House boats of Kerala Tour Travels India
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Further inland when one goes into the interiors of this state there
are more and endless miles of placid Kerala backwaters, flanked
on either side by a towering palm tress. These meandering freshwaters
are all mainly concentrated around the townships of Alleppey, Kumarakom,
Kottayam, Quilon and Cochin.
These waterways or better known as backwaters are best traveled
in thatched roof houseboats called kettuvallam or in a sleek darting
local snake boat.
House Boats With A Difference:
These houseboats of today are very huge which move slowly and stealthily
across the clean blue water of the Arabian sea .The original Kettuvalloms
were used to carry tonnes of rice and spices - a standard Kettuvallom
can hold up to 30 tonnes - from Kuttanad to the Kochi port.
This was regarded as a mode of transport to do trade and commerce
but now these are compared with the luxurious five star hotels in
the city. The houseboats have all the comforts of a luxury hotel
including furnished bedrooms, modern toilets, cozy living rooms,
a kitchen and even a balcony for angling.
The Kettuvallam or 'boat with knots'- was so called because the
entire boat was held together with coir knots only made from the
tough fiber of the coconut- not even a single nail is used during
the construction.
This is was a unique thing as the craftsman ship was excellent and
also a very unique kind of work reflected in the boat that traversed
through the wading waters. The boat is made of planks of jack-wood
joined together with coir. This is then coated with a caustic black
resin made from boiled cashew kernels.
A portion of the Kettuvallom was covered with bamboo and coir to
serve as a restroom and kitchen for the crew. Meals would be cooked
on board and supplemented with fresh fish from the backwaters that
were caught by the fishermen of those areas.
Today, the tradition is still continued and the food from the local
cuisine is served by the Kuttanad localities, on board.
This was one of the masterminds of the administration to start
of the cruises in these houseboats when the transport system was
taken over by more modern ones like the trucks.
Relax in style, in the beautifully furnished living room as cool
breeze wafts in through the awning. And if you can keep your eyes
off the enchanting view that Kerala has to offer you, then there
are also other facilities like VCD, TV. And Music system - a special
service that is exclusive to Rainbow Cruises
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