Keralan waters: Possible to rent or buy canoe-like boat for 2 or 3 day trip?

asimpson1983

Hey - a friend and I will be traveling to India...we will dedicate perhaps 2 or 3 months to the country.

I'm wondering something - we're into the rock climbing/backpacking/roughing it type thing...is it possible to simply buy or perhaps rent your own small canoe-like boat and take a 2 or 3 day trip along the waters of Kerala, traveling from one place to the other? This would be quite cool, but if nothing like this exists or if there are many reasons to not even attempt to enjoy one's self doing it, then I won't worry about it.

Thanks,
Andrew

Nick-H

The first thing that occurs to me (apart from it being a lovely idea) is that I think you would just get lost. I don't think there are any good maps of the backwaters available, and certainly nothing that a non-local sailor would recognise as an aid to navigation.

Yes, it would be quite cool, and I'd be very interested if anyone can tell us I'm wrong in saying, no, it is not possible.

__________________
.


Just one member of the IndiaMike Mod Team

machadinha

Maybe if you invest a bit more than just a few days? I imagine pulling up at any 2-house hamlet you'd be welcome to crash on the (quite possibly very small, as in the surroundings tend to be mostly water, indeed) grounds at least. You'd be the talk of the, er, hamlet, that's for sure, and most likely all of the surrounding ones!

Kindly note that should you get serious about this, there'd be very little chance of you being able to converse with your hosts or most anyone you meet and may have to rely on (Kerala's overall high literacy rate notwithstanding). So practice your miming & good humor (or your Malayalam, or whatever local languages or dialects may prevail). As for the vessel, you may have to bring your own, I really have no idea. It is an attractive proposition though, I'd be surprised if you were the first to do it.

__________________
Reading tips, all picked up at IndiaMike : INDAX's A Comprehensive Guide To India / Dinoj Surendran's Desi Humor / ITHVC on Culture Shock & Travel Health / JetLag Travel Guides For the Undiscerning Traveller / India Travel Links

asimpson1983

Ah ok, at least you're not ruling it out altogether. It sounds like from what you're saying that it is doable but not a developed pursuit (yet). Can you think of any place where we would be able to purchase simple watercrafts?

machadinha

Nope. I guess your best bet would be where the ferries (just local transport really, the tourist angle is of a much more recent date) & houseboats (definitely tourist trade, and again a relatively recent development) ply their business. If it is possible at all to find a vessel for your own use there, I simply don't know. I reckon if someone can make a buck out of it... where there's a will there's usually a way, and all that.

Suggest reading Kerala Backwaters - A cruise on budgets! (2003) for the usual suspect towns. Don't take Nick's comment too lightly: The backwaters are huge, I wouldn't want to get lost there like the proverbial babe in the, er, swampy forests. Where I was there were indeed villages and hamlets galore, but then again that is where those ferries naturally ply their business, I imagine there'll be stretches with no such thing. Not something to be undertaken lightly no doubt, and I don't think there'll be any infrastructure to support you as such, no.

I guess if you could get hold of a canoe or similar you might as well be able to get a guide to accompany you in his own.

However and ps,

You're getting into wishful thinking here, which doesn't render me optimistic about your plans. Neither of us said any such thing, rather carefully the opposite. What makes it theoretically doable is that there's obviously water there. That's about it. I know of no stories of anyone who's done this before. You say you're into "rock climbing/backpacking/roughing it." If you're not seriously into boating as well & fully aware of the area you're speaking of, I'd suggest writing it away under nice ideas, but better not. Maybe the Everglades means something to you? I wouldn't say the backwaters are quite as rough, but solo'ing it in either I'm not too sure about either way. Apart from navigating you'll have the conditions to deal with and whatnot (climate, critters, etc.)

asimpson1983

Fair enough...I'm not trying to twist your words, nor am I looking for you guys to approve or condone this thing - just seeking a bit of information from experts.

