cheruvathur around
9 am and took a rickety rickshaw with a bumpy ride to Osyter Opera which cost
Rs. 150 since the roads were terrible roads (generally it costs Rs. 100-125).
Sitting in the rickshaw isn’t for the faint heart, I felt all my internal
organs rattling during the ride. I recommend taxi for senior citizens.
As soon as we entered the premises of Oyster
Opera, we fell in love with the location. The place is breathtakingly beautiful
with cottages and house boats along the banks of palm fringed backwaters and a
lagoon. We were greeted warmly by the owner, Mr. Gul himself and escorted to our cottage called Oyster. All
cottages are named after sea creatures – oyster, shrimp, crab, etc. The
cottage was being cleaned, so we lounged outside in a hammock between two
coconut trees, taking in the scenery. Our cottage is a simple stone structure with a
veranda outside and a rustic décor with modern comforts inside. The best part
was the open air bathroom with earthern pot as a sink and shower hanging off a
coconut tree. This eco-friendly resort proves that travelling green doesn’t
mean roughing it, but it about comfortable living in harmony with nature.
After we checked into the cottage freshened up
and we were offered a refreshing grape juice by our attendant Vijay who spoke
only Malayalam, the official language of Kerala. We were then advised of the
day’s agenda by an English speaking attendant Farad, who is a relative of the
owner. At mid-morning, we had an option
of lazying around, Kayaking in the canal or, swimming in middle of backwaters.
We opted for the swim. Vijay took us by a motorized canoe to the middle of the
backwaters where he used a ladder to help us down into the waters. The water
was shallow and we took a refreshing swim, while watching schools of tiny flying
fish which appear and disappear in a flash.
By now we were famished and so decided to head
back for lunch. We had a cold water shower in the open air bathroom, got dressed
and headed to the main cabana where the food was to be served. However, lunch
was not ready even at 1 pm, so we waited patiently in the little cabana outside
while the team was lining up a spread of dishes on the serving table. After
much anticipation, Nanu then invited us in and got us seated. Given that we
went on a weekday, the only other guests at the resort were two journalist
ladies from Outlook magazine. Nanu, Shiva and Farad started serving us on a
banana leaves. In South India, the common
practice is to use banana leaves as plates which is eco-friendly since the
remains either decompose or gets eaten by cows and other animals. One by
one, they served us a typical Kerala meal. Wow, what a spread! - Prawn sukha
(dry curry), squid sukha, Avial (mixed local vegetables in coconut and yoghurt based
curry), young jackfruit and black chana curry, bitter gourd raita, tomato and
cucumber raita, cabbage poriyal (Stir fry), sweat tamarind pickle, fried Kari-meen
(pearl fish from backwaters), Meen curry and Kapa (Lady fish curry with seasoned
Tapioca), rotis, papad, rice, rasam (tomato soup), sambhar (spiced south indian
lentil with vegetable curry), spiced buttermilk and a payasam (a sweet with
gram and coconut milk). To help digestion, we were served warm jeera (cumin) water
instead of a soda or a soft drink. The food was simply delicious! I have no
words to describe how satisfying this meal was, especially for those of us who live
outside India and crave for such authentic meals. The only disappointment was that
clams and mussels (something I was craving for) were not part of the meal, since
they are seasonal. The owner, Gul Mohammed told us later that his strategy to
attract local guests via delicious spread of food. A piece of advice for future
visitors is to request any special menu you’d like ahead of your arrival.
After lunch, we decided to take a walk through
the village near by. The village was a sleepy village where Mundu clad men were
lounging around their verandas and women were returning from river banks from
some chores. Mundu is traditional attire of women and men in Kerala which is a
cotton cloth wrapped around their waist with another cotton cloth thrown across
their chest. While men still wear Mundu today, women have displaced that attire
with a simple cotton gown. We were stricken by the cleanliness of the village. Kerala is considered as the "cleanest
state in India" and, has 99% literacy rate. Perhaps this is
attributed to the sustained communist leadership of Kerala, which was democratically elected since 1957.
The next part of the day’s agenda was a beach
trip at 4 pm after our afternoon siesta. Nanu and Vijay took us on a motorized
canoe to a shore 14 kms away from the resort. We got off the boat and walk
through a small village to the other side of the strip to the beach. A few
villagers were lounging outside playing with their little kids. There were
piles of coconut kernels being sun dried (coconuts appears to be the local
industry).
Finally, the beach! The beach was pristine with
miles and miles of unspoiled shores lined with pretty shells washed off the sea
by the waves. We were the only tourists
here. We walked along the shoreline for about a mile watching a few fishermen
casting their lines, women drying coconut kernels and small crabs playing hide
and seek with the waves. Nanu insisted we take a dip. So we did, loving every
bit of the warm salty waves beating against our bodies. The very sweet Nanu and Vijay had brought
along a picnic of hot tea and bajjis (banana fritters) for us. We sat there
till sunset around 6 pm and trekked back to the boat to head back to the
resort. This felt like a honeymoon in paradise. Note that I have been to many
beaches around the world from the Caribbean, the Mediterranean to Pacific. But
it is the Indian beaches that I love the most, perhaps due to my roots.
After heading back I wanted a typical Kerala Ayurvedic
massage, which unfortunately wasn’t available until the next morning. So after
a nice cool shower in the open air bathroom. There is no hot water in the
showers, but if you can ask for hot water and they’ll deliver it in a bucket. We
relaxed on the veranda with a drink, watching the dark shimmering waters and
lights in the homes across the river bank. 8 pm was dinner time, so we headed
to the cabana for another sumptuous meal. The spread this time fried sear fish,
fried gobi (cauliflower), chicken sukha, mutton curry, crab pepper fry (this
was my favorite dish), a rice spiced cake of some sort, beans poriyal and
raita. Dessert was small Malabar bananas. After the meal, we headed back to our
cottage and retired early.
At dawn, we got up early to bed coffee delivered
to our door step. I started writing this blog while my husband was busy
clicking pictures of the scenery. The ambience looked very different from yesterday
with silhouettes of fishermen boats against the backdrop of early morning sun
rays reflecting on the calm waters.
At 8 am, I went for my Ayurvedic massage.
I was led to a thatched roof hut where my masseurs were setting up the station.
Ayurvedic massage is part of a 5000 year old holistic
healing tradition and
is known to strengthen and balance the entire body, improving circulation,
rejuvenating the skin and purging the body of toxins. This massage involves the use of oils which are
enriched with medicinal herbs and generally administered by two masseurs. In
traditional Ayurveda the massage table or Droni is constructed from one single
piece of wood, usually Teak, Neem, or Rosewood which has intrinsic healing
properties. After the massage, a hot steam bath completes the treatment to relieve the toxins from the body.
After this rejuvenating massage
experience, all I wanted to do is rest in this pristine location. Alas, all
good things come to an end and we had a train to catch. So after getting ready,
we went for a quick breakfast, which was once again a big spread of a variety
of appams (rice pancakes), stews and steamed plantains. One particular item we
liked was an appam made with egg, rice and tender coconut water (I cant find the
name of this) that is eaten drenched with sweet coconut milk.
This is the kind of memories that brings me back to India for more - pristine beaches, lush coconut groves, fresh seafood curries and more.
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