Kerala The Travel Show

ahead of elections.

Brian Hungwe reporting.

Time

Time for

Time for the

Time for the Travel Show.

You have got about 20 good metres to climb and if you run out

of strength halfway, it is not going to be pretty.

Hello and welcome to The Travel Show coming to you this week from Kerala

in India with me, Henry Golding.

One of the things that this part of the country is famous

for is its houseboats.

They've plied the backwaters of towns like this one,

offering a unique view of rural Indian life but what effect

will all that tourism have in the long run?

One, two, three, go!

And later on, I will also be discovering which is faster.

Careful.

Man or a machine in the battle of the coconut tree climbers.

But first off, Kerala 's calling card is its unique backwaters.

A labyrinth of canals, rivers and lakes running 900

kilometres through the state.

I have been told that the best way to experience the true flavours

of the backwaters is on one of these things, a houseboat,

so why don't we jump aboard?

25 years ago, the houseboat industry did not exist but in 1991,

the tour operators saw the potential in modifying defunct

boats for tourists.

It was an instant hit and revolutionised tourism here.

From humble beginnings, many now have state-of-the-art

fixtures and fittings.

Look at this.

When you hear you're coming onto a houseboat,

you're not really sure what to expect but this level

of luxury is pretty mind blowing.

You have all the mod cons, television, satellite television,

air con to keep you cool in that Indian heat,

but what is really surprising, have a look at this bathroom.

Massive.

From just a handful of boats in the 90s there are now more

than 1000, offering people a unique insight into village life

along the waterways.

There has been a very fast, dramatic change in the region

due to tourism.

It has become big business for tour operators like Biju George.

What is the actual draw for a lot of tourists to come

here and experience the backwaters?

This region is called the Venice of the East and the natural beauty

of the region is one of the main attractions and it is why

people come here.

To see and enjoy this region.

I have noticed that we have opened up to this huge lake here,

absolutely stunning, what is this place?

This is the largest lake in Southern India, it is almost 35

kilometres at a stretch, it is a huge lake.

It almost looks like a sea, it is so big.

Time for me to take the helm.

Do you want me to be in charge of this thing?

Sure, it is on you, though!

All right.

OK.

Give me the tips.

A lot of steering.

It is quite loose.

Which way are they going?

Usually it is very relaxed, apart from trying to dodge these boats!

The houseboat industry has created incredible wealth for the region

and benefited lots of locals from boat builders and owners

to hoteliers and tour operators.

But what has been the cost to the environment?

Now it looks like we have had a bit of congestion,

the problem being that most of these houseboats actually leave

at the same time so these riverways get packed up and pretty much act

like superhighways for these things.

Where there is a high boom of tourism, in the limited period

of time, there is always this issue.

So none of the systems were prepared or aware what we could do and how

we can manage this.

Everyone thought about the business side of it, nobody thought

about the sustainability side of the business.

Some say there has been an increase in pollution and that has affected

the locals who depend on the backwaters.

Early the next morning, I went to see for myself what impact

environmental groups claim tourism is having on the community.

These guys have obviously come out very early in the morning,

the sun is still coming up, isn't it?

What are they doing?

They are pulling out the clams from the bottom of the lake.

They come out early in the morning, around 4:00am, and they go back

around 10:00pm, 10:30pm.

Sudha Soni is a campaigner who grew up around the lake.

They rely on the lake.

Yes, and this has been going on for generations.

So how does the pollution of the water affect

the industry here?

Two ways.

One, the pollution of the water stunts the growth of the clams.

The second thing, the rake which they put into the water

to collect the clam, the net that is attached

to it sometimes brings up the waste

that is thrown into the lake.

Sudha is working in conjunction with the environmental group

Tourism Concern on a new system of enforced regulations

and certification for houseboats.

She believes they cause much of the damage.

Tour operators sitting abroad don't know what kind of boat it is.

So when this particular certification is there,

they are confident, yes, and that will make it more

credible and authentic.

One of the benefits of travelling by river is whatever

tickles your fancy along the banks, you can stop, get off and explore.

I have decided that this church looks pretty beautiful so I am

going to take some photographs of it.

Kerala has some of the oldest Catholic churches in India.

This hidden gem was founded in the fifth century.

But ultimately it is the houseboats that have given

Kerala global recognition.

We have people from all over the world, but to be precise,

maybe from Europe, from Australia, the US, even from the Middle East,

because that's the new market that we've developed.

Jobin Akkarakkalam runs some of the largest and most palatial

boats on the waterways.

His vessels are registered on the government scheme

which awards classification certificates for quality

and sustainability.

The government has got a gold star, green star classification given

to the houseboats.

They have regular inspections from the government authorities.

They have the pollution control board inspecting our boats,

they renew the licence every year.

But not all boat owners are currently signed up

to the scheme, and environmentalists are calling for all boats

to have compulsory checks to protect

the people and wildlife that live here.

This could really be one of the most sustainable tourism products

in the world.

This could be an example for a lot of other destinations in different

parts of the world.

If we can use the system to maintain the entire region,

this could be great.

Coming up later on in the programme: I find out what it takes to become

one of Kerala's top tree climbers.

I think I'm going to rip my pants!

The Travel Show, your essential guide wherever you're heading.

Next up, Kerala is the home of Kathakali, an intricate form

of classical dance that has been performed here for centuries

and is now high on the list of things many tourists come

here to see.

To learn more about Kathakali, I have come here to meet a man whose

family have been performing the dance for the past 100 years.

How are you?

Good to see you.

Thank you very much.

This is your theatre?

Amazing.

