Hi,

Hundreds of families live in the backwaters of Kerala. They make a living from their rice fields, which are built by enclosing an area and draining out the water. Bordering these fields are the traffic-free roads of the villages and parallel to them are the canals. These canals are the arteries of the village. People wash their clothes, pots, pans and themselves in the flowing water that also acts as a carriageway for the canoes – the main transport of the islanders.

Diana and I had hired a 24-hour barge to explore the backwaters. Six hours into our luxury journey, complete with captain, chef, and butler, we stopped and dropped anchor for the evening. We decided to take a walk to one of the villages and were greeted by extremely friendly locals. One man was throwing nets into the water and lifting them up quickly catching small fish. He managed to communicate to us that they were great for frying and let me have a go at fishing! Further down the street children were collecting flowers for us and a boy picked some exotic sweet and sour fruit from their trees for us!

We walked a couple of kilometres till we reached the edge of the island. A bridge offered us a way to the next island but we declined, and started walking back to the barge. On the way, we met the fisherman riding his bicycle to the nearest water point to get some fresh water for cooking and drinking. He waved and we waved back smiling and thinking about life in the backwaters.

Meanwhile, back on the boat, a candlelit dinner was waiting for us. The chef had whipped up a Chicken Masala with pineapple curry and other delicious Keralan dishes. As night fell, we were serenaded by crickets and toads and entertained by insects dancing around us.

But the charm of nature started to take a different twist as the insects increased. It took a double spread of insect repellent to keep the insects off us to be able to enjoy the rest of the night. It smelt so strong I had a feeling it would have repelled reptiles, birds and mammals as well. We sat for over an hour watching a spider spin a web, then as the evening rain came, we retired inside under the shelter of our mosquito nets.

At around midnight the storm increased its pitch. The dark windows of the barge came to life with every flash of lightening, as though offering a canvas to nature’s art. The strong wind twisted the pouring rain, and with the backdrop of small islands covered in palm trees and colourful bushes, every picture was a different masterpiece.

But Diana was not enjoying the show. She was terrified, and eventually woke up all the crew members with her sobs. She begged me to take her on ashore convinced that our barge would sink in the backwaters. My words of comfort weren't much use because I couldn't keep a straight face and laughed at every word of terror she mumbled in this nightmare of hers. I managed to calm her down a little when I reminded her that we were on a three-metre high floating house in two-metre deep water.

The next morning the painting on the wall was full of sunlight, with birds singing and the canoes moving up and down the river. The sweet smell of breakfast invited us to go out in the fresh air and enjoy the rest of our fairytale as we sailed back to our starting point.

Take care,

Dery xxx