This backwater tour is the reason I came to Kochi in India.
How I Booked the Kochi Water Tour?
I signed up for backwater tour from one of those tour offices you see on the street in Kochi Fort in 2012. You see posters and stuff and you will recognize. It’s always cheaper to arrange things locally. I bought the package for around Rs.650. It’s not expensive considering lunch and transportation is included. The details is similar to this Cochin Backwater Tour: http://www.daytoursincochin.com/cochin-backwater-tour/ They charge $80 for this tour (Noooo way!!!) and honestly, I didn’t even try to bargain for a Rs.650 tour (roughly $12).
The Tour….!
I was picked up in the morning and taken to a river. There were only two groups, with only 8-12 in each group. And interestingly, most people were ‘local tourists’. I was surprised!
There were no crocodiles or animals in the river…. but I enjoyed the setting. This is Southern India!
We were sitting on a small bamboo boat. And it was manually moved by our sailor/captain/boatman with this long pole, like gondola. It’s very tiring. I feel sad for the working class people in India. It’s low paid and rarely respected as a profession.
The tour was very quiet. And I watched this man repeatedly punting our boat. It’s relaxing to be here, but I wonder how much he’d get paid.
So I was actually glad when we were taken to two islands. (It means break time for him!) The first one was a local factory where the locals grind shells as powder.
And we were demonstrated how locals use coconut to make sturdy ropes.
I thought the tour would be touristic, but it was actually okay. I felt I learned something, and the locals were friendly. I even bought some dry banana chips from a local. (Rs.20 per bag)
And the second island we went to was our lunch place.
We were taken to a hut where our food was served on a banana leaf. It’s vegetarian of course (too sad that there wasn’t fish!) We had to go to a pump to manually pump water out for washing our hands (I was the only person who had a spork!)
Did you see our boat in this picture?
After lunch there wasn’t much left. We just headed back.
It could be the off-season that there weren’t animals to see, I actually went in May and it was pretty hot. Will I recommend this tour to my family? Yes, because I know they like to do sightseeing boat. But honestly it’s not the most exciting tour. If you like rafting or other water sports, then this tour is probably not for you. It’s very quiet…
Traveling Mega
