Houseboat and Home!!

Next stop on our trip, was not really a stop, it kept moving - the houseboat. I thought our houseboat was pretty opulent, 2 double bedrooms both with en-suites, TV, kitchen, 3 staff....but that was until I saw the double decker houseboats with their stately looking dinning rooms on the upper level. We pulled up at a waterside fish shop and hand picked our Tiger Prawns for dinner which our cook prepared and my word they were sooooo good! One of my all time "memorable meals."

The Kerala backwaters maybe a sanctuary of peace and tranquility but life is happening along the riverbanks.......

Hidden behind the palm trees are these wonderfully painted houses and the inhabitants go about their daily business using the waters as their own. Getting washed and ready for school:

Washing dishes and ones self and teeth:

 And the preferred method of transport, of course by boat, whether to school, church, work or a days fishing. The school bus and public buses take to the waters.

The culmination of boating is the annual snake boat races which take place the second weekend in August. The rowing teams train for 10 days before the actual event and we were lucky to be there on the first day of the training period. The boats can have up to 100 oarsmen in them, along with several rhythm men who chant to keep the oarsman synchronized. The races must be really quite something.

And of course hanging out on the street corner takes on a whole new meaning!!

We then arrived at our final haven - by the beach, a small sea view cottage in a resort.  We took this opportunity to chill before our re-entry to Bangalore, school and work.

We biked through the local villages, played in the pool, on the beach, and enjoyed our last few days in this beautiful and varied state with its friendly and welcoming people.