We started our day early with a 7am train to Kollam and then from there, a train to Munroe Island which is made up of a cluster of 13 islands, separated by small water channels and lakes and is a good way to see the backwaters of Kerala, which is one of the highlights here. We booked to actually stay on Munroe Island in a homestay where we have our own little chalet but a family look after us and cook our meals. When we arrived, we chilled out on the balcony for most of the morning and had a sleep (we did have an early get up). The host made us our lunch and then we sat on the balcony drinking chai which is pretty similar to tea but a lot sweeter and more milky. Later in the afternoon we cycled round the island which was really nice and because it’s not very touristy here, the locals were all saying hello, waving as we went past and asking for photos. We felt like celebrities, especially when we stopped off to watch sunset and around 20 students were around us asking for selfies and taking sly photo’s of us. Their teacher was asking us questions and they were all videoing us, it was like we were being interviewed! Later in the evening, an English couple arrived at the homestay so we had our tea with them.
The next day, we had an early start again – 5.30am! We went on a backwaters canoe cruise where we were taken down all the small channels and could see the people in the villages getting on with their day to day jobs and through the big lakes which were very pretty also. We stopped to watch sunrise and then continued for around two and a half hours in total. On the way round we saw a couple of otters in the water and stopped off at a local place to get a Chai to take with us in the boat. We had a really good time, so it was worth getting up early for! We came back and had breakfast made for us, chilled out on the balcony again until after lunch and then went out on the bikes to explore more of the island. We stopped off at a little local place which looked like a fruit and veg stall but was busy with locals stood outside. We stopped off and they were making fresh fruit drinks so we both tried one. They were very nice but very different, we picked a fruit we wanted and it was mixed with different spices and ginger! In the evening we sat and chatted to the English couple, had a couple of beers and had our food cooked for us!
Kerry and Jonho's Travels 