7 January

The high-light of the day turned out to be our three and a half hour ferry trip to our next destination,  Alleppey.  It is situated on the western side of lake Vembanad, India’s longest lake. Large area’s of the lake, canals and river systems have been taken over by an invasive species of water hyacinth.  It weaves itself into a green carpet that is impossible for some craft to navigate.

A stranded boat trapped in the weeds

Our trusty ferry

Although our Government ferry boat looks like the African Queen it does have the where-with-all (grunt) to shred its way out of this sea of water hyacinth.

Engine room showing the bell on a string

Hi-tech communication between the engine room (throttle & gear change man) and the wheelhouse perched above the tin roof, is achieved by  the bell on a string,  four rings means full ahead.

Wheelhouse

Loading the engine block

This boat serves the people who live in the outlying areas of lake, it also does the school run and transports all sorts of goods, today’s unexpected  cargo is a car engine block.

Once under way and out on the lake the landscape turns into spectacular panorama and a haven for so many species of wet land birds, with vista’s of rice paddies that stretch to the horizon.

Rice paddy on a grand scale

Sailing canoe

Coconut selling shack

Alleppey our final destination

Alleppey is often referred to as the “Venice of the East" with the bustling hub of the house boat business, but for us the best boat trip on the backwaters has to be the government ferry, for a cost  of 10 rupees per person that’s around 12 pence for a three and a half hour journey must make it the best value trip on the planet.