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A
cruise along the palm-fringed waterways of Kerala in a luxury houseboat
is the most enchanting holiday experience in India today.In this world
of simple pleasures, you'll skim past ancient Chinese fishing nets, water
lillies,lush paddy fields coir villages, rustic homes, temples and coconut
groves. |
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Innumerable lagoons,lakes, canals, estuaries and the deltas of forty-four rivers make up the 900 km backwater network of Kerala.The backwater mainly cover four districts of the State-Kollam,Alappuzha, Kottayam and Kochi.The largest backwater body, the Vembanad Lake flows through Alappuzha and Kottayam districts and opens out in to the sea at the Kochi port. The Ashtamudi Lake, the second largest backwater stretch, offers the longest ride (eight hours) and is considered the gateway to the backwaters |
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| Your holiday home in this transquil world is the comfortably furnished houseboat.Traditionally, the houseboat was called kettuvallam, which means a boat made by tying together pieces of wood. Unbelievable as it may sound a not a single nail is used in the making of a kettuvallam. Jackwood planks are joined together with coir rope and then coated with black resin made from boiled cashewnut shells. |
Today
these giant 80 foot long craft have been adapted into luxuriously furnished
houseboats. A kettuvallam usually has one or two bath attached bedrooms,
an open lounge, deck, kitchenette and a crew comprising oarsmen, a cook
and guide. |