Kerala Backwaters: Nets, Spice and Green Silence

A personal diary of a slow journey through Kochi and Alleppey, from Fort Kochi’s waterfront to the still backwaters of Alleppey and back again.

In the evening at Fort Kochi, the Chinese fishing nets creaked up and down against an orange sky, while the whole town seemed to gather along the waterfront. Dinner was karimeen pollichathu wrapped in banana leaf.

I began the morning with a walk through Mattancherry, where the air carried the scent of pepper and cardamom near the old spice warehouses. From there, I continued into the quiet lanes of Jew Town. In the afternoon, I took a ferry across the harbour just to feel the breeze. Kochi rewards the slow traveler.

It was houseboat day on the Alleppey backwaters. Palms leaned over the green water, kingfishers flashed past, and toddy was tapped fresh from the tree. We ate lunch moored under a coconut grove: rice, thoran, and prawns cooked by the boat’s own chef. I slept to the sound of water against the hull.

At sunrise, the paddies were still wrapped in mist and the canals were quiet. I had chai on the deck before heading back to Kochi. I returned with a memory card full of green and a promise to come back during Onam.

The journey ended in Kochi, but the backwaters, the spice-scented lanes, and the quiet mornings on the water stayed with me on the way home.