And boy.. this is a detour nebody would luv.. right through the middle of the famous backwaters of Alleppy!! .. Kuttannad is not a name that would roll out of ones tongue easily, neither is it as famous as its neighbour - Kumarakom. But this is the heart of Kerala's backwaters and like most of Netherlands is below sea level!! If you want to see people lead a normal life surrounded by water all around, just drive down from Alleppy to Changanassery!! It truly is an amazing drive. The road is good for most parts, barring a few stretches where work is on.
This road has water on either sides. You suddenly get a feel how Lord Rama n his Vanara Sena wud hv felt while crossing over to Lanka!! :) Before the road was built, the only way to got to these places were using boats. People still use boats here and there is a thriving KSWTC (Kerala State Waterways Transport Corp.) service across the region.
On either side of the road, u wud find locals selling freshly caught fish n live ducks!! Its a sight to be seen. This region is criss-crossed by a huge network of canals. You cud also hv a trip down these canals on rented boats.
Once u hv reached Changanaserry, u drive through winding roads to Chengannur. It is amazing how in a course of a few miles, the entire terrain has changed. From the lazy backwaters, we are now in the middle of the ups n downs of western ghats. But nobody's complaining!! :)
After a heavy lunch at Chengannur, we were back on the roads trying to get back to the NH on our way to Trivandrum. I must say the roads in Kerala hv improved tremendously (either that or I hv been conditioned to roads here in Bangalore :) !!) All new roads that are being laid are rubber based ones, which hv longer lifespan and a better finish!! Its a pleasure to drive down these babies!!
On our way back, we again had to take a detour (a detour within a detour!!) due to sm repair works. now this was kinda scary. It was a narrow road with no signs and I just kept going. There was this scorpio ahead of us and I just kept following that!! Abt 2 kms uphill asked a few locals the direction n they said its just round the corner, keep gng str8!! isnt it amazing how its always round the corner when u ask smone for directions!! :) Neways kept gng and the road became narrower and muddier and darker!! Smthings wrong, but atleast there was one more guy making the same mistake .. what a comfort!! All of a sudden one of the most beautiful things that I hv ever seen .. the road opens out into a wide green valley.. and this narrow road thru the middle of it.. and green fields on either sides!! A treat to sore eyes..
Soon we had our first sign that we were on our right track, n in abt an hr we were back on NH-47 zipping down to our final destination- Trivandrum.
As I was driving, I wondered if as Keralites, we tend to ignore the natural wonder tht Kerala is!! Do we take for granted what nature has gifted us or is it a case of "Muttathe Mullakku Manamilla" , which is Malayalam for "the flowers in one's own garden dont smell that good"?!!.. Well I guess I just hv to keep taking more such detours to njoi God's Own Country!!
