Day 108: Kochi, India … Tranquil Backwaters

Monday, 24 April 2017
At Sea — Arabian Sea … En Route to Mangalore

Stats @ Ship’s Time 9:30p (IST) … UTC 4:00p (24 April)
Temp: 85.8F (29.9C)
Position: 10.25.40N / 75.47.63E

A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.
~ Lao Tzu ~~

After three days crossing the Bay of Bengal from Myanmar, we were finally in sight of the coast of India.  For many of us this was a first-time visit and we were all excited and anxious to get off the ship.  There was a plan in place to do so in an orderly fashion, including a published schedule for the face-to-face immigration meetings with Keralan officials for our port of call in Kochi.  It wasn’t O’s fault that the arrangements fell apart and down went the carefully constructed plans — like a jenga tower does when someone pulls out the wrong block.

It all started when the boat bringing the pilot to the ship broke down.  Ray, the cruise director, came on the P/A to explain what was happening, making the point that the ship’s staff had no control over the situation.  We had to wait for a new boat to be sent out to the pilot so he could complete his trip and come aboard Insignia.  When we eventually arrived at the dock and Insignia was finally tied up, the announcement that came next was to advise us that not only were we waiting for the officials to arrive to clear the ship, but that the ship would have to be repositioned before the gangway could be opened for disembarkation.

Long, long story short — when all was finally in place and the face-to-face process started, the tour groups were called in a different order than what was listed in the letter sent to the cabin last night.  Our O tour group was the third to be called.  We queued up on the starboard side of the ship and made our way to the Insignia Lounge where we were handed our passports and landing cards.  Then we went up to the Indian officials who were comparing passport photos to passenger faces, verifying visas, and stamping and signing landing cards.  The actual face-to-face lasted no more than a minute or two once we took our turn.  Then out the Insignia Lounge we went on the port side, handing passports back to the O staff and keeping the landing cards to show shoreside … along with passport and Indian visa copies O had previously given us.

You’d think it would be smooth sailing after the immigration process was completed and we were free to disembark.  No … there were a few other glitches.  For one thing, not everyone followed instructions to head to the gangway via the designated route.  The gangway was on deck 4 and there was a long line, which was slow-moving at the time we joined it.  Those passengers who didn’t want to wait, streamed in from various directions to cut into the line, adding further chaos to the process and slowing disembarkation unnecessarily.

As we slowly made our way to the security checkpoint to sign off the ship with our cards, Mui and I spoke with Bernie, the HR Manager.  We asked if it was always like this in India.  After all, we have a vested interest since we will be returning to Kochi and Mangalore next year.  She said that the first and last ports are always chaotic.  And what makes matters worse is that the local authorities always change the procedures.  That means that no matter how much advance prep work O does, there are going to be surprises.  Our first Indian port is Mangalore next year … I think we will book an O tour!

It was after 10:00a when we finally got off the ship and joined the rest of the passengers who were on the same O tour with us.  Booking a ship’s tour was a last minute change when we found ourselves having to jiggle our original plans.  It wasn’t ideal, but at least someone else had to deal with the itinerary revisions resulting from the disembarkation delay.

At the bottom of the gangway, two Indian officers were checking landing cards.  And at the port gate, just a short walk from the gangway, there was another pair checking landing cards again.  The two sets of officers were in full view of each other … with nowhere for passengers to stray to in between.  So, why we had to show our landing cards twice is beyond me.  Red tape!  It’s said that the Brits invented red tape and the Indians perfected it.  After what we saw today, there just might be some truth to that saying ;-)

It was right around 10:30a when our bus — one of four heading to the Kerala Backwaters … accompanied by an empty “just in case” bus — pulled out of the port.  As the bus made its way across Willingdon Island, where the port is situated, and through mainland Ernakulam, our guide introduced himself as Marcus.  He had a quirky sense of humor, and narrated almost nonstop during the 43-mile (70 km) drive to Allepey for our boat tour.  His accent was rather heavy, but understandable.  He described the language in this area as Manglish — a mix of Malayalam, the local language, and English, and his jokes garnered quite a few chuckles.

Kochi is located in the State of Kerala, which means the “Land of Coconuts” in the local language.  Though the area was the center of the Indian spice trade, and was known to the Greeks and Romans, and Jews, Arabs, Christians, and Chinese since ancient times, the city was only founded in 1341 when the aftermath of a flood formed a safe, natural port area on the coast.  The royal family moved here in 1405, and the city started to grow.  Over the following years, the Portuguese, Dutch, and British all competed for control of the area.  The city is the oldest European settlement in India, and we were looking forward to seeing a bit of it at the end of the day.  That didn’t work out, but at least we got to enjoy the backwaters.

The Kerala Backwaters are so named because they are “behind” … or inland from the Arabian Sea.  This is an area of navigable waters consisting of a chain of brackish lagoons and waterways.  There are five lakes, some of which are manmade, and they are fed by 38 rivers.  Sixty two sluice gates control the sea water that mixes in with the fresh water.  Thus, by the time one reaches Allepey — or Alappuzha as it known as well — there is nothing but fresh water in the canals and lagoons.  This water is used for irrigation as well as transportation, and helps to create the verdant landscape of the area.

