Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Kettuvalam....Kerala House boats

For a change, something exotic.... House boats.  Ever since one of my friend sent me the pictures of these houseboats, a trip to Kerala with house boat ride exists in my travel plan . Hope I can make it next year!!


The kettuvallam or the Kerala houseboat is a large floating structure with a high load-carrying capacity and it has been a part of Kerala' s culture and heritage over the past many years. The advent of road transport and motorisation in waterways saw the steep decline in the significance of the kettuvallam as an effective carrier of bulk cargo.


 
The Kettuvallam or 'boat with knots' is called so because coir ropes tied in knots hold the entire structure of the boat together. During the entire assembling work of the boat, not a single nail is used. The boat is made of huge planks of Jack wood (Artocarpus hirsuta) or 'Aanjili' and joined with coir. This is then coated with a caustic black resin made from boiled cashew kernels.





Other details:  Take the Alleppey Express and reach Alleppey.  (or you can reach Kumarakom; Houseboats are available in Kumarakom also).  Transport to houseboat and checkin to houseboat.  A/c single cabin boats available from 8000Rs I guess (for whole day).  It includes 3 meals (veg/non-veg).  A cook will be available inside the boat itself.


More pictures:


 
  
  
  
More to come...




Posted by Vasanth at 9:07 PM

3 comments:

  1. Sam DeBordSeptember 9, 2009 at 9:34 AM

    These houseboats are beatiful, much more extravagant than the houseboats we have in Seattle.

    ReplyDelete
  2. PVKSeptember 9, 2009 at 11:02 AM

    Lovely place. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  3. VasanthSeptember 9, 2009 at 10:32 PM

    (@ SeattleHome)
    These boat cruises are on the exotic backwaters which would be more exciting.

    ReplyDelete

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