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Mark Moxon's Travel Writing

India: Kollam to Alappuzha

Keralan women carrying the daily water supply
Keralan women carrying the daily water supply

That night I struck out on the sleeper train from Madurai to Kollam, my first destination by the Arabian Sea, which laps against the west coast of India. I was only going to Kollam to catch the backwater boat north to Alappuzha, along a particularly pleasant water route along the inland waterways of coastal Kerala, so I hopped straight from the train onto the boat, a transition eased by the willingness of the rickshaw-wallahs to take me exactly where I needed to go (where they got a generous commission, no doubt).

Men bringing in the fishing nets
Bringing in the fishing nets
A water taxi
The local taxi service
Mark taking in the scenery from the top of a canal boat
Taking in the scenery from the boat
A small house tucked away in the backwaters of Kerala
A house tucked away in the palms
A lock on the backwaters
A lock on the backwaters
The placid backwaters of Kerala
The placid backwaters of Kerala