For an extremely relaxing 20 hours we had our own houseboat to cruise the lagoon, river, & canal backwaters south of Cochin.

It took our driver about 2 hours to drive us to Allepey. Along the way we passed many small villages with short glimpses through the palm trees revealing sandy beaches along the Indian Ocean.

I saw a sign that said “Hot Chips.” I asked our driver what it meant & he said, “banana chips.” I thought it sounded like a great place to get some local junk food, so we stopped. Every thing we sampled tasted good; but, I only picked two kinds.

Once we arrived, a small power boat shuttled us to our private houseboat.

Over the next day, we enjoyed wonderful local meals & time to relax without all the loud, hustle bustle in the city.

A three man crew took care of us.

The view was always interesting.

We made one stop where we saw the oldest church in India which was founded in 427 CE during the Roman Empire.

About 2% of Indians are Christians; but, the % is much higher along the coast in Kerala due to the long European influence. We saw many churches on our drive to & from the houseboat.

It was a wonderful & peaceful way to wake up with a cup of tea.

Great experience.