Jenny and I just got back from a three day trip to Alleppey in Kerala, the state just to the west of where the children's home is located. We experienced our first ever train ride, went boating in the backwaters, and got to see the Arabian sea! It was definitely a fun and learning experience.
We left Monday evening and took a train from Trichy Station. Our first train ride was ten hours long! Jenny and I both got the upper berth in our compartment which we were very excited about. They provided pillows and blankets which we were a little suspicious about, but ended up using anyway. It was freezing! We both slept really well on the train, which was good because we switched trains at around 6am and didn't get to rest much after that. We finally arrived at Alleppey Station around 9:00am and took a three-wheeled little taxi called an auto to our hotel. The staff there was WONDERFUL. Apparently Jessy travels there often and always stays with them, because the staff greeted her and gave us a special discount.
By 11:30 we were out the door again with a friend of Jessy's who had a car and was kind enough to drive us around. We stopped for lunch at another hotel and all had some incredible seafood. We heard that Kerala was famous for their fish and we both love seafood, so we weren't about to miss out. I had some coconut shrimp that was unbelievably good. Jenny had "garlic fish", which turned out to be halibut cooked in a creamy garlic sauce. It was all delicious.
After lunch we rented a boat and driver and took off on the backwaters! Apparently Alleppey is known as "the Venice of the east" because of the backwaters that replace streets in the west side of the city. We were on a boat touring them for about three hours. It was beautiful and so relaxing to just be sitting there with a fresh breeze blowing and the sound of the water all around.
After resting up on the boat, Jenny and I were ready to see the ocean! Jessy's friend dropped us off at near the beach and we walked the rest of the way. Jessy sat down in the sand far from the water and shooed us off to the water. We ran right into the waves and Jenny immediately was knocked off her feet and underwater. I was a little nervous about the appropriateness of getting all wet (every other girl on the beach was staying faaaaaar from the water), but no one seemed to care so I got wet all over too. We arrived at the water about an hour before sunset. It was so so beautiful.
Seeing the ocean was probably my favorite part of the trip. The waves were huge and we had so much fun getting wet and watching the sun go down. The only downside is the fact that wherever we go, we are watched by a whole crowd of Indians. Indian men were just standing there, not too far away, watching us splash and run around on the beach. It's definitely a weird experience and one I don't think I'll ever get used to. Even so, we had lots of fun at the beach and didn't leave until sunset. We were sopping wet, sandy, and loving it. Jessy, who loved feeding us all day long, bought us ice cream, and then we took an auto back to the hotel. It was an incredibly fun day! I am so thankful that we got to go :)
We left Monday evening and took a train from Trichy Station. Our first train ride was ten hours long! Jenny and I both got the upper berth in our compartment which we were very excited about. They provided pillows and blankets which we were a little suspicious about, but ended up using anyway. It was freezing! We both slept really well on the train, which was good because we switched trains at around 6am and didn't get to rest much after that. We finally arrived at Alleppey Station around 9:00am and took a three-wheeled little taxi called an auto to our hotel. The staff there was WONDERFUL. Apparently Jessy travels there often and always stays with them, because the staff greeted her and gave us a special discount.
By 11:30 we were out the door again with a friend of Jessy's who had a car and was kind enough to drive us around. We stopped for lunch at another hotel and all had some incredible seafood. We heard that Kerala was famous for their fish and we both love seafood, so we weren't about to miss out. I had some coconut shrimp that was unbelievably good. Jenny had "garlic fish", which turned out to be halibut cooked in a creamy garlic sauce. It was all delicious.
After lunch we rented a boat and driver and took off on the backwaters! Apparently Alleppey is known as "the Venice of the east" because of the backwaters that replace streets in the west side of the city. We were on a boat touring them for about three hours. It was beautiful and so relaxing to just be sitting there with a fresh breeze blowing and the sound of the water all around.
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| Relaxing on the backwaters |
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| The beach in Alleppey |
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