PS: If you are here only for the actual boat race experience, head to Part II already.
For a long time, I’ve always seen visuals of the famed snake boat race in Kerala, and it looked really fascinating. This time around, when I got to know that the Nehru Trophy Boat Race was happening on August 22nd, I decided that since I have a work-from-home situation, I could actually go watch and enjoy it. In anticipation, I booked my trains two months back as soon as they opened (the tickets are gone a few minutes after they open:/). Thankfully, I got a confirmed ticket. I still kept looking for the boat race tickets on the official website and followed every detail directing me to it. I called up the TTDC, and they said me it would open in a few days. While randomly looking for it again, I found that the ticket would be available on August 11th, a couple of weeks before the race. I booked the gold ticket (₹3000) literally the minute it went live.
Also, this would be my second time visiting Alleppey. The last time was a fast-paced solo circuit of Fort Kochi, Alleppey, and Varkala. I really liked Alleppey back then, especially when I took a ₹54 government ferry to Kottayam. It was so beautiful, and Alleppey itself is just a soothing place. Back then, I also did a 3-hour kayak, and I still remember the moments 4 years later.
Day 1
The day started late, or I should say very early. My train was at 3:00 a.m. from Chennai on August 20th. The train was about an hour late, so at the station, I just decided to shoot some videos. I’ve been trying to shoot content for a long time, so this was a good opportunity, and I made a reel out of it-
I was dreading today because my allocated seat was a MIDDLE BIRTH!! and I wanted to sleep because this is my usual sleeping hours. Luckily the co-passengers didn’t disturb me to open the seat during the day so it went smooth.
I woke up in the afternoon and stood by the gates. It was raining heavily, so standing at the gates meant raindrops hitting my face. Talk about an early morning face wash with a view!
Oh btw, did I ever think I would see a plane taking off from a train??
I didn’t expect Rapido bike taxis to be available in the rather small town of Alleppey. Surprisingly I got one for ₹20 itself. I booked it, and when the guy arrived, it turned out to be his very first Rapido ride ever! He was trying to figure out how to enter the OTP and everything, so I helped him out a bit. I tipped him 50% as well :).
Zostel Allepey’s gate was rather small, but the place looked beautiful right next to the beach. The moment I entered and turned back, the sight was crazyyy!
I had been in touch with the host, so I checked in, kept my luggage in the room, and sat in the common area for a bit. But this is what I don’t like about hostels these days in India—everyone is there just for drinking or smoking. Within a minute of sitting down, they invited me to a drinking party happening that night, and it just put me off. That’s not the socializing I wanted to do, so I just went about my business from there.
It was almost 5:30 p.m., and I had to start work in an hour. I knew about the Ambalapuzha Shree Krishna Temple, which was about 14 km away. The interesting thing about this temple is that they light diyas all around the temple walls every day at 6:30 p.m. I booked a rapido to quickly head there and be back on time. Coincidentally, it was this guy’s first ride ever as well! What’s happening here??
We reached the temple in about half an hour. The pathway to the temple was lined with shops selling Krishna idols. Further in was a 15th-century temple beautifully built by the rulers of the Chembakassery dynasty. It had a huge compound with a lake right beside it. The lighting of the diyas had already begun. I reached around the golden hour, so there was still light to be gone, but it looked beautiful. I walked around around the temple multiple times, checking out the diyas and the activities happening around it. To enter the temple, men have to be bare-chested, so I took off my t-shirt and went for the darshan. By then, the sun was setting, and the temple started looking even more beautiful with hundreds of diyas lit around.
Shyfas, my rapido captain, hails from Alleppey (working outside the country for a while now), sounded confused when I mentioned the temple to him. He then mentioned that he knew the temple but had never visited it. Until then, I didn’t realise he was a Muslim, so I was quite surprised to know that he hadn’t been to the temple yet. I had also asked him to wait a few minutes for me so we could go back to the same place from where he picked me up, and he was okay with doing so. I asked him to visit the temple as well. I met him inside later on, and we were walking back to the bike. At that point, while talking, he mentioned that he wasn’t sure if he could visit the temple, and then I realised, oh! Okay, I get why he has not visited the temple yet, but I’m happy he was able to do so today. For me, religion isn’t there to restrict someone from experiencing something. It’s all in harmony.
I got back to the hostel by 7 PM and started working. It was one of those days when I am on a trip; the workday has to get hectic. Next to the hostel, by the beach, was a cafe called Catamaran. I stepped in to treat myself to an Alfredo delight. I took the farthest table overlooking the beach in my own company.
Had my pasta and sipped my drink while being on a work call. Post-dinner, I took a quick 5-minute walk on the beach and came back to the hostel and continued working.
There was this guy from bombay in my dorm who kept asking me to join the guys out there. It was nice of him, but I had to deny him every time because of work. Eventually, late into the night, when I was almost done, I stepped out and started talking with him. We discussed work, and he was intrigued by what I do. With a kid-like excitement, he started expressing his excitement for the work I do and started gathering people around, trying to show them what I do. Moments like this make you feel good about the work you do, after all.
