Not a Walk by the Lake

Rejuvenated by an ayurvedic massage and refreshing nap, I headed out for an late afternoon adventure by the lake in town.

My first hurdle was communicating to the rickshaw driver my intentions.  Map in hand, I thought it would be easily sorted.  I just wanted to go for a walk by the lake, so I didn’t really care where exactly he took me.

Allepey is bookended by water, the sea on one side and Pallumalla Lake on the other with canals in between.  The lake is the location of a famous annual boat race. 

The driver held my map in his hands and stared at it blankly.  It was written in English, but I thought the bodies of water would be clear in either case.  I repeated the name of the lake, probably without coming close to the correct pronunciation.  We repeated this charade a few times and he finally gestured for me to jump in.

We drove through downtown Alleppey, passing jewelry shops on one side and spice carts on the other, horns honking and pedestrians hurriedly crossing the street between bikes and rickshaws and lorries.  We passed the docking point for houseboats, all in a line along the shore in an array of casual to fancy.  Some had two floors, the bottom with a private room for sleeping and the top a deck for lounging and eating.  Others were like canoes on steroids, with plastic chairs strewn around the deck for passengers to organize to their liking. 

We continued further into the neighborhood, passing rickshaws filled to the brim with small children who saw me and did double-takes (I love that) and waved maniacally as if getting my attention would save a life.  As we continued, the road became rougher.  I bounced along, holding on for dear life less I tumble out of the rickshaw and attract more stares than I do by existing.  We turned a corner and I found myself in a gated resort by the lake, much further north than necessary for a simple glimpse at the lake.

The driver escorted me to the resort’s reception desk, desperate for some real communication.  I conveyed the mishap to the concierge, who seemed to have difficulty thinking of a place I could go to enjoy a view of the lake and take a walk. 

After telling me that the docking point isn’t a great location for walking, he told me that the driver would take me there.

“But I thought you said it wasn’t a good place?”

“Yes.”

“So maybe I shouldn’t go there?”

“Yes.”

He discussed some more with the driver.

“Do people walk by the lake?  Maybe people don’t walk by the lake…” I interjected, wanting to sort this out sooner than later.

“Sorry ma’am, I’m translating for your driver,” he said.  Annoyed at my interruption.

After he finished I asked my question again. 

“Typically people go on a boat ride,” he said in explanation of how people may enjoy the lake. 

This being established, I asked him to convey to my driver that I’ll just head back downtown, close to the mouth of the lake.

After a few more minutes of translating, the concierge said, “He will take you there.”

“Where?” I asked, needing confirmation that I wasn’t being dropped off in no mans land by the lake.

“Downtown.”

I asked for change for my 500 rupee bill, which he didn’t have, and hopped back in the rickshaw sorely disappointed at the failure of my expedition.

After riding through the neighborhood, startling more small children in the process, he turned onto a side road that headed towards the lake. 

“Ah!  Where are you going?”

“Lake.”

Heeding the concierge’s advice that walking by the lake isn’t really done, and worried that he would drop me in a place where rickshaws are hard to come by, I reminded the driver that I really would like to return downtown.

“Vendu, downtown madhi”  (Very childish Malayalam for: I don’t want, downtown is enough.)

We reached a point central enough to grab a rickshaw and close enough to the lake to do some exploring.  I paid him 150 rupees ($3.35) and hopped out, feeling exhausted from the unaccomplished mission and communication disaster.

A few blocks away I happened upon a tourist information center.  Having learned my lesson, I paid 200 rupees to book a sunset boat ride the next day.