In the morning I went down to the canal boat jetty and got a seat on a small ferry boat heading south to Kollam. It rained heavily at the start of the journey & everyone in the forward deck except myself (dry in my cheap rainponcho) went below.
The scenery of the backwaters is stunning...Views slowly change from narrow canals and dense vegetation to large lakes, open vista's, & dazzling green paddy fields. The slow boat passes Villages & tiny settlements on narrow strips of land with people doing daily chores such as washing clothes at the Rivers edge. Clumps of African Moss float downstream as men in canoes throw nets for fish.
We took a side canal to a nice restaurant. Our lunch consisted of waiters putting down a large green leaved 'plate'(organic/no waste or dishes to wash!) & serving rice & assorted food on it....the French & Austrian travelers next to me asked for utensils but I ate with my fingers like the other Indian tourists...
Soon after lunch we came to the sea entrance (where the Arabian Sea & backwaters converge)..fisherman from small boats returned from the sea and dozens of tripod roped logs(Chinese fishing net platforms) on both side of the canal boat route stand in the air like soldiers at attention.
About 3 hours from Kollam the startling high-rise buildings of Amrithapuri Ashram emerges from the greenery. At the Ashram I got off the boat with four other backpackers from Iran ( I thought they were from Israel!)...I ended up having some nice dialogues with Farshid from Tehran (we both dislike our Presidents!)
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