Day 2
Wait wait, it’s not day 2 yet. These damned mosquitoes!! >_<. I found it very hard to fall asleep. It took me almost 30-45 minutes with countless mosquito bites before I could fall asleep. Andddd, I woke up again at 6 AM because of them!! It took me another 30 minutes to go back to sleep. So, all in all, it was an abrupt sleep. But anyway, I woke up, bathed, and headed out for a day in Alappuzha!
The boat race ticket I booked only gave me an SBI transaction ID—no QR code or anything. I was kinda hesitant about basing my entire trip on just a transaction ID? But yeah, we go with the flow. I went to the tourism office to inquire, and they said the bank would put up a stall tomorrow where I could exchange the online ID for an offline ticket. I didn’t really trust that, but I didn’t have an option.
Anyhow, with an empty stomach, I headed to Borma Cafe. A quaint, slow cafe by the canal with good food. I ordered a yogurt fruit bowl. Lately, I really like having fruit bowls on my trips. Protein + taste. Though it took them almost 30 minutes to prepare, the bowl was nice and filling.
When I stepped out, there were many people offering shikara rides. I was confused between kayaking and a shikara. I leaned towards kayaking for the adventure side of it, but since I had already done it on my last trip, I went for the shikara ride this time. I bargained a lot because I was solo, and paid ₹900 for 1.5 hours. The shikara ride was actually quite peaceful and nice. It was a bit sunny, but that didn’t really matter much. A good experience in Kerala’s own backwaters.
Well, I was feeling hungry and was craving good dosa. Headed to Google and found one local restaurant with good reviews. The ghee roast was so good, I had two of them.
I also bought a lottery ticket :p
It was 3ish PM, so I decided to head to the Coir Museum (For context, coir is the natural fiber extracted from coconut husks, used to make things like ropes and mats). It was quite sunny so I was a bit drained, but anyhow I still continued on. My Rapido captain pulled out a construction safety helmet as a pillion helmet :).
The museum is inside the Coir Institute. It had some beautiful sculptures and art made out of coir, like a huge Ganpati, the Taj Mahal, and the coir-making process development in itself. It also had a souvenir shop, but I was so disappointed because nothing was available in the souvenir shop 🙁
I had asked my Rapido guy to wait for me so we could head back to Alleppey. Interestingly, he had an Ather electric scooter, and the charge was very low. It showed just a 10-15 km range, and we had to travel 10 km. I was kinda anxious because the Ather we have at home gives up on the charge rather quickly. Thankfully, we reached the Alleppey Lighthouse without getting stuck.
The lighthouse looked beautiful from the outside. There was no lift, so I had to walk up quite a narrow staircase. It’s not that big of a deal, really. I think probably 5 flights of stairs.
The view from the top was beautiful. The Arabian Sea was on one side, and the lush green Alleppey on the other. There was also a turf nearby where people were playing football, and…a train track. Train track, that means I could see a train passing through from the top??
In that anticipation, I just sat around, soaking in the wind, waiting for a train to come. Eventually, we saw the railway crossing bridge close. Suddenly the train honked, and it was about time. The train came from the forest cover, blaring its horn and passing through the town of Alleppey while the sun was sinking in the sea.
After this, I quickly went back to my hostel and changed into my running gear. This is something I try to do in whichever city I go—run. It’s something I had taken up after I started running almost 10 months ago. Today’s aim was a sub-30 5K, so I pushed myself. I was running along the beach right around sunset. I could see people having fun, and I was just running past them. Around the 2.8 km mark, I turned back since I was getting late for work. I ran fast enough to finish in 29 minutes, but in the middle, I stopped a bit to take photos, shoot videos, and look at the sun setting on the horizon. There was a goalpost on the beach, and I took a beautiful picture of the sun right through it.
I came back, bathed, and used a new protein carry-on I recently bought from Amazon. It was cheap—like ₹250 for five containers, and each holds exactly one scoop. I took that, and then started working. For dinner, I went to Catamaran again and ordered a pizza. I sat on the first floor this time. It took a while, but it was really delicious.
I came back to the hostel and continued working. The vibe was a bit chiller than yesterday, but I still had work. Late in the night, I went to the washroom. Just as I was about to close the door, I saw a big fat cockroach. I was like, “Fuck, I cannot use this washroom anymore.” I stepped out, contemplating what to do. Luckily, there were four other dorms, so I eventually just used one of their washrooms instead. My bed was right next to my dorm’s washroom, and the door had a slight gap at the bottom. I’m not afraid of cockroaches, but they just give me an ick. I lay there worried, but I was tired enough and had to wake up early, so I eventually slept off.
The next part is the D-Day! Nehru Trophy Boat Race 2026! 🏆