Backwaters

When you step aboard a Spice Coast Cruises Kettuvallam, you step back into history, for these "moving masterpeices" have been plying the inland waterways of southwest india for untold centuries.

One couple has the exclusive run of the entire boat, and is attented to by a personal cook and two boatman.The statesroom is aft and has a queen -size bed with ensuite bathroom(minus shower).A comfortably-furnishedcanopy-covered sitting room sits amidship , with a sun deck at the bow.The cook's galley is at the stern, and power is supplied by solar panels discreetly placed atop the canopy.In furnishing our houseboats, great care has been taken to use only natural materials and local products.

The decks have been carpeted with coir matting and the arched canopy consists of split bambooo, lashed togeher with coir binding and covered with palm fronds.The furniture made of rosewood, mahogany and acne, includes a south indian "easy chair" with its characteristically long armrest that when extended also serves as a leg rest.

A distinct feature of the Kettuvallam - a design suggesting the possible influence of China , whose tradin ships visited the Malabar Coast in earlier centuries.