Cochin & Alappuzha

Dearest Rachel –

I’m not entirely sure which of these cities I should be telling you about. We’re docking in the former – well, eventually; we’re not expected to arrive until after noon – but I’ll be spending most of my time in the second, cruising (yes, I get off one ship to board another – is that ironic, or what?) the backwaters of the latter on a motorboat. So which one is more significant?

Well, I could start off by pointing out that, despite the data on our tickets calling our port ‘Cochin,’ that doesn’t seem to actually be its name – or at least, not anymore, as India has changed the names of a number of places within itself, to better reflect what the locals refer to their city, town or village as. Most prominent among these changes are Mumbai (formerly Bombay) and Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), but Cochin is no longer the name of this city, either, but rather Kochi. Why Royal Caribbean hasn’t updated their documentation, I’ve no idea; they refer to Mumbai just fine, after all.

Not only that, but they also refer to the place I’m going as part of my shore excursion as Alappuzha, when it too had had its name changed from Alleppey. Why Kochi is the exception to the rule, I’ve no idea.

None of this really helps me decide which of these two places I should really be going over in this little bit of research. Maybe I should stick with the fact that they’re both in the state of Kerala (yes, India has states, just like the U.S. – they just don’t make as big a deal of it. To be sure, the U.S. was the first country to independently adopt a federal form of government, so its unique status as such was reflected in the name; for anywhere else to call itself “the United States of [name of country]” would just be plagiarism. Granted, several regions of India aren’t states at all but merely union territories, administered directly from Delhi, so don’t plan on referring to the “United States of India” any time soon, anyway), and work my way from there.

Kerala is located on what is referred to as the Malabar Coast; essentially from the southern tip of India and moving in a northwesterly direction from there. It is the only state with Malayalam as its official language (although English is a secondary official language as well, thankfully), and while I can’t that there’s any connection, the highest literacy rate of any Indian state at 96.2% as of 2018. Not surprisingly, it also has the highest media exposure of any state, with newspapers publishing in nine different languages (although primarily in Malayalam and English). It is also one of the most urbanized states in India (beaten out only by its neighbor to the east, Tamil Nadu), with over 47% of its population living in cities… including, of course, Kochi and Alappuzha.

Then again, since taking this trip, I’ve seen what’s included as part of certain cities, and I kind of wonder how they get away with calling those areas ‘urban’ at all. But whatever.

In any event, it would seem that Alappuzha is referred to as the “Venice of the East” due to its extensive network of backwaters and the unique lifestyle of its residents, who rely on the waterways for transportation, fishing, and agriculture. It’s renowned for its mesmerizing backwaters, a network of interconnected canals, rivers, lakes, and lagoons that stretch along the coast of Kerala, reminiscent of Venice, making it a popular destination for travelers seeking a peaceful and idyllic getaway. At least that’s the basic idea of what we expect to see and do tomorrow.

At the same time, it’s a trip that’s going to come close to violating my rule about time spent at the destination compared to time spent getting to and returning from it; at only 33 miles from Kochi harbor, you might think it’s a little more than a half hour away. You would be wrong, by a factor of three or four. As I’ve said before, there doesn’t seem to be anywhere in Asia where you can drive a mile a minute, or even anything close. So half the time is likely to be spent just riding in the bus. Then again, how often does one get to ride a houseboat through canals that act as streets? Sometimes, the experience is worth the trip.

We’re going to find out tomorrow, I suppose. Until then, honey, keep an eye on me, and wish me luck. I’m going to need it.