The sun was about to set as our houseboat entered into the Vembanad Lake for the final leg of our backwaters excursion for the day. Scores of houseboats were jetting in every direction as if they were hurrying home, wherever that was. The vast Vembanad Lake, the longest in India, was immense; one couldn't see the land on the other end.
It had been a wonderful sojourn; the romance of Kerala houseboats certainly lived up to its acclaim. Gliding ever so peacefully on the Kerala backwaters, one couldn't help but soak up the serenity of the rustic scenery of riverside villages, schools, churches and boatyards. Some of the places are only accessible by the waterways. There are no roads.
At Kerala backwaters, where the water canals and rivers meander through the state, it is not surprising that water transportation is one of the main ways to get around. The locals use boats to go to work, go to school, go to market, even go to church.
And then there are some enterprising locals who had thought of reversing that. The Floating Triveni Super Store took the extra step of bringing the store to the locals instead.
The web of waterways in Kerala stretches for 75km from northern Kochi to the southern Kollam. Not surprisingly, the longest lake in India, Vembanad Lake, is part of the waterways system. It is also the largest lake in the state of Kerala.
For some, it's shopping therapy. Others, movie therapy. Yet more, reading therapy. For me, it's writing therapy.