Try a cruise through God’s own country.

 Published on 10 October, 2004 in the Deccan Chronicle.

Kerala is a much recommended holiday spot, & a Houseboat (Kettuvallam) cruise seemed like an experience worth trying.

Never having spent 24 hours on a boat before, we anxiously asked ‘Experienced’ travelers for feedback. This ranged from “trip of our lives” to “Booooring, once aboard, you are stuck, you can’t even walk out if you want to”. After our holiday, I belong to the “trip of our lives” faction.

Kettuvallams are huge, slow moving, exotic barges designed for sheer leisure trips. Formerly, used to ship rice and spices, a standard boat, can be 100ft long, & hold upto 30 tons. Made of 100’s of fine heavy-duty planks of jack-wood & held together by coir knots (not a single nail is used) this framework is then coated with a caustic black resin extracted from boiled cashew kernels and lasts for generations.

Houseboats are re-worked Kettuvallams, having all modern amenities like western style bathrooms, well equipped kitchens, sun decks and even AC’s in some cases.

So informed, we arrived at Allepy (Venice of the East) where we were introduced to our hosts - 2 boatmen & a cook. Welcomed with fresh coconut water & fruits, we set sail on a blissful journey. We passed through amazing networks of canals, paddy fields, swaying coconut palms, river front houses, coir laden boats & unending shades of green.

We passed through Kuttanad, one of the few places in the World where Paddy is grown below sea level, Charava Bhavan – spiritual resort and Vembanad Lake – largest lake in Asia.

The Boat was anchored at noon, overlooking verdant fields. The cook served us a sumptuous lunch with 2 vegetables, sambhar and fish. For dinner, fish was substituted with chicken and for breakfast it was Idiappams with Egg Curry, all prepared onboard. We were told, guests often volunteered to prepare dinner themselves, but we preferred watching him deftly prepare Malyali delicacies.

Boats have to anchor from 7PM to 6AM so locals can cast their fishing nets. We settled down to watch the brilliant hues of sunset, relaxing to gentle lapping of water at the sides, chirping of birds, droning of insects and tantalizing smells wafting from the kitchen. We lit lanterns when darkness fell, rather than use electric lights (solar powered). It gave us the feeling of being the only inhabitants of the planet. The little girl with us, delighted in feeding grains of rice to the fish that swam so close we could have caught them with our bare hands.

In a novel holiday experience, we slept by 9:30 PM and woke at 6:00. Totally relaxed and refreshed, we watched the sun rise over the water. When it started raining on the Lake, the droplets hitting the water surface erupted into little diamonds and we had to agree that Kerala is indeed “God’s Own Country.”

Fact File :
Travel :
Allepy is 2 hours drive from Cochin.
Cruises also originate from Kottayam, Kumarakom, Quilon, Trivandrum, Mallapuram, & Kasargod. It really doesn’t matter where you start or end your cruise from, it’s the unending beauty of the backwaters.
You can spend anywhere from 6 hours to 15 days on a houseboat.
Season - October-March
Off Season - April - September

Must Not Miss :
Sunrise and Sunset on the Lake
Bay Island Driftwood museum if alighting at Kumarakom.
Definitely carry Mosquito Repellant for the evenings.

Costs :
Start from 5000 onwards for a single bedroom boat and 6000 onwards for a double bedroom boat per day (approx 22 hours) during off-season. Costs jump by about 2000 during season. Each bedroom has its individual attached bath. Costs include accommodation, welcome drink, 3 meals, tea/coffee. You can either carry your own soft drinks & water and chill it on board or purchase from the chef on board.

Whom to Contact :
For general information - http://www.houseboatskerala.net/ There are more than a 100 houseboats at each location. You can negotiate a good deal at each location if its off-season (monsoons), but if you want to book ahead, you can contact any of the following operators.

Pulickattil Houseboats : http://www.pulickattilbackwaters.com/houseboat.htm
Deshadan Operators : http://www.deshadan.com/
Soma House Boats : http://www.somahouseboats.com/
Marvel Tours : http://www.marvelcruise.com/yourcruise.htm
www.keralatraveldesk.com

Back off, I’m trying to unwind

Published in - Deccan Chronicle on 3rd September 2004

Back off, I’m trying to unwind

By Karishma Pais

Have you ever had a rough day at work? Come back home and think “At least I’ll relax at this evening’s party” and just as you begin to forget the day’s frustrations, nurse a drink, tap your feet to the music, someone comes up and says, “Doctor my son has been coughing for a while, what’s the problem?” Or to a techie, “Warcraft isn’t loading on my computer, what should I do?”

