Washing your sacred cow

So I feel obliged to start with this. Before we even start talking about houseboats, this is one of the first things I saw from the water.

Houseboats have become very popular in Kerala and there is somewhat of a backlash against them that is starting to grow. The reason for that is they dump all their waste into the waters. So these pristine backwaters are no longer pristine. They are filled with a certain about of oil and diesel and (at least I assume) whatever you flush down the toilet. So I though this scene was quite humorous. I’ve never washed a cow before – but I think it may be better to use clean water.

Day Boat

One option that some people consider is taking a day boat. This will give you the same views of the backwater during the day time and they cause less pollution to the environment. I was also told that they cost a lot less (which makes sense) but since I had purchases a package in Kerala I cannot tell you what my houseboat actually cost by itself.

Overnight cruise

Now I did find the overnight cruise to be very relaxing. I am certain that this is the most relaxing experience I have had in India so far. You board the boat around noon or 1pm and they said around for about an hour and then they dock somewhere to serve you lunch. After that they cruise around until close to sunset and then they dock the boat.

The boat is not allowed to sail overnight and fishermen lay their nets and they don’t want passing watercraft to drive through them.

You sleep on the boat. It was fairly comfortable, but quite basic. It had A/C but it did not work that well. Even so there was a nice breeze from a fan and I slept well.