13 Nov KUMARAKOM LAKE RESORT
We basically took today off. The weather was still overcast, but it was still warm and humid. We took a walk around the resort, or the parts that we are allowed to go into. Prince Charles and Camilla have taken over the VIP suites and area, the left side of the resort as you walk in. There are security guards all over the place, and they have roped off and secured areas where it might be possible to see the windows of their suites.
We had a game of snooker, loads of laughs at our poor play again, (he is being polite, I am the only one who doesn’t hit many balls in, but it was alot of fun anyway!!) and then after taking a few pics around the resort we went back to our villa for a swim and cool down. We spent the afternoon reading and relaxing, and that pretty much summed up our day.
14 Nov KUMARAKOM LAKE RESORT and House Boat onto the Kerala Back Waters
We started our day with a nice relaxing and refreshing swim. After breakfast we packed, relaxed and waited for when Prince Charles and Camilla were due to leave. We got over to the foyer about 10:30 and it was packed with mainly the resort staff. I am sure you could get no service anywhere looking at the numbers there! It was a little after 11am when Charles and Camilla got their act into gear and made their way out. I will let Deb do the next bit, so she can share her experience.
I have been fascinated, watching the goings on of a royal visit, the entourage is about 20 strong, my favourite was the man I presume is Prince Charles body guard, he is very charming and very James Bondish! 🙂 I overheard one lady at dinner talking to someone on the phone and she referred to Prince Charles as, “His Royal Highness”. They are all very proper. The staff at the resort where we stayed were very excited about the royal visit and were always eager to share information. It was delightful to share in their joy and enthusiasm. One of them told us this morning that Prince Charles and Camilla had 60 bags/trunks each. On top of that there were dozens of suit bags, many of them purple. There was a really big van to take all of their luggage.
While we were standing there in anticipation, we struck up conversations with an English couple from Kidlington, near Oxford. Same place as my cousins Linda & Keiran, no they didn’t know them! And a delightful lady from Greece and her husband, (we were the only white people there) and an Indian family. There are not many tourists at the resort, it was taken over by the royal entourage, important Indian dignatories and Indian police. We were talking to the owner of the resort yesterday and they only found out a month ago about the royal visit. This is peak tourist season, so I can only presume some people had their reservations cancelled.
Anyhow after waiting 40 mins, they came out from their meeting with an Indian politician. Camilla looked gorgeous in an off white outfit – the sort she often wears, and I have no idea what Prince Charles was wearing. After they talked to some dignatories, Prince Charles made his way over to where a group of us were standing and he was shaking hands and chatting about where everyone was from. I was a row back and thought it was now or never, so I put my hand out and he shook it. I told him I was from Australia, and wished him a happy birthday. He is 65 today. He smiled, said thankyou, and said he was off to New Zealand to celebrate. It was a real buzz, I was beaming, it was all a bit surreal. A moment that will stay with me, seems a bit silly really, I wouldn’t be royalty for quids. But it was quite a moment. 🙂
After they had left we checked out and were taken to our Houseboat for our overnight cruise on the Back Waters of Kerala. It’s just Deb and I on our houseboat with a “Skipper”, deckhand and chef. We left the Resort at midday and cruised around the man made, below sea-level Islands of the Back Waters. Yep, there are several very large Islands that are basically a seawall surrounding paddy fields that are about 1 1/2m below sea-level. It’s an amazing engineering feat, they built the walls about a 100 years ago and then pumped out the water to form the Islands. It’s very surreal, seeing the land lower than the surrounding water, but it works and there is a lot of farming – mainly rice done on/in them. There seem to be 100’s of houseboats on the Back Waters (maybe not that many, but there are lots!!), some are day cruises but most seem to be capable at least of overnight stays. The last hour of our cruise was the best, we went down populated channels, and it was really interesting watching the lives of the locals unfold as we cruised by. We saw people washing clothes, themselves and dishes, others were fishing, swimming, sitting around chatting and relaxing and all the other things done in their normal lives. It’s great to have a window into their world and see how it ticks.
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Sounds lovely! I’m looking forward to photos of the houseboat cruise!
The houseboat cruise sounds wonderful! Did you stay on it overnight?
Yes, was such a relaxing day/night