Motty's Homestay

Where to begin?  With a warm welcome from Motty Matthew.  "We have been expecting you". "Come sit".  We settle on one of the many cozy porches and get acquainted.  Lali appears with a refreshment.  Motty is a wealth of information and Lali although quiet has riches of her own.  She keeps an emaculate garden, an emaculate kitchen and is a serious culinary artist.  Motty and Lalie run a lovely Homestay.  This Homestay in Alleppey was one of the originals.  They have been hosts in their home for 20 years.  They have truely perfected the art of hosting.  I mustn't forget to mention Jack.  Jack is their very friendly dog.

Shortly after arriving, Motty took me on a small tour of Alleppey.  Churches, mosques and temples, canals, and camels on the beach...very skinny and clearly out of their natural habitat...tourism oh tourism.

I return to my Homestay and decide to stay a while.  Lali serves coffee and an afternoon sweet.  Beautifully wrapped in a tender banana leaf.  Rice flour and coconut with hints of cinnamon and nutmeg.  I also take dinner with them.  Lali's  cooking is perfection.  While staying here, my taste buds were on a trip of their very own.  One afternoon I had the opportunity to cook with Lali.  I will attempt these recipes at home, but I will  be missing that important ingredient again...India.

I book my fourth massage in an Ayurvedic clinic.   Brutally excellent.  I am getting used to these hard wooden tables.  The warm oil had a medicinal smell that was strangely pleasing.  Following the treatment, they put me into a seated steam chamber...dear god...the humidity was off the charts and I agree to take a steam for 10 minutes.  It was actually amazing.  My body felt like ghee.  Mmmmmmmm...ghee.

The best part of the day was sharing dinner with Motty and Lali.  And the best part about dinner with Motty and Lali was their wonderful company ....and also that I got to eat with my hands.  Leaving Motty's Homestay was not easy.  Returning in the future will be effortless.