Backwater Houseboat Cruise

So we had a bad experience on the train for three whole hours, when we got off we were soaking with sweat, and black with dirt off the pollution and the heat - I felt the most disgusting I have ever felt in my life!

Johnson himself, a lovely Croatian man, lived in Kerala for 15-20 years and originally started out with a music shop until he began to run his guesthouse, met us at the train station in Alleppey. It was only in 2003 that Johnson had is first houseboat built from scratch. Since then he has visits from reoccurring travelers, recommended visitors (which we were) and new visitors.

Now, when you say houseboat to me, all I think of is longboats what you would see on Stoke-on-Trent canal. This houseboat was something to write home about. They are completely breath taking, the sheer size alone is not what is expected even when I had seen the photos I didn't expect anything like we got.

Firstly, we had our own captain, chef and assistant called Joseph. He was there whenever we needed him for anything, including get rid of the infestation of bugs once it got dark.

The calm and tranquility of the backwaters is completely opposite to the manic "city never sleeps" Trivandrum. It made the treacherous three-hour train ride worthwhile.

The residents of Alllepey backwaters are extremely friendly, more often than not waving with such passion and enthusiasm. Looking at how people manage to live so happily and comfortably with so little really makes you think about how much we take for granted BUT if we can afford them, then why not?