From the craziness of Rajasthan to the sublime of Kerala, it's almost hard to believe we're still in
the same country. The Kerala back water area is calm, soothing and beautiful. Brilliant green rice paddies rimmed by water canals, coconut palms and colorful houses. Life here revolves around the water whether it is for transportation, tourism, fishing, flooding the rice paddies or even herding ducks.
At the start of this trip we would never have imagined that we would be cruising the back waters of Kerala on the deck our own private luxury rice barge. The barge comes complete with all meals, full body shower, an upper viewing deck, flat screen TV and four men to attend to our every need for the three days all for under $300.
In all honesty we probably should add a few caveats about our luxury cruise. Our motto in travel is to always expect the unexpected. Hence we have gotten
pretty savvy about asking some critical questions before agreeing to any deal in India.
If we see hot and cold fixtures on the shower we must ask if the shower actually has hot water. Does it come in a bucket or does the shower valve work? ‘Oh yes Madam, hot water shower 24 hours.’ Does the crew speak English? Does the fan work? We always hope we've covered all the critical questions but not! Who would have thought to ask if there was enough water pressure to actually use the shower head let alone use the full body sprays? There is hot water 24 hours but we forgot to ask if it was available to us during those 24 hours. ‘No problem Madam, just wait 30 minutes, I will turn on’. We also forgot to ask if the light bulbs in the ceiling lights actually worked so we could read after dark. (How could we have forgotten?) The fan did
work but only on high speed and high decibel. The flat screen TV was great if we wanted to watch a Hindi movie with no subtitles. 
Thankfully we were more interested in relishing the few moments of quiet listening to the frogs chirping in the rice paddies. And that beautiful upper deck for our viewing pleasure… well, who would have thought it ask if the staff would be napping up there during the day.
At this point we just laugh, it is India after all. Nothing is ever as it appears. What phased us in the beginning of our travels is now what we enjoy about our India adventure. We continue to let go of expectations and enjoy the unexpected.
the same country. The Kerala back water area is calm, soothing and beautiful. Brilliant green rice paddies rimmed by water canals, coconut palms and colorful houses. Life here revolves around the water whether it is for transportation, tourism, fishing, flooding the rice paddies or even herding ducks.At the start of this trip we would never have imagined that we would be cruising the back waters of Kerala on the deck our own private luxury rice barge. The barge comes complete with all meals, full body shower, an upper viewing deck, flat screen TV and four men to attend to our every need for the three days all for under $300.
In all honesty we probably should add a few caveats about our luxury cruise. Our motto in travel is to always expect the unexpected. Hence we have gotten
pretty savvy about asking some critical questions before agreeing to any deal in India.If we see hot and cold fixtures on the shower we must ask if the shower actually has hot water. Does it come in a bucket or does the shower valve work? ‘Oh yes Madam, hot water shower 24 hours.’ Does the crew speak English? Does the fan work? We always hope we've covered all the critical questions but not! Who would have thought to ask if there was enough water pressure to actually use the shower head let alone use the full body sprays? There is hot water 24 hours but we forgot to ask if it was available to us during those 24 hours. ‘No problem Madam, just wait 30 minutes, I will turn on’. We also forgot to ask if the light bulbs in the ceiling lights actually worked so we could read after dark. (How could we have forgotten?) The fan did
work but only on high speed and high decibel. The flat screen TV was great if we wanted to watch a Hindi movie with no subtitles. 
Thankfully we were more interested in relishing the few moments of quiet listening to the frogs chirping in the rice paddies. And that beautiful upper deck for our viewing pleasure… well, who would have thought it ask if the staff would be napping up there during the day.
At this point we just laugh, it is India after all. Nothing is ever as it appears. What phased us in the beginning of our travels is now what we enjoy about our India adventure. We continue to let go of expectations and enjoy the unexpected.
Whoah! That's a lot of ducks!
ReplyDeleteNice digs! (way too many exclamation points, Don) I think I would probably prefer it if the tv and lights didn't work, the fan is altogether another matter (who am I to speak, my office fan is stuck on high and I wear a sweater when I work).
I digress. I'm glad to see you're getting more laid-back. I much prefer laughing at how messed-up things are than spending my time stressing.
By the way, how are you two? Healthy? Rested? Keep the posts coming.
Don