After spending idyllic days in Muhuma, the explorer bug in me kicked in and I wanted to experience Alleppey. Venice of the East, Allapuzha or Alleppey is approximately 16 km away from Muhuma and you can easily hop into the state transport buses that ply every 30 minutes or so.
So armed with camera, backpack and water, I decided to explore Alleppey on foot. On my list was the Mullakal Street which was famous for its silver jewellery, spices and beautiful temples and the Alleppey Beach.
While I was adequately warned that the markets and the beach tend to be crowded, I couldn’t help but chuckle when I realized that their idea of a crowd was very different from a city dweller like me.
Mullakal Street is a paradise for shopaholics. I personally just wanted to admire Johns and Poppy umbrellas that all my mallu friends truly love. Now, Alleppey had two huge showrooms that sold umbrelllas in so many designs that you would be stunned of. I couldn’t help but keep asking the good natured salesman to show me one more design or style.
Once, I made my choice, I immediately shelled out extra 20 rupees to get my name designed on the inside of my pink umbrella.
All the umbrella excitement had made me hungry and I decided to head to one of the many local bakeries to satiate my tummy. Brufia, which is located right in the beginning of Alleppey, has the world’s most amazing carrot cake. I had three helpings of it before I started feeling like a glutton. I picked up lots of cookies, butter cake, and plum cake, and as I was getting my billing done, I sheepishly asked for two more slices of their carrot cake as a takeaway J
Food in my tummy and a spring in my step; I was ready to visit the gorgeous Alleppey Beach. The beach itself is beautiful but a little too touristy in comparison to the Muhuma beach (I will tell you all about it later). I enjoyed cold coffee with milkshake and fried fish (an odd combination I know) at the nearby café.
I headed back to Lemon Tree Lake Vembanad Resort in the last bus out of town.
And the adventures continue
The next day, I visited the front desk and decided to hire an auto to take me around to a few places in Alleppey. We agreed on a price of Rs. 500 to visit 3 different places and the money I spent was definitely worth it.
Alleppey has a lot of tourist agencies including the official state one but they charge a minimum of Rs. 2500 for a day’s trip. The autos in Alleppey are quite different from the ones we are used to. They are a size smaller than the Nano car and have doors, too. So even though it was raining throughout the day, we were safe and cozy all the time.
The Coir Museum, the Muhuma Beach, the Alleppey beach were the 3 places we explored. I can’t get enough of beaches!
The next day was to be the last day of Alleppey adventure and I couldn’t help but make a wish to visit this paradise once more.
We remember the day seven years back when were travelling in a Mumbai local trying hard to come up withe a name for our blog when struck us; Khushboo was always called a Jack of all Trades. The name stuck (with a slight modification, of course) and Minni was born. Six years, over 100 collaboration, lakhs of readers and several awards later; our love for blogging continues to grow. We continue to write on an eclectic range of topics from the funniest autorickshaw signs that we have spotted in Mumbai to how to bathe an elephant. We are true blue Munni of all Trades and we hope to continue on this joyride with our fellow Munnies and Munnas. 