Kerala Houseboats - Great Indian Cruises



Posted: Sunday, December 20, 2009

by Vinoo Robert
Kerala Journeys

Found : Kerala, India's southernmost state, flanked on its western side by the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats on its Eastern border.

Region : The Vembanad Lake, the surrounding `backwaters' and the towns of Alleppey and Kumarakom

A Cruise on a Kerala Houseboat is defintely something one should not miss if you do travel to India.

Locally called ` kettuvallom ', a Kerala houseboat is a huge wooden boat, the hull made with planks of the Wild Jack Tree. These planks are stitched together and bathed in fish oil to ensure longevity and to make it entirely leak proof. Houseboats range up to 70 feet and weigh more than 50 tons and have bedrooms, toilets, a sundeck, a kitchen and conference halls too! Houseboats are powered by an outboard engine but noticeably the sound is minimal.

Houseboats come in various shapes; one bedroom, two, three, four, five and even ten bedroom houseboats are available, both in Alleppey and Kumarakom. Most houseboats today are fitted with

Air-conditioning but the air cons are switched only during the night. Food served on board consists of local Kerala cuisine. Breakfast, Lunch, Tea and Dinner is included in the cruise rates. Houseboats are usually stocked with fruits, water and Beer though available on extra payment.

Houseboat journeys include overnight journeys and hourly cruises. Journey options available are; Alleppey Round, which covers the Alleppey area, Kumarakom Round which covers the Kumarakom area and Alleppey - Kumarakom Round, which covers both areas. Houseboats cruises are also available from Thottapally, further south from Alleppey. Most travelers book an overnight cruise and a normal cruise has two stops, a stopover after lunch for a short while and overnight halt.

The journey is at a leisurely pace and is a great way to explore the area and life of the people who live beside the backwaters. Children running to school, women walking to the local market, men and women working in the paddy fields, country boats carrying items of daily use and Cormorants sunbathing are all common vistas set against a verdant, palm fringed topography, making this a journey of a lifetime.

Vinoo Robert

http://www.houseboatskerala.asia

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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)
» left by Richard Vail
 2 years 124 days ago.
60 fans.
nice article...I'd love to travel there someday. Sounds like fun
» left by Vinoo Robert 2 years 124 days ago.
Thanks Richard, it sure is, I mean its a world on its own and quite the `great escape' that every holiday should be! Thanks again!
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