Kerala – Allepy, Ernakalum and Kochi

Day 02 – Allepy

Allepy is smaller and more laid back compared to Ernakulam. The latter has all the glitz of a big city – almost every brand has a outlet on MG road, and you’d think all the gold from the Gold Rush has ended up there. Every third shop was a jewelery outlet!

Allepy is famous for its house boats. We didn’t stay in one; instead, we took a smaller boat to travel along the backwater for a couple of hours. These smaller boats charge by the hour. One of our relatives was a resident of Alllepy, so he was our guide. He also took us to the Punnamada Backwater Resort. This resort is owned by a popular jeweler known as a Bhima jewelers. If you have a lot of money to spend, I highly recommend this place! If you don’t, there are several smaller options. I suppose the ones facing the water would be the most expensive.

The house boats of Allepy are an interesting sight. But it was quite obvious that there were too many of them, and this was taking a toll on the ecology of the place. The backwaters near the town appeared quite filthy. There was also a lot of water hyacinth – a weed known to choke aquatic life. Admist these huge house boats, there were smaller paddle boats owned by villagers, or used to transport them from one bank to the other.

The Nehru Trophy Boat Race is a famous event in Allepy. i was told that the route that we took is the same as the one on which the race takes place.