Alleppey

We landed at Kaits Home - a great family homestay on the backwaters near Alleppey. Jossy and his family welcomed us along with his extended family of brothers, uncles, children, neices and nephews! It was an extended holiday for everyone as there was a bus strike (unions are very strong in Kerala and a strike shuts everything down including schools and shops - "together united, we'll never be divided!"). Kerala's government alternates every 5 years - communist party, then democratic congress. It makes it very difficult for investors and public works projects, but they have a 100% literacy rate which is pretty impressive. This seems to be mainly because of the presence of Christians which is the pervasive religion here - they invest alot in education. The backwaters are gorgeous, with houseboats floating up and down the peaceful tributaries. Everyone uses the water for everything - laundry, bathing, swimming, fishing, and the occassional waste receptacle, but it seems surprisingly clean compared to other water bodies we have encountered so far. We took a 3 hour boat tour to Alleppey where we disembarked our mighty vessel, had some lunch, a massage and then returned to Kaits for another delicious traditional Keralan meal. We are definitely getting a chance to eat locally and plentifully.