Houseboat!

Two years ago I bought a book called 1,000 Things to See Before You Die. I thought the book would help us choose some destinations. It turns out that the book is not just recommending that you see these 1,000 Things but also that you be fabulously wealthy. Thanks. I had no idea. Brilliant insight, really.

So we haven't ridden on the Orient Express or stayed at the Oberai (the book recommends locations in not one, but five Indian cities). And a couple of countries ago I ditched the clunker. Nevertheless, when the Lonely Planet recommended a Keralan backwater cruise as one of ten things to do before I kick the proverbial bucket, I bought in once again. Fortunately I didn't have to sell Aaron on the idea, because we ran in to Tanya and Kelly, a Canadian couple we'd met in Fort Kochin. Splitting a houseboat brought the cruise within budget and we were off.

The backwaters are a series of canals that stretch from the coast 90 km inland. Small villages and rice patties occupy the area in between the canals. So the serve as both a natural irrigation system and a transportation network. The canals are full of life: lilly pads, storks, kingfishers, fish, tiger shrimp, ducks, seaweed, etc. We stayed on a houseboat built in the traditional style of a rice boat. We ate our meals on board and spent most of our two days on the water chatting and reading.
The few times we ventured off the boat we meandered through the rice patties (Aaron ended up soeless in the mud moments after Kelly warned us of lurking tapeworms, lovely) and a small village (whose economy seemed more linked to tourism than rice cultivation, but what do I know).

So the pictures are nice, but top ten? Just on this trip it's a stretch. Once back on solid land, we grabbed a quick Thali dinner before heading out of town.

Yea that's 9 all you can eat dishes for less that $1. Talk about top ten things to do before I die.

xoxo Jessie

p.s. This is neither here nor there, but I love this movie poster. Check out the studio behind this mess.