Granary Resort Alappuzha

If you stay in Alleppey and don't hear this song you haven't been to the Lemon Tree.


The lyrics may sound sad but they are oh so true...and it makes me laugh.

Lemon Tree ....Fools Garden

I'm sittin' here in the boring room
It's just another rainy sunday afternoon
I'm wasting my time, I got nothing to do
I'm hanging around, I'm waiting for you
But nothing ever happens and I wonder

I'm driving around in my car
I'm driving too ...

... w niewielkich ilosciach. Na niektorych wysepkach sa male sklepiki, swiatynie, koscioly, szkoly. Pushpan - kapitan naszej lodzi mieszka w jednej z tych wiosek. W domu czeka na niego zona i 2 corki, jedna z nich ma ok 20 lat i powinna juz wyjsc za maz, ale Pushpan nie ma pieniedzy na 'danine', ktora zwykle daje sie przyszlemu mezowi. Daniny takie sa ciagle norma w Indiach. Zwykle jest to jednorazowa rzecz, ale jesli natrafi sie na bardzo zachlanna tesciowa, to ...

... player - all this just for us. Moreover there were three very friendly full-time crew, the cook, the captain and the assistant. We spent the days cruising the backwaters while reading, sleeping, eating and gazing around. Sometimes we also stopped for a walk in the villages - to sum it up it was really relaxing and enjoyed it a lot. We recommend it to everyone as a gateaway break.

... and an even colder face towel (which Cameron refused to give back) to being shown to our beautifully furnished room with aged, dark, carved wood doors and ceilings, we couldn't have been happier. We decided to take a brief exploratory stroll to get our bearings so, without stopping to change our clothes, we headed out of the gates. Perhaps we were still recovering from the drive as what happened next seems so obvious now. Cameron made a bee ...

... problems, "Aevertas Natana" for kidney stones, an insulin plant for lowering blood sugar/controlling diabetes, and "Salacious Eschellius (?) or something like that, for memory. Many of the non-medicinal food are used in the dishes prepared there. (PIX OF PLANTS AT POOPPALLYS) After our walk, we relaxed by the water until the heat and humidity tired us out and we moved inside under a fan. Before lunch, we took a walk along the riverside path to the Hindu ...

... buses dont have boots to put your bag like good auld bus eireann - actually they have no where to put them except on yourself adding to the squeeze! However, there is something magical about having the breeze of Indian (warm humid) air blowing through your hair (rememebr-no windows), weaving in and out from other insane bus drivers and truckers and watching the coconut and banana trees soak up the heat. After 4 ass-numbing hours (by now the bus was ...

So we arrive in Cochin in the morning after a quick flight ... most of which was spent worrying that the ****** plane wouldn't sudden;y stall and land in the middle of a cotton field ... we got through it OK. Me, Mikko, and Tobi ... it was a great first day. Luckily I had Tobi on the trip who is all about a good meal and a crisp glass of wine (or beer) to tote ...

... around Fort Cochi and some final ...

... broke through but I could still count more vendors and stray dogs on the beach than sunbathers. This was definitely not the right time of year to be here. I gave it a couple of days, but if anything the place just felt more and more like Ghost Town-On-Sea. After accidentally stepping on a sleeping dog I decided this was not the place for me. The next morning I packed my bag and boarded a train to Varkala, another beach town described ...

... would have been proud of. Drifting off to sleep a couple of times I was awoken first time by the realisation my foot had poked out the bottom and with only 3 bites, I think I got off lightly. Second time I awoke to find a tiny little bedmate had snuk in (not Soph) for a cuddle/blood-transfusion. Reactions of a praying mantis kicked in and I took him out with a karate-chopping right-hander with added Tarantino-esque sound effects, splatting the little bleeder (getit) like a ...