How does it feel to be questioned regarding work in a social setting? Even those in the media, while they might enjoy dining out on the odd nugget about some hotshot politico, don’t like being accosted for some insight into the current political situation. “During election time, I dread going to a party, because everyone seems to think I have an inside track on what will happen,” grumbles a hack. Politeness often makes her and the doctor/lawyer/ teacher/techie to try and veer the conversation to something that does not seem like talking shop while they really want to scream, “Back off, I’m trying to catch a break here.”

When do we draw the line between being interested in another person’s line of work and trying to get free advice? Are we justified in asking a friend’s professional opinion, especially at social gatherings? Aren’t they entitled to have conversations at dinner parties regarding something other than their work?

School teachers narrated incidents where pushy parents cornered them and gave them a hard time at social occasions. Telecom professionals said they found it irritating when people got into intense debates regarding TRAI policies. Techies complained that friends tried to get them to solve their computer problems without realizing the difference between software and hardware experts.

Dr V Koteswara Rao, Pediatrician, Apollo Hospitals says “People do ask for advice on and off. When we are trying to relax in a social gathering, we don’t like to be asked for advice, but I try to be courteous and give an answer if their problem is genuine.” Another doctor joked that people would stop asking for free advice at parties if he turned around and asked them to undress so he could do a full physical check-up.

Everyone attends social occasions to relax and take their mind off work. We need to respect that, professionals too need time off. Let’s be a little less selfish and allow them to chill and enjoy their time away from work.

Genting Highlands, Published in Deccan Chronicle, Sunday Chronicle on 15 Aug 2004

Published in the Deccan Chronicle, Sunday Chronicle on 15 Aug 2004.

After a whirlwind tour of the Petronas towers, KL tower, Kings palace and a lot of other trekking up and down to see the sites of Kuala Lampur, we decided it was time for some ‘Rest and Recreation. Genting Highlands was the perfect answer to our needs.

An hours drive from Kuala Lampur, it’s a popular weekend destination for the locals too and this is always a good sign. With 2 amusement parks, the world class ‘Casino De Genting’, the ‘Awana Golf and Country Resort’ and numerous hotels to suit every budget, there’s something here for everyone.

The approach into Genting, is via the Skyway cable car from Gohtong Jaya, the longest cable system in SE Asia and the fastest in the world. This 15 min ride covering 4 km, ferries 2000 passengers an hour. It gave us a panoramic view of the green valley below and our first sight of the highlands riddled with hotels and interspersed with roller coasters.

After checking into our rooms, we rushed to the amusement park, a haven for adventure seekers. There are rides to suit every level of risk takers. Our favorites were the Corkscrew which turns you upside down and the coaster which drops you into a water pool at its trough and takes you up again. There are also the more sedate rides for the risk averse.

After the exhilaration of these rides, we wound down at the indoor park which has video games, a space simulator and a 3D dome theatre among others. We purchased memorabilia from the souvenir shops here.

For night entertainment we could choose between the international dinner shows, the disco and the casino. Consensus moved us to the casino where we tried our hand at all the games including blackjack and baccarat. We were lucky enough to leave with more money than we entered with.

The next day we wandered around the ‘Malaysia First World hotel and plaza’ whose lobby is larger than a football field. Someone recommended the horse riding school, but being addicted to the roller coasters, we headed back to the amusement park.

The whole highlands are a maze of escalators and hotels, so it’s quite interesting just to walk around. You never know what you may chance upon: Sweet shops, chairs that massage you, pirates, jugglers or clowns.

There are a lot of Indians living in Malaysia, so don’t be surprised to hear the locals break into Tamil, Telugu or Hindi. Indian food is easily available and the local food tastes familiar. This combines to make Malaysia a good place to take a break.

Fact File :
Travel :
Genting Highlands is 50km away from Kuala Lumpur and can be reached in an hour by road. There are frequent buses that leave every hour from the Puduraya Bus Station. Genting also offers limousines, coaches and helicopter services for charter.

Weather :
At 2,000 meters above sea level, it’s quite cool in the evenings, so do carry a shawl or sweatshirt. Casino entry requires more formal attire than jeans and tees. Take appropriate clothing, unless you want to pay a bomb for a batik shirts.

Must Not Miss :
The Skyway Cable Ride from Gohtong Jaya to the highlands.
The corkscrew ride at the theme park.
The Casino. (Muslims are forbidden from entering, so are children below 18)


Published in Deccan Chronicle, Sunday Chronicle on 15 Aug 2004