A day in Alleppey
Breakfast was served in an open area of the homestay. We had not said what we would like to eat, and so European food was provided. This was good, but not what we were looking for.
Once I had arrange for the dhobi (laundry) we walked through hot streets to the Alasr see how best to arrange a houseboat for the following night. The owner was not there, but his wife said the he would ask us to get in touch to help us. Meanwhile, she kindly gave us a tour of the building, which was built around courtyards. We were shown the room we would have been allocated. Smaller than the one we had, it was also very noisy. There was a temple festival in progress next door. Several pilgrims were using the homestay as a base. Even though this room had a balcony, we now knew the move to the Tharavad had been a very good decision!.
The Tharavad, where we were staying, did not serve an evening meal, but one of the reasons we wanted to stay at the Alasr was because the cooking had a good reputation. So, we booked in for an evening meal. We also saw evidence of the families support for a local orphanage school. They give a large share of the profits to the school.
It became apparent that the owner was not going to come back soon, and so we agreed to meet him when we came for our meal.
We were advised where to go for a local market, but this proved to be just a shopping street. We bought some spices, and I bought a short sleeved shirt - except when I got it home, it had long sleeves! We cooled off in a friendly little cafe where we had freshly squeezed orange juice.
Without a clear plan for the day - without any plan for the day - as there was not much to see that appealed to us in the town, bu hired a tuk tuk to take us first to the British built lighthouse and then to a beach out of town.
The red and white striped lighthouse, founded in 1862, has panoramic views & a small history museum. We looked down of a former swimming pool which looked as though it had never recovered from the August 2018 floods which devastated much of the state. There is a little museum with lighthouse artifacts.Alappuzha, the place where India's Alleppey Lighthouse stands, was one of the busiest ports and trade centers of Kerala. Alappuzha, a part of Travancore, was ruled by Rajas of Erstwhile Travancore before India's independence. After the arrival of the Portuguese, Dutch and English traders, Vizhinjam, Kollam, Travancore and Purakad were the main ports of Erstwhile Travancore through which foreign trade flourished.
We moved on to a beach outside the town and then raced back to Alleppey to watch the sun setting over the Arabian Sea.
We were the only diners at the Alasr, but the food was well cooked and the meal enjoyable. The owner arrived to discuss the arrangements for a houseboat. It turned out he owned one, and this is what he had arranged for us. It was not at all what we had expected, being larger and much more expensive. But, by then, we felt that time was running out to go elsewhere, so bargained a price reduction and accepted what was offered. Is Rs10,000 (about £100) too much for lunch, dinner, bed and breakfast and a river cruise?
0 comments:
Post a Comment