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### Ama’s Ashram to Alleppey

After spending the morning at Ama’s ashram and having an amazing yoga/meditation session overlooking the sunrise, I packed my bags to head to Alleppey. Alleppey is the city known for Kerala’s backwaters, which are a set of lakes and lagoons that run parallel to the ocean. They are connected by canals and fed by 38 rivers. Alleppey has over 1000 houseboats that you can rent out by the hour or for multiday stays. It is a popular honeymoon destination for this reason.

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### Local Kindness

I took a rickshaw from the ashram to Kayankullam (280 INR) and was dropped off at the train station. From there, I took a train to Alleppey. The next train that arrived did not say “Alleppey” on it, but was heading the right direction, so I just asked a woman and her son if the train was going to Alleppey and they said yes. The woman then told me to go with her. She took my hand and guided me on the packed train. All of the seats were taken, so her son climbed onto the metal luggage holder above the seats and proceeded to lie down and take a nap. The woman found one empty seat and beckoned for me to sit, but I thanked her and asked her to please take the seat. The ride to Alleppey was about 1 hour long, and cost around 20 INR. Upon approaching the Alleppey train station, the woman told me that we were close and to get ready to hop off. This meeting with a woman who I had just met and who was so willing to help me is pretty typical of my encounters in India. 

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I got off the train and found a rickshaw to take me to my homestay, which was close to the bus station (87 INR). My homestay didn’t have an address or directions, just a road and a star on a map, so I asked my driver to take me to the bus station and I planned to walk from there. After arriving at the bus station and wandering around for a bit, I couldn’t find the homestay. I then asked a woman if she knew where it was, and she shook her head but then immediately asked me for the phone number of the homestay. I gave it to her, and she called the homestay owner and personally directed me to the right place. This was the second time today that a local woman had gone above and beyond to help me in my travels. 

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### Homestays in India

I arrived at Orchid Homestay and was greeted by Afsal. He was so kind and welcoming, and I was relieved to have arrived after traveling and wandering around with my heavy backpack during the hottest time of the day. My room was very clean and comfortable, and it was also the first time that I had wifi in my room since I arrived in India, so I was pretty stoked to be able to catch up on some work. There was a beautiful outdoor garden area that I hung out in as well. Homestays in India are pretty popular. In fact, they are much more common than hostels (they are starting to pop up more and more). However, not all homestays are what you think they are. The homestays that I’ve stayed at in the past in Latin America were a room in a home with a family, where I was the only other visitor (or maybe there was one more person), and I had meals with that family. In India, this still exists, however many homestays are more like guest houses where you are separate from the family and not involved in their meals or daily life.

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I loved Orchid Homestay (700 INR, about $11 USD per night), and Afsal was so helpful in navigating Alleppey. He set me up with a canoe tour of the backwaters for the next day and recommended a great restaurant down the street, Thaff. I walked down the street and ordered Manchurian mushrooms and rice along with fresh pineapple juice, all of which were delicious. After lunch/dinner I walked around for a bit and explored the city center of Alleppey. To be honest, I wasn’t in love with the city. It was pretty congested and loud. However, I walked a bit outside of the city center to the waterfront and found some peace there. 

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### Solo Female Traveler

I closed out my stroll and headed back to Orchid Homestay at 6:30 when the sun set. I’ve read and been told that it is not safe as a female solo traveller to walk around during dark in India. This is not the case for very touristy places like Varkala (as long as you stay in the popular, well lit areas). However, for most other places I have been told by various Indians that this is true. This is unfortunate, however it has done wonders for my sleeping schedule. I’m now sleeping in rhythms with the sun, versus in the US where I was staying up way later and waking up hours after sunrise. 

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