Spending a day with family in the backwaters of Aleppey on a sunny day, will always be a pleasant memory. Hiring a houseboat for a day is not at all difficult as lots of options are available which suit your pocket. Hiring charges varies from 2500 to even 20,000/- per boat according to the service required.
I think DTPC, Aleppey is doing a wonderful job to promote the tourism activities in the backwaters. But I am a bit concerned about the water pollution and the initiatives to keep it clean. The scarcity of pure drinking water for the residents is also a matter of concern. I hired a small boat that can accommodate a family for half a day trip since the kids would get bored after long drive. Between the boat drive, as per my request, the boat stopped near a lakeside toddy shop, which are available in plenty, from where we got good fish, meat and kappa which are specially prepared. A lot of small cottages for the tourists could be seen on either side of the lake probably aiming the foreign visitors. Ducks and water birds swam in the waters without fear. We could attain a glimpse of Kuttanad and surroundings of Aleppey from the backwaters although our intention was only to enjoy the boating. Small showers in between the sunny day could gasp the beauty of the Vembanad Lake in rain. We were happy that the rain didn’t last long. We were back to our vehicle in the afternoon and proceeded towards Ernakulam for some family engagements.
