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Alappuzha' shambolic KSRTC bus stand , on the east of town, is served by half-hourly buses to Kollam, Thiruvananthapuram and Ernakulam; less frequent buses run to Kottayam, Thrissur and Palakkad. The boat jetty is just one minute's walk west from the bus stand. As the backwaters prevent trains from continuing south beyond Alappuzha, only a few major daily services and a handful of passenger trains depart from the railway station , 3km southwest of the jetty. Among these are the Bokaro/Tata Express #8690 at 6am, the Trivandrum-Mumbai CST Express #6332 at 7.20am and the Alleppey-Chennai Express #6042 at 3pm; all three stop at Ernakulam Junction before continuing to Thrissur and Palakkad. For points further north along the coast including Mangalore, you should take an early train and change at Ernakulam, as the Alleppey-Cannanore Express #6307, which continues to Kozhikode and Kannur, arrives at those destinations far too late at night. The best train south to Thiruvananthapuram is the Ernakulam-Trivandrum Express #6341 (departs 7.25am); most of the other express trains in this direction leave at inconvenient hours. Alappuzha has several rival tourist departments . The main ATDC tourist information office (daily 8am-8pm; tel 0477/243462, www.atdcalleppey.com ) is opposite the jetty, next to Canara Bank, and they have a smaller office on the other side of the canal, just off Komala Road. The DTPC office (daily 7.30am-9pm; tel 0477/251796), at the DTPC jetty, handles hotel bookings for all KTDC and private hotels throughout Kerala and in other parts of south India for the charge of the telephone call and on receipt of one night's room rate. ATDC and DTPC both sell tickets for their ferries, backwater cruises and charter boats (maximum twenty people) - good for group excursions into less visited backwaters. The Government of Kerala's tourist office, at the DTPC jetty (Mon-Sat 10am-5pm; tel 0477/260722) is good for travel information. Other ferry and charter organizations include Kerala Backwaters at Choondapally Buildings, near the Nehru Trophy finishing point (tel 0477/241693), Tour Kerala, Muttal Building, Nehru Trophy Ward (tel 0477/242955) and Alappuzha Tour & Co, Punchiri Building, Jetty Moneychanging facilities are available at the Bank of India on Mullakal Road and the Indian Bank on Mullakal Road, which accepts Visa and Mastercard as well as currency and travellers' cheques. The State Bank of India is on Beach Road, and Canara Bank is next to the Zion Food Shop, near the jetty; it accepts travellers' cheques and Visa, but not currency. For internet access, Seiki internet café opposite the Komala Hotel (Rs40/hr) offers by far the fastest service, or try the Zion Food Shop opposite the main jetty (Rs60/hr).
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