Honestly, it's not like this is a huge dream that I'm set on, I just thought it could be an interesting and adventurous activity. We'll probably do a bit more research, but in the end, it may be best to just go there, employ common sense, and judge for ourselves. Ya know?

-Andrew

camelgirl

You will be in India long enough to sort out any plan you come up with. Indians are very helpful and there are all sorts of adventure companies all around India. You will also meet others like yourself who will have good information to pass on. I doubt that you would ever want to buy any kind of a boat, what would you do with it after 3 days? But if you hire a guide with a boat, you may have a wonderful journey in the backwater. We just did a standard little backwater tour in a dugout canoe which was excellent. You could probably arrange something that would suit you more with even just a State tourist office.

India is amazingly open to most any kind of tourist adventure! This is just one link I got when I googled Adventure tours India. I didn't read it but it may give you some ideas for further research. http://www.keralatours.us/kerala-adv...-canoeing.html

http://www.adventuretoursindia.com/a...re-sports.html

__________________
My selected India photos http://www.indiamike.com/photopost/s...r/7030/cat/500

SitaParityaga

I think your idea is totally fascinating. Whether or not you give it a try, you've brought up a great topic! I did a two nighter on the backwaters, in a two bedroom kettuvallum, about three years ago....how's that for numbers! I never saw or heard of anyone doing this route, as a foreigner on their own, in their own boat.

But what gets my attention is the thought I had while there....gee, wouldn't it be cool to kayak through these canals, and I wondered why no one was doing it yet (at least from what I could see), but probably will some day.....

If I were to give this a go tomorrow, I'd figure out how much I'd like to spend in advance, then go down to the docks in Alleppey, look around at bothe boats you see, then bargain with folks to let you rent what you like...of coursse they will want to accomany you, and ya know, that ain't such a bad deal.

Like Nick said, you won't get lost, they'll steer you around shallow waters, find easy places to stop at/spend the night, and if you are totally blessed, a great cook as well. You'll see beautiful places, wildlife, local life, and electric green rice fields.

Nick-H

Well, there you go... Camelgirl has found you a possibility.

Doing it on your own, I'd think is a 'no'. You'd probably have a better chance of finding English speakers in rural Kerala than in a lot of other places, but I don't think you can just rely on hospitality, and sleeping in the open would not be safe.

Sailaway

A bit of canoeing (maybe half an hour?) was included in a backwater package we did last December. My wife and I did the rowing and the owner? of the canoe steered with a stick. Well, for us who are totally un-athletic it was so tiring that we had to rest every five minutes, and obviously we didn't get too far. At all.

I notice some hotels list "boat rental" in their list of services, but I don't know exactly what they mean. I do think that the form of canoeing we did is becoming a popular activity, because as we were rowing we saw another canoe passing by with a sign saying "mentioned in rough guide".

Maybe, just maybe you can hire a boat with a boatman (like hiring a taxi for sightseeing, which is in some cases an excellent choice) so that you can use the boatman as a guide, so that you won't get lost?

Nick-H

I used to 'rent' one of the Coconut Lagoon boats (traditional Kerala boats, but of smaller size, easily pottered around in by one or two), even in the heat of midday.

The staff would ask, "Sir, why not come back in two or three hours, when it is cooler?", but being half mad dog and wholly English I wouldn't listen --- I was headed for gentle pottering under the shade of the trees, watching the birds and the wildlife, anyway; no athletic rowing in the hot sun.

I loved it, and hope, one day soon, to live close enough to a backwater to have my own boat. That was always the plan; a house in Chennai a stepping stone. I might, economically, have missed that boat (literally), but that's another story, and we'll see.

Nick-H

First catch your local...

camelgirl

My kind of adventure--we didn't even try to paddle though

machadinha

Looks to be just about what was asked for, right

anar

like a car for hire in india (always comes with a driver), a boat too would be possible to rent, but with the services of a boatman included, imho.