Central to Kathakali is the complex ritual make-up which turns

the performers into supernatural beings, gods and demons.

The process of applying the make-up can take many hours and here,

it is applied directly in front of the audience,

and forms part of the performance.

There's a singer, who sings the stories.

Then there is a drummer.

He supports.

The dancer translates the songs through movement of eyebrows,

eyes, fingers, footwork.

And all these stories come from the Hindu books.

Originally developed as a way of teaching religious scripture

to rural audiences, Kathakali is also now a big draw for tourists

coming here to Kerala.

I am very curious to know, how do you tell a story

with your eyebrows, your cheeks, your lips and your fingers?

Can you teach me?

To start with, there are 24 alphabets in the language.

Each alphabet forms a position of the hand.

Show me a segment of how you would use the alphabet

to tell the story?

Come.

And so with the eye movements, what different types of eye

movements do you have?

With the eyes, you can see he is getting excited.

And then?

Up and sideways.

I think it is me being an amateur but when I tried to do it,

my vision blurs, but your vision does not blur.

OK.

You focus in the distance.

I am focusing up here, that is why I am cross-eyed!

That is the secret.

The flower opening.

Once you combine the facial expressions with hand gestures,

then you have a classic Kathakali sentence, but something tells me,

I have got some way to go before I could ever be understood.

Bees coming to the flower.

Bees.

Team those moves with some fancy footwork and you have a performance,

in theory at least.

That is very good.

Very impressive.

I am not very good at all, am I?

Imagine with all the make-up on, the full regalia, probably about 100

people looking at you and that Indian heat to challenge you,

the scrutiny of every single step and tiny movement,

I will crack under pressure.

Traditionally, a classic Kathakali performance,

will run for many hours, sometimes a whole night,

but some modern audiences have shorter attention spans

so the artform has had to adapt.

You know, the original one goes throughout the night.

Everything is detailed, everything is intricate,

and nowadays, we are adapting it for a one and a half

or two hour programme.

In a way, we lose our originality, what has been done throughout

the night, that is not being shown now.

The fire god.

But whether the performance is a marathon length all night

or something more contained, the highlight of the show is always

the appearance onstage of Pacca, wearing his traditional

green make up.

And using steps originally choreographed hundreds

of years ago to entertain and captivate audiences of today.

To end this week, Kerala is the coconut capital of India,

because more are harvested here than any other state.

I have come to find out what it takes to become

a champion coconut picker.

In Kerala there are coconut trees almost everywhere.

The state produces 6 billion coconuts annually, that is nearly

one for every man, woman and child in the entire world.

And incredibly, most of them are still picked by hand.

He is one of Kerala's premier coconut pickers.

It takes him just seconds to shimmy all the way up the slender trunk.

That was unbelievable.

You are so strong, that was so good.

How high is this?

30 metres.

And you did it like it was a Sunday stroll.

He is 52 years old.

52 years old.

You are pretty much half my age added on, I should be able to do

that quicker than you.

I do not know whether that will be the case.

How many coconuts does he collect a day?

40 coconuts per day.

Some places in Kerala are now teaching tourists the art of coconut

tree climbing so let us see if I am up

to the challenge.

LAUGHTER.

I want to hoist myself up but my arms, they just will not obey.

I think I'm going to rip my pants!

This is tough!

The numbers of climbers have fallen dramatically as the younger

generation have gradually moved away from manual jobs.

I think it is a bit of a marathon, you have to think of it

as a marathon, you have 20 good metres to climb and if you run out

of strength halfway, it is not going to be pretty.

I think that is it for me.

How does he do it?

My feet, I think it is because I have got soft everything,

I am a wimp.

You're much stronger than I am.

The coconut industry is worth billions of dollars,

so the decline of manual climbers has called

for modernisation of sorts.

That looks so much easier.

The state government has tried everything from competitions

to prize-money to find a machine that can entice

people back into the job.

This one invented by a local farmer has proved

relatively simple to operate.

Just right there?

OK.

Lift there, and there.

Great.

All the way up.

It is definitely a lot easier.

I may have spoken too soon.

It is a lot tougher than it looks.

Lift one, relax.

You have got a lot less stress on your toes and your hands

themselves, but getting this motion right is making me a little

bit nervous.

Nearly there.

Wow!

It does make it a little bit easier, I have to say, but I would

like to put it to the test, the old method versus the new one,

what do you think?

Will we try it?

All right.

Over here, we have the traditional coconut tree climbers who will be

using the ropes around their legs and whatnot and over on this side,

we have the mechanically assisted one and we will find

out who is the fastest.

Three, two, one, go!

They are pretty much neck and neck at the moment.

The mechanically assisted ones are going a little bit faster.

He has called the time, he has called the time.

There you go.

They are switching and the turnover is, go, go, go, go, go.

The traditional climbers are doing very well indeed.

Careful!

We have found a chink in the armour.

The mechanical one has a little bit of

a problem coming down.

LAUGHTER.

Up, up, up, up.

Take your time.

He is doing well though.

Yay!

To the winners go the spoils.

Oh, well!

How does victory taste boys?

Sweet.

Sadly, that is all the time we have this week but join us next

week if you can when...

Carmen is in northern Peru at the Chaparri nature reserve.

Where you will be meeting these guys, the Andean

or Spectacled Bears.

It is incredible to be so close to the bears.

There is no gate, there is no fence separating us,

she is just there, a few metres away.

That is all coming up next week, but do not forget, you can join us

in all of our travels wherever we are in the world

by following our social media feeds.

All the details should be on screen.

From me, Henry Golding and the rest of the team here in

Kerala, it is goodbye!