Which Way to Kottayam?

We took a day trip to the back water town of Allepuzha. Our destination was the beach, but getting directions and enjoying the scenery along the way was more fun. The backwaters of Kerala are surrounded by dense coconut groves. Apart from sleepy villages, there isn’t much else outside the tourist centers. Therefore, getting directions from one point to the other can be a challenge for visitors who don’t know the area.

Roads are unmarked and, where names do exist, they are usually informal names given by the neighborhood. We had to stop every once in a while for directions and received pointers such as “go past the second church and make a right” or “after the narrow bridge, not the wide bridge, you’ll see a tea shop where you make a left.” Vaguer directions included “drive for one and a half minutes then turn left.” The directions were pretty accurate for the landscape and we made it to the beach, with only one U turn (we missed the tea shop where we were supposed to make a right).

We thought the way back to Kottayam would be easier, until we saw this sign.