India: Kumarakom, Kerala

Although I could have stayed forever in Periyar, we continued our adventures through Kerala (in South India) to Kumarakom — the land of backwaters and the houseboats that serenely glide down the waters.

As soon as we arrived at our hotel, we were greeted with Welcome Coconuts:

Mine made me oh-so-happy, as I had been dying for one all trip!

And we thought we’d enjoy dinner at the hotel because they had a tandoor (clay oven that makes things delicious).  So we devoured tandoori cauliflower, which was served with mint-cilantro chutney (the same mint chutney that came with our Kathi rolls in Goa):

And we had a vegetable & rice biryani.  Mmmmm, it was delicious and topped with local roasted cashews and served with yogurt:

And of course, one of my favourite desserts – gulab jamun:

The next morning we headed down to breakfast and were greeted with a wall of humidity when we left our chillingly air-conditioned rooms.  It was seriously like walking into a brick wall of damp.  It also fogged up my camera and made for very romantic photos of the fishing boats:

Once the humidity cleared from my camera, you can see that it actually looked like this:

We thought we’d get out onto the backwaters, and so went on a houseboat cruise down the waterway.  We got to see all the other houseboats on the water:

Staring at the lush green trees along the bank:

Watching the locals fishing:

Contemplating the tires on the side of the houseboat (is there anything like a boatride to get you into a meditating mood?):

Watching the birds:

Drifting lazily under bridges:

Gawking at the lovely houses on the water’s edge:

And being totally amazed by the fact that they were building a houseboat ON A HOUSEBOAT.  Now that’s meta.

Mmmm, lazy days in Kumarakom.  I feel relaxed just thinking about it.