We were in the houseboat in an area about an hour away from the city of Cochin, called Kumarukom and I had some of the most enlightening views of people just living their lives. Here I spotted two schoolgirl waiting for a boat ride home. They must be annoyed by privileged tourists on houseboats constantly peering at them.
photo by bookjunkie
A lady washing her clothes by slapping it against a rock. They seem to be beating the dirt out and it reminded me of the time I had my outfit washed in this manner when it was sent for washing at a 3 star hotel we were staying at in South India. The buttons on my kurta came back smashed and as I put in on I was wondering why it felt so grainy. It then dawned on me that it has bits of sand in it! That was my first experience of culture shock in India.
photo by bookjunkie
Girls washing the pots and pans by the river.
photo by bookjunkie
A family fishing at the body of water by their padi field. Their little calf was tethered and grazing nearby. I found the green absolutely breathtaking.
photo by bookjunkie
photo by bookjunkie
For me the best souvenier from travels are the photos I am able to snap. Somehow photos you take yourself preserve that memory or moment and makes the travel experience even more intense for me. Writing about the experience is joyful to me and I want to preserve the moment and my thoughts at the time, while they are still fresh in my memory.
This is the first time I have come across this term backwaters and this is how the Kerala backwaters are defined in Wikipedia:
The Kerala backwaters are a chain of brackish lagoons and lakes lying parallel to the Arabian Sea coast (known as the Malabar Coast) of Kerala state in southern India. The network includes five large lakes linked by canals, both manmade and natural, fed by 38 rivers, and extending virtually half the length of Kerala state.
So this is why Kerala is known as the Venice of the East.
