Backwaters Tour, India
Woke up throughout the night to the pitter patter of the rain on the rooftop. It was absolutely beautiful, honestly. And then I rose around 7:15 AM and had some toast, jam, and heaps of fruit with coffee for breakfast provided by Biju. After brekkie, Ryan, Sarah, Nicola and myself headed to the ferry station with our guide for the day, Siju. We are doing our backwaters tour! The backwaters is a beautiful water-channel where the sea flows into the lake of fresh water here in the South of India. There are 46,129 backwater channels in the South of India. And there are so many options such as canoes, kayaks, and houseboats. We chose the canoe for the day, costing us each $1000 INR for a 7 hour tour along with brekkie and lunch. The ferry took only 10 minutes, and then we arrived at our canoe! Another lady from Lithuania, Lina, joined us as well. We loaded on the canoe, which had a roof overhead and sat so low that our hands could touch the water!
The six of us cruised along, passing by cows, goats, chickens, and other farm life with the beautiful rice fields as a backdrop. We also saw bats, which seem to be following me from Australia to Sri Lanka and now India! Siju was making all the animals noises as we passed by, and every time we'd turn a corner, he'd say "BEEP BEEP" and I'd crack up every time. Siju also did some chanting, so I joined in with the Guru Brahman, Guru Devo chant and next thing you know, Siju chimed in! I learned this chant during a Janet Stone yoga class in San Fransisco with my dearest friend Krista, and it meant so much to me that I could chant along with a new friend across the world. And we chanted together throughout the entire day, so beautifully as we paddled along in the canoe.
We stopped at one of the restaurants for a traditional Keralan brekkie: dosa and veggie sambar. Here in India, most dishes are eaten with the hands, and like in Sri Lanka, I was in for the full experience, so I opted out of using silverware and dug right in. Suji taught me the proper technique, using the four fingers to grab and the thumb as a spoon to push the food in the mouth, making it so much easier to eat! And the food was absolutely delicious! We finished off with a cup of tea before getting back in the canoe and paddling off. The scenery was absolutely gorgeous and the day was full of relaxation and laughter.
After several hours of touring the water, we stopped again for lunch, but before eating, we took a little walk into the village. Here, they collect rainwater to use for cooking, but the locals do their laundry and bathe in the river. We saw many locals going thru their daily rituals, bathing in the water, brushing their teeth, and cleaning their clothes. As we walked thru the village, we saw many papaya trees, rice fields, and even a chili tree. I tried one of the chilis, which was so spicy, I began sweating more than I already was! But it was super yummy. We stopped by a house that is 250 years old. It is a Christian site where a baby was once born. It is incredible how they have managed to maintain the structure of the home, which is now used as a prayer site. We made our way back to where we parked the canoe, washed our feet in the water channel, and then headed inside one of the homes for a thali styled lunch.
Once we all sat down, a banana leaf was placed in front of each of us and then Siju went around with each dish, placing a spoonful on each of our leaves. We had lemon pickle, long beans, beetroot, mango salad, papadum, rice, and veggie sambar, and boy was it absolutely incredible! I even accepted seconds! Siju kept calling me "yoga" and was always making me laugh. When I asked for another papadum, he handed it to me but when I reached for it, he pulled away. He did this several times, with a big 'ol smile on his face and laughter in his heart. He is the epitome of the philosophy "nurture your inner child." I laughed the entire day in his presence. After lunch, we all sipped a cup of tea and then loaded back on the canoe and paddled off. Two of the rivers we cruised thru were the Kutinar River and the Pomba River, but there were many more throughout the day. At one point, Sarah said "This is the quietest moment I've ever experienced in India" and she has been living here for 7 months. How peaceful and reassuring to hear that! I am beyond grateful for this to be my introduction to the country: soft, gentle, and welcoming.
Sarah, Nicola and I arranged for a sunset boat ride, so Siju pulled over around 4PM when we arrived to our next boat. The three of us hopped on with Allus to the shikara boat. This was more spacious and had places to lay and relax. Sarah, Nicola and I all found a comfortable spot and took a little nap. When we woke up, we were on a different, more calm river, with a large rice field off to the side. We stopped to take in the beauty of our surroundings, breathing in the pure oxygen all around. And when we got back on the boat, we saw a stunning blue king fisher bird flying thru the palm trees. We made another stop after some time for Sarah and Nicola to get some ice cream while I enjoyed a local peanut candy. There was an eagle looking bird just sitting on a tree branch, and Allus picked it up and put it on my shoulder! It's name is Krishna, and he was so well behaved!
We attempted to see the sunset, though it was quite difficult thru the clouds. This is technically considered slow or off season, but we still managed to get a glimpse of the sun as it settled in for the night. And honestly, we were so fortunate to have beautiful weather today! The forecast said 90% chance of rain for the day, and yet we didn't get any! After about 2 hours, Allus pulled over where the grocery store was and we hopped off there because the girls wanted to get some dinner. After buying some snacks, we headed to the beer shop. The tuk tuk driver waited outside for us while the three of us went in. Yes, it was quite dark at this point, though it wasn't even 7:30 PM. In the beer shop, there was about 10-15 men but no women. We quickly grabbed some beer, purchased it, and headed out to get back in the tuk tuk. This was the first moment of fear I had while on my journey, as 3 men followed us out of the shop. I reached for Sarah's arm and held on until we got in the tuk tuk. Not saying that anything would've happened, but it is definitely wise to not be roaming the streets at night, even in this westernized town. Even Sarah said this is the cleanest place she has been in India, but you still have to be cautious.
Once we got back to the home, we sat outside in the garden, sipped on our beer, snacked on India's Magic Masala flavored Lays chips (AMAZING!), and shared amazing conversation of family, relationships, travels, and I even opened up about my heartbreak. Through all my travels so far, I have felt extremely blessed to be surrounded by beautiful individuals. Ryan joined us for a short while, sharing all things South Korea and chats about visas, embassies, and officials and comparing them from one country to the next from personal experience. Biju joined us for awhile as well, sharing in on the laughter and joy and telling us some history of Kerala and the backwaters. He said, "It will be sad to see you go because although we have many guests, we have few connections, and this one feels like it's from the heart." How absolutely beautiful is that?! I know that I will be back to visit my family here. The night came quick, and we grew tired, so we cleaned up the beers and headed to bed.
I spent some time reflecting to the sound of the rain before dozing off, feeling all things beautiful and good, noticing my heart is slowly healing, and I am slowly healing, into the person I'm meant to be.
