Well jungle originally came from Sanskrit that was the precursor of many of the subcontinent Indian languages. And look behind the boat and you will see why Kerala is jungle to me!
More about the boat ride after a few facts about Kerala. It is a great farming area in India with rice being the primary crop. Rice is the staple starch food to fill Indian bellies and it is good that with the rich soil, idea weather conditions, and plenty of labor there are 3-4 harvests each year. We saw women bending low in the water soaked fields, grape vineyards on the side of the mountains, and many other fields growing unrecognizable crops to our city eyes.
An interesting fact about Kerala is that it is the only elected Communist local government in all of India. It was amusing to Dbell and me that the students wondered what the red flag with the sickle on it was! There was a boat captain and crew strike for higher wages the day we were to go for this ride on the backwater canals. Fortunately for us ,the hotel had two small boats and we didn’t miss this great adventure and because of the strike, we pretty much had the lake and canals all to our selves. Riding along we saw Mango Trees, and cashew trees as well as spectacular palm trees. That was so interesting on the cashew trees, was the inedible fruit with the nut in a shell growing from the bottom of the fruit. We were in Aleepy and there is another city called Cochin where the airport is. It is a small city by Indian standards of only a few million. Dbell said that they may shoot themselves in the foot with all these taxes on the tourists. It is a lovely place but so is Goa. The three taxes on our hotel, food and everything we bought were higher than New York City tourist taxes! Isn’t that amazing?
One positive fact on which to end , is that the state of Kerala professes a 100% literacy rate which is astonishing, if true.
These lovely videos gives you a real feel for the relaxing experience of a backwater tour in Kerala.
https://youtu.be/t0YxFMeFUbQ
TalesAlongTheWay 
Such an interesting county, and you’ve seen more than most tourists see. Thanks for sharing!
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I have been blessed to be here for two wonderful semesters! It is my pleasure to share!
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Lovely pic. I have a really good friend who is from Kerala (Cochin), but when I got to know him, he was living and working in Bangalore so I’ve never seen any pics from either Cochin or the countryside. He has told me so many interesting things from his home state.
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Oh if you are in Bangalore, you are close and you should definitely make a visit. What fun to have a native show you around!
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Hi Annete,
Nice to see your post about Kerala. I am from the capital city of Kerala, Trivandrum. Have a great day.
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Reji Stephenson
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Oh Kerala!!! We travelled quite a bit. Husband is architect professor who brought -10 students!
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