Alleppey

We arrived in Alleppey around noon and found our hotel, Palmy Residences. So many men offering hotels or backwater boat tours stopped us while we were on our way to our hotel. Once we had settled, we walked to Thaff restaurant since we had read in Lonely Planet that it had the coldest milkshakes around. It's tough to find cold drinks in India because you're advised to stay away from ice and the climate is so hot that things melt easily. The milkshakes were not disappointing at all, and they were very cheap. We walked around the city a bit, then went back to the hotel to discuss taking a backwater tour the next day. We took a rickshaw to have dinner at the Alleppey Prince Hotel, then decided to go back to Thaff for another milkshake. On the walk back from Thaff, a young guy on a motorbike stopped to ask us our names and where we were staying. This happens a lot in India so we've learned to ignore these questions. The guy muttered something then drove away, made a U-turn and headed back towards us. While driving on the wrong side of the road, he clipped Georgie on the leg and arm with his motorbike and kept on driving. Luckily Georgie wasn't hurt, but we were both really shocked and decided to head straight back to the hotel since it was already dark.

The next morning, we both hopped on the back of the hotel owner's motorbike and he drove us to our boat for the backwater tour. Our trip lasted about 4 hours, and we saw rice fields, a water pump, beautiful houseboats and a mix of small and large rivers that make up the backwaters. We were travelling in a small canoe, but many tourists will rent a houseboat for a couple nights. This can be one of the most expensive things you do in India, but it can be well worth the money as the scenery is beautiful and living on a houseboat allows you to really take advantage of being on the backwaters.

Of course, for lunch we had to go back to Thaff to get one last milkshake and try some of their food, which was delicious. After lunch, we caught a bus to Ernakulam.