Cruise for 7 rubles - a reality in India

Friends, what do you do when there is still a lot of time traveling to your train in any city, and you have already completed the main program and watched everything that was planned? It was precisely such a theme that arose in the Indian city of Alleppey after we had already rolled on a houseboat and again set our feet on the shores of this Indian Venice. Take a walk? Yes of course! But it is only advisable not to spend a lot of money. And there are many tourists in Alleppey, so wise Indians are not at all averse to tearing more rupees from them (us).

We came back to the center and started looking for the berth of state boats - do you remember that communism is in Kerala?

And in the field of river transport, it practically took place. From the small river station, water buses leave for just 7 rupees! What a contrast with the expensive houseboat, where we paid 10 thousand for one night on it!

These trams are very simple, without frills, about the following:

We had no idea where the boat we were boarding and into which another 100 Indians loaded with us — housewives with purchases, grandmothers in saris, schoolchildren with backpacks and men in skirts.

They only knew that it was suburban, because there was still a long-range one nearby - to a neighboring city. Just like a vaporetto in Venice!

The sailors quickly moored, and we sailed. On the way, they regularly approached the bus stops, very similar to bus stops - with a small pier and a small canopy. At the same time, the mooring and descent took place very quickly, literally in a few seconds, without any gangways - people simply jumped to the berths.

Finally, when we had already sailed several canals and lakes, the conductor, who sold tickets, waved that it was time for us to go out. Why it is here is difficult to say, but we did not argue. And they were in the middle of a small, unremarkable, but completely Indian, Kerala village.

There was a school right at the stop of river boats on the banks of the canal.

It was about 12 noon, and no one was running around - the children diligently sat at their desks and studied. We went into one of the classes, said hello. A young teacher taught a lesson in first grade. These guys, like our first graders, are 6-7 years old.

High school students studied in the neighboring building.

We moved on. This time we came across a small shop.

And then ... the restaurant!

Yes, it was very simple, from the dishes there they served a standard Indian lunch, and from drinks - Coca-Cola and coconut milk directly from coconuts.

And so they get it right there from the palm tree.

But nevertheless, for comparison, in ordinary Russian villages can you often find restaurants? Moreover, beyond a few hundred meters we came across three or four more cafes, and several more food stalls! That is, the locals, it turns out, are wealthy enough to have a snack outside the house.

And in many cafes, as it turned out, live tame birds - Indian eagles! Like these ones.

Finally, we turned off the main canal, where water buses and imposing houseboats snooped, and found ourselves on the banks of a small canal lying in the shadow of tall palm trees that grew densely along the banks. Here was the usual village life, stairs went into the water at every house, women stood on many, washed clothes, washed dishes ... Children played next to the paths, cats walked. There were a lot of cats here. :)

And then we heard the noise of a running motor. It turned out that this mill worked, where flour was made from rice!

Having returned from such a mini-cruise, we decided to visit the local Alleppey beach. We got there on a tuk-tuk. The beach hit us. It was huge, spacious, full of clean yellow sand. However, here ... no one swam! Only two or three couples of Indians roamed along the coast.

After sitting there and eating delicious pineapples in a local small cafe, we realized that it was time to move on. But we did not want to wait for the train until the evening, all the more, he was late again ... And we went to the bus station, where after about 15 minutes we got onto the bus with the help of local residents. An old Ashok Leyland, of which thousands run along Indian roads. Instead of glass, he had rubber curtains.

He walked to Trivandram, the provincial capital. But we drove very slowly and for a long time: 200 kilometers for almost 6 hours. It was terrible!!! True, along the way, Anton monitored the trains and said that now the train to Kanyakumari will go from Trivandram - just where we needed to. And we rushed headlong to the station, it was across the road from the bus station. With train numbers, as usual at Indian stations, there was a full paragraph, they were not visible either on the cars or on the scoreboard. Finally, having double-circled all platforms with bags in their teeth and questioning the Indians, we hopped into the carriage when it was already moving off. Are we going this way? But the train, as if reading our doubts, drove 50 meters and stopped. And then he stood still for about 10 minutes and moved ... in the opposite direction - nevertheless, to where we needed.

True, we did not manage to take tickets. Hooked up to some poor Indian family, almost did not speak English ... Husband and wife, two small daughters, wife's parents - all went in elegant holiday clothes, sometimes at or at the wedding ... Very friendly, little girl in general me fell in love and did not leave for a minute.

And now the moment of truth, a tall, serious, like a school teacher, Indian guide, wearing glasses and an indispensable mustache, enters the carriage. We got ready for a showdown ... The conductor asked us for tickets, but, realizing that the white Mr. and Madame were only 2 hours away, he waved his hand and said:

- And there is no problem, drive so without a ticket!

In general, we arrived without any problems. And then they took a rickshaw and, finally, at half past ten in the night they checked into their hotel in Kanyakumari. The hotel was nice, with spacious, albeit dark, rooms and even a pool. True, his price did not please us again ...