South India: Kerala: Green Palm Homes, Part III

Green Palm Homes, Part III

Yet another interesting part of our stay at Green Palms involved a trip to the local watering hole. We're noticed that Kerala in general seemed to be a mostly dry province. The sale of alcohol is heavily regulated. (Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that it is a Communist state?) In fact, they even take down your name and address when you buy beer at the mainland store.

The main exception to this stringent rule is the sale of toddy. As mentioned previously, toddy is the fermented sap of the coconut flower. I suppose that being an indigenous brew, that pretty much anybody can make at home, it would just be too cumbersome to regulate it heavily. Toddy seems to be the brew of choice here in the backwaters.

Thomas gamely brought us to the local toddy shop for a taste. All the patrons were men (no surprise), who were quite discomfited by the sight of all these tourists barging in on their local pub.

I wish we took better pictures of the place, but it was very dark inside. It was a very no-frills place --- a tiny shack with a low door, lit by a single lightbulb. There were two semiprivate stalls with rustic, rough-hewn benches and tables. DJKung went to the bar, and saw that all they sold was toddy in clear, unlabeled glass bottles. We sat with two men at one of the stalls, but they quickly left us. Too bad, we were ready to engage in some local gossip too.

Cheers! Toddy is definitely an acquired taste. I was expecting a strong local brew like the Indonesian arrak (coconut wine), which is great with ice and honey. Thomas said that he gave us the strong, day-old stuff. It was a cloudy thin liquid, just like in the picture. To me, it tasted like rice vinegar!!!

Thomas had hired some canoes for us. He also entertained us with folk songs while they rowed home. It was a magical moment, just listening to them singing along with the swoosh of the paddles going through the water. Once in a while, kids would wave at us, and we would wave back.

On our last night at Green Palms, DJKung and I went for the sunset cruise on a small motorized boat. We had the boat all to ourselves too, and puttered around the backwaters for two hours. Along the route, some people were taking their evening baths or just washing dishes. Some locals were indoors watching tv. Our guide had excellent timing. We reached a big lake and lingered there a bit and waited for the sun to set.

DJKung being amazed at the breathtaking sunset views.

We attracted some hangers-on, who I guess were either in a rush, or were just getting tired of paddling.

Hanging around in the big lake. I like how the coconut trees in the background are of different heights, like notes on a scale.

Overall, we highly recommend Green Palms. It gave us a taste of how life was like in the Keralan backwaters. I felt that Thomas has some ambivalence with how tourism in general is affecting the community. It is a fragile ecosystem--- too much tourism will certainly degrade both the environment and the people's way of life, yet at the same time, some tourism is needed to support the local economy. There is no easy answer, I'm afraid. Nevertheless, we feel especially privileged to have experienced the backwaters with such a gracious and knowledgeable host.