Eating Kerala Cuisine on a Backwaters Cruise. 🇮🇳

For my last day in Kerala I went on a day cruise through the Kerala backwaters. Organised group tours are not something I usually do as I much prefer to go explore on my own and have authentic experiences but I was still feeling quite weak after being ill for more than a week, so a relaxing cruise with a set itinerary seemed like a good idea.

I was picked up in the city of Kochi and taken to what looked like an ordinary house along the canal in the suburbs of the city. Parked up were three wooden canal boats and unfortunately our whole group were shoved into only one of them. It was full, or rather over-full as there wasn't even room to move my legs. Bad memories of flying on budget airlines came right back to me.

The Kerala backwaters are a network of canals where the water is "brackish", meaning it's a mixture of fresh and salt water, caused by the tide going out and coming back.

The boat that we were riding didn't have any engine. It was powered only by two strong men who pushed it down the canals using sticks. This meant that when nobody was talking we had complete silence. Unfortunately it was hard to fully enjoy the serenity and feel relaxed because of the seating situation.

It was quite an awkward situation for me to try to make a vlog as I was packed in so tightly with strangers and it would have been rude to be talking loudly all the time. I just whispered a few times into my lav microphone as we slowly made our way through the backwaters.

We had two stops during the cruise. One was to a garden where they were growing coconuts and other produce. The guide was very knowledgeable and I definitely learned some stuff, including how the locals make their "toddy" drink from fermented juice from coconut buds.

The second stop was for lunch where we enjoyed a banana leaf thali of Kerala cuisine. It was fully vegetarian but still I managed to enjoy it. Some unexpected entertainment throughout the meal came from a clown. No, not a clown that they brought in for us like it was a kid's birthday party, but one of the Americans on the tour is an actual clown and specialises in balloon tricks.

The joys of traveling. You never know who you will meet.

All in all the tour was pretty decent but there's definitely more comfortable ways to enjoy the Kerala backwaters, including staying in a houseboat. This day tour was fairly cheap but I made a mistake booking it through Airbnb Experiences. The other guests all booked it through their hotels and paid just 1,200 rupees each, which is about half as much as I did.

* TIMESTAMPS *

00:00 Road Trip
00:59 Kerala Backwaters Cruise
05:40 Coconut Garden
16:34 Kerala Cuisine (With a Clown)
30:47 Return Cruise

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Видео Eating Kerala Cuisine on a Backwaters Cruise. 🇮🇳 канала Dale Philip