If you were looking for a great way to be a part of the local community for a while, then tours like the "Royal Enfield Bullet Countryside tours in Kerala" are some interesting programs that would excite you. Even though we organize these programs for incentive operators, who look for out of the ordinary of the ordinary experience, this could be availed for anyone who would love to see around the countryside in the most distinct fashion, Yes! It is on a Royal Enfield Bullet.
The Royal Enfield Bullet is an iconic motorcycle that has been in India for than half a century. This British modeled motorcycle is something that carries a lot of legacies, and the thumbs you hear from them are kind of charismatic. Only the affluent could have owned this, until recently a decade back; it became so popular among the common man. The convoy of Bullet is something extraordinary like a gang movement creating a lot of thumping sounds together. The Royal Enfield Bullet once in a while had its caption "Made like Gun." Over the years the models have changed however the motorcycle as a whole looks the same. The Iconic fuel tank is something they just cannot change.
The whole idea of this tour is to take you around the countryside and show around different experiences where the local community is very much involved. These interactions give you a broader idea about people, their lifestyle and the local elements that open you to a different world altogether. This particular tour which you will see in the below video was just one of the itineraries we did for a group of doctors from Australia. It was a half day program where you start from the place of stay, visit a coir factory, local primary school and concludes at a backwater homestead after a delicious local lunch by the backwaters.
The convoy moved through the countryside to a coir factory where they got to see and understand how the husk of the coconut is removed to extract fiber, from which ropes and coir based materials like mats and mattresses are made. Even though we mention it as a factory, this is very much a cottage industry based mechanism, just that everyone has come together in one place. This laborious process includes multiple stages for the final product to come out. There is nothing like a retirement; everyone works until they are unable to work, and it is not just men, you could see both men and women taking part in different levels of production.
The tour continues where the convoy passes by lakes, canals and ride over bridges where they get to see the real backwater countryside of Kerala in its very raw form and finally, they reach a local primary school. This is the best part of it, where the whole group is going to start an interactive session with children and school teachers. Children are always beautiful with their innocent smiles. Excitement is in the air where they welcome all of the guests with great clapping of hands. They are welcome by children spreading a tinch of sandalwood to their guest's forehead. They sing songs, dance to the tunes and gives them speeches about the goodness of humanity. It is not just the student; guests are always encouraged to showcase themselves with their incredible talents. It is no drama; these are the situation where adults pull out their persona and bring forward the child in them, I am not kidding it is what we saw there. These could mean instances when the term "life is beautiful" becomes a reality.
Bidding farewell to the school and the children, the convoy moves to the backwaters, where they board a boat to reach a homestead. A man-made island where a family runs a farm over hundreds of acres of land. The hostess shares their experience about the island, the history, tradition and what is the kind of lifestyle they follow on the island being part of the farming community. It is time for some Syrian Christian lunch of central Travancore. The delicacies would be served on a deck on the banks of the backwaters and yes! "Bon appetite."
The tour comes to an end, a little time exploring the small beauties of Kerala is the crux of the tour, and it is something that is exclusive as well as rich. One could write a story out of it, or probably about the thrill of it. The return would be by boat to backwater resort or perhaps the same place from where we started. If you loved reading the blog and would want to know more about his, do let us know. You can shoot an email to hello@greenearthtrails.com.