Boats, bays, and backwaters: Eight reasons to stay on a houseboat in Kerala.

“Who is staring at the sea is already sailing a little.”

— Paul Carvel

Confession: I’m not good with hype.

I’m not good with people telling me I have to go to X place, and I have to do Y and Z when I’m there.

Of course, sometimes they’re right. In New Zealand, everyone says you have to go bungee-jumping and you have to visit Milford Sound…and they’re absolutely right. But then there are times–like visiting Jaipur on the Rickshaw Run or the southern beaches of Sri Lanka last week–when I kinda just don’t get it. I start feeling like I’ve missed a trick, or that there’s something wrong with me.

So to say I was a little nervous before launching out on a houseboat in the backwaters of Kerala would be an understatement. Everyone says it’s The Thing To Do in this southern Indian state, so when the opportunity came up for me to partner with Cox and Kings UK and do just that, I jumped at it. But not without asking the same apprehensive question:

Will this be worth it?

Having arrived back in Kochin today from the backwaters, let me just say this: it is. And to make my case, here are eight reasons why, when it comes to Kerala and its celebrated houseboats, you can actually believe the hype:

1. The food’s so good it’ll make you cry.

From mushroom soup and chicken tikka salad for lunch, to chicken biryani, raita, and pastries for dinner, to fresh fruit, eggs and toast for breakfast, Chef Abilash whipped up meal after amazing meal–food so good I almost forgot to watch the scenery.

2. The curious culture of houseboat staff.

In addition to Abilash, my houseboat also had two lovely captains–Sreekanth and Satheesh. When we docked for the night, Sreekanth told me I could walk up the shore to catch the last rays of the sunset. On my way there, I got distracted by a game of volleyball taking place by another stand of boats.

I walked over to find an intense match taking place between two teams of houseboat staff. One of the men told me: “We the houseboat guys are not getting much of the exercise, with sitting all the time. So one year ago, we start to play volleyball.”

Each night, the same ten boats dock together and the captains, drivers, and chefs quickly disembark with their game face on.

3. Get up close and personal with village life in the backwaters.

Whether it was listening to the slaps of wet clothes hitting the river as women did their washing or the quiet strokes of an oar as men paddled home in their wooden canoes, the houseboat gives you a glimpse of local villages that are otherwise inaccessible by roads, and a chance to see just how much life revolves around the water here.

4. Because you’ve always wanted to live on a boat.

5. It’s like a luxury hotel…that floats.

I’m not entirely sure what I was expecting with an overnight houseboat stay.

The last time I slept on a boat (not counting the ferry to Sri Lanka) was on a felucca down the Nile. That was more like a slumber party for thirty backpackers, as we spread out our sleeping bags on a deck covered with foam mattresses and ate our meals off paper plates.

So imagine my surprise at discovering this houseboat would provide a somewhat more luxurious experience: from an outdoor “living room” with deck chairs and that day’s newspapers, to an enclosed dining area (goodbye, flies!) and a bedroom with A/C, flatscreen TV, king-sized bed, and ensuite bath.

6. Nothing’s better than watching the sun set from the water.

7. Sometimes we all need a little breathing space.

Travel in India can be everything from exciting to overwhelming to just plain daunting–but what it hardly ever is is spacious. To suddenly find the world was nothing more than endless canals of water, wide open skies, and narrow fringes of coconut trees between them was a welcome change of scenery.

8. See a different side of India.

Just as my time in the French-colonized city of Pondicherry felt almost like I wasn’t in India anymore, so did the quiet backwaters of Kerala feel decidedly un-Indian. But then again–who’s to say what is and isn’t India? As my friends Nirmit and Abihjit pointed out, this very diversity of environments is perhaps what makes this country what it is.

Tempted to stay on a houseboat? Here’s how:

Lonely Planet claims that houseboats stays are “the biggest business in Kerala,” and I don’t doubt them.

• If you’re heading to Kerala, the small town of Allepey is about a 1.5-hour bus ride from Kochin. Buses frequently run between the two cities. Allepey is the place to be when it comes to renting houseboats–indeed, you’ll hardly be able to walk down its central canal without drivers and captains calling out to you, “Boat ride? Boat ride?”
• Once in Allepey, it’s best to look around to find a boat that suits your taste and budget. Everything from one-bedroom to ten-bedroom behemoths with second-story conference halls are available (!).
• My houseboat was arranged through Cox and Kings and their local partner, Kumarakom Lake Resort. The resort is located in Kottayam and can be contacted at 1-800-425-5030.

Have you ever been nervous about arriving in a new place because of the ‘hype’ that surrounds it? How did it turn out?

Disclosure: My stay on the Kumarakom Lake Resort houseboat was kindly sponsored by Cox and Kings UK, who organize tailor-made holidays and luxury holidays to India, but all opinions expressed above are most definitely my own.