Our private tour of the backwaters would have been on a kettuvallam — a houseboat.  Once used as grain barges with thatched roof covers, they were at one point used as living quarters by royalty.  Eventually, they were converted for tourism use.  They are a popular way of exploring the canals and lakes.  They come in a number of sizes — from single to multi bedroom — and can be rented for a day or longer.  We saw a lot of them on the waterways today, as well as the smaller, gondola-like boats that are also used for exploring the canals on a daytrip.  The advantage of the smaller boats is that they can get into the narrow neighborhood canals that the houseboats can’t get into.  Our O tour did not make use of either of these modes of transportation.  Instead, we were on a chartered public ferry — one boat per bus.

Boarding the boat, fellow passengers either went below, or climbed a short ladder to where there were plastic chairs placed on the roof of the rear cabin.  There were similar chairs at the front, with no visible way of getting up to them.  However, when we asked if we could sit there, Marcus simply placed a chair for us to use as a step up.  Alrighty then ;-)  This was a perfect spot for us as we got to sit at the very front with nothing blocking our view.  It turned out to be a nice ride as not only did we have shade from the overhead canopy, but also a breeze to keep us comfortable.

The size of our boat made it impossible to go into the narrow neighborhood canals.  Still, we got to see the homes — some big, some small — that line the main waterway and a few of the off-shoots.  Interspersed between the homes were Hindu temples, Christian churches, and shops providing for the needs of the locals who live here … around 2 million in about the 770 square mile (2,000 km sq) area of Allepey.  We also caught glimpses of some of the resorts on shore.

The local color consisted of people going about their daily business.  We saw men bathing, women doing dishes and cleaning fish, children playing … all in the same water.  I took a few photos, but most came out blurry because I didn’t have the time to focus the camera properly as the boat moved at a pretty good clip.  Brahmin kites — resembling our American eagle from a distance — flew overhead, and there were quite a few birds flitting about, including a lovely kingfisher with the most amazing blue color.

An Indian family enjoying the Kerala Backwaters on a kettuvallam.

We made two stops before lunch.  One was at the home of a local family.  A rather modern-looking, spacious house, furnished with the bare essentials.  Although our hostess was welcoming, and had a lovely smile, such visits always make me uncomfortable as I feel like a peeping tom.  The other stop was at a church where we had a few minutes to go inside and also had a chance to watch a man demonstrate coconut harvesting.

Lunch was at the Punnamada Resort.  Linen-covered tables and chairs dressed up and decorated with red ribbons were set out on the front lawn.  Drummers welcomed us as the boats approached.  All participants of the tour ate here from a meal served buffet style.  Neither Mui, nor I are fans of Indian cuisine, so we just tasted a few of the more bland — read non-spicy — foods.  Beverages consisted of beer, soda, and bottled water.  And dessert was coconut pudding and ice cream.

After lunch, a short boat ride returned us to where the buses were awaiting us.  Our destination, Marcus said, would be Fort Kochi, the old city.  The plan was to drive around and see the old Portuguese buildings and the iconic Chinese fishing nets.  I think he was hoping to make use of IST — which one might think stands for India Standard Time, but actually means India Stretchy Time — to take us around.  I didn’t think that plan was going to fly since the ship was scheduled to leave at 6:00p, and it was going to take us at least 1½ hours to get to the city.  Sure enough, around 4:30p his phone rang and he was given instructions to return directly to the ship.  The O tour description had stated that in the event of a delay, the Fort Kochi portion of the tour would be cut.  And that’s exactly what happened.

Marcus did have the driver stop on a busy bridge before we crossed back to Willingdon Island so we could see some Cheena vala — Chinese fishing nets.  Mui and I had already seen the nets from the ship, but we disembarked the bus for a quick look see anyway.  On one side, the nets were in the middle of the water.  The light was such that they were hard to see.  On the other side of the bridge a fishing net was on shore and in operation.  These huge nets are best described as “shore-operated lift nets.”  The nets are huge … some 65 feet (20m) wide.  Approximately 32 feet (10m) high, a cantilever holds an outstretched net over the sea.  Rocks suspended from ropes serve as counterweights.  I don’t know if they still use the weight of a man to dip the net into the water, but that’s how they used to operate.  The net is left in the water for a few minutes before it is raised again.  Marcus explained that the catch in these overfished waters is minimal.  Nowadays, they are operated to “catch tourists,” with the fishermen asking for money in return for being photographed.

We arrived back at the port right around 5:30p … just 30 minutes before the scheduled sailaway at 6:00p.  We went through the two checkpoints again, showing our landing cards at each one, and embarked the ship immediately.  We had a 6:30p dinner date with the Gelmans @ Toscana … no time to dally.  Dropping our landing cards in the box set out to collect them from the passengers, we hurried off to get ready for dinner.  By the time we were dressed, the ship was already making its way towards the Arabian Sea … the setting sun behind us was a great big red orb behind the filmy veil of the smog hanging in the air.

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