Lotus Houseboat

From Coorg to The Lotus Houseboat in Kerala. We left the hotel at 8:30 after receiving fruit and a spice gift from the management who were still over apologetic about our bad experience on Tuesday. Then a four hour car journey to the houseboat in Kerala: this was through a lovely landscape of rolling hills and forest and for once the ever invasive haze did not show itself too much.

The non-welcome at the Lotus houseboat was notable. We were given a pleasant welcome drink but nothing was said to us from any of the four crew about where our room was or where we were going on the houseboat . After two or three minutes another couple, Rachel and David appeared. They had arrived half an hour before us and seemed to know something about what we were doing so we just relied on them after this to keep us up to speed. There were just the four of us on the boat.

The room was spacious and with a good bathroom but proved very hot during the afternoon, this due to high humidity in this state. We were given a large lunch which we could not completely finish but the soup and the pudding were much appreciated, the huge salad less so.

The blurb that we had been given about the Lotus was "Explore the fascinating beauty of the backwaters of Malabar, the undiscovered jewel of Northern Kerala, on the traditional Lotus Cruise houseboat fitted with all the amenities of a first-class hotel. Gently cruising along, stop en route to visit hidden temples, villages and local cottage industries. Experience the leisurely pace of Kerala in the warm care of the crew, enjoying delicious meals fresh from the river.. " It did not live up to the hype. There may be a problem with the translation of "backwaters" which in English implies narrow out of the way canals, whereas our route took us through a wide lagoon with hazy views of very little, And the temples , cottage industries and villages that we saw could not have been described as "hidden", they were in busy urban areas.

The stretch of water which we traversed in the next five hours was very wide and both sides were a bit hazy. There was the little traffic on the water. We sat up on deck on sunbeds completely protected from the Sun by low sun umbrellas but this also made viewing the shoreline quite difficult . At 5:30. We received a high tea and then at six landed and walked across a narrow strip of land to the sea. I was looking forward to this surprise swim, but it was not to be as it was a wild coast with crashing breakers, but I put my feet into the water all the same. We sat up on deck again in the forward part of the deck and read. It was a nice surprise to find that they did have wifi on board. We shared a beer up there and then at eight had dinner with a lively conversation between us and Rachel and David. Rachel was an oncologist at Kings College Hospital. We got to bed at 22.30






While cruising, there was very little to see from the Lotus. We	were a long way from the shore and the shoreline was hazy

A good night sleep and a good breakfast before the boat up anchored around 9:30 am then motored for a short while before mooring

We took a Tuk Tuk to a temple some 10 to 15 minutes away through busy streets and along the highway: not what I had expected at all but this was a different part of Kerala to that we had visited in around 2008. The temple was said to be 900 years old and was nothing extraordinary but there was a parade of monks with musical instruments that came out from it and paraded three times around it which was quite spectacular. The head guide, the only one who spoke English, did not appear here (here was returning home that afternoon( so we had no real idea as to what was going on

Also we saw an example of the skin disease that was genetically prevalent in Kerala and which I will apparently learn more about when I read the book the Covenant of Waters.




On the way back to the Tuk Tuk there was some fish feeding

Then back to the boat and more motoring before it stopped for a really good lunch. The food aboard was one of the best parts of the trip. After lunch we stopped again about 2:30 pm and set off in yet another tuk tuk through a slightly less urban part to a weaving factory where we were meant to see fabrics. None of us were too enthusiastic about this and had said we would not be buying any of the fabrics: as a result we were just shown the factory part of this where there were very noisy looms at work. The head man of the boat seemed unable to explain why we could not see the fabrics being sold. We then got back in the Tuk Tuk and went to another temple complex where we were to see face painting but we were in a bad mood by the time we got there and the face painting was not going to happen for at least 15 minutes so David and I insisted on going back to the boat. Within 20 minutes, of us getting back to the boat Rachel and David also returned: apparently the face paint him was probably not going to start till 7 pm!


We were plonked outside this workshop, with no explanation ..	..we were walked through the loom area which was ..	too noisy for any explanations.. Our guide refused to show us ..	..any finished product . This is a web photo.

I spent the rest of the afternoon sitting at the front of the boat Reading a “Testament of Youth “ At 7 pm, we had a beer and then started supper at 7:30. Another enjoyable meal with good conversation.

Watching the gentle rhythms of day-to-day rural life unfold, drifting along Northern Kerala’s verdant backwaters from a comfy steamer chair on board the glorious sundeck of The Lotus Houseboat is utterly enchanting; a wonderful way to gain an authentic insight into remote village scenes and observe elusive wildlife up close and personal. Glide through languid palm-fringed canals and lagoons where in the village cattle graze on lush pasture, longboats are laden with coir and cashew, and fishermen call from paddle boats to sell their catch. Spy egrets wading in the shallows as iridescent kingfishers swoop overhead and turtles raise their heads from the watery depths. Forays onto shore are a chance to walk through rarely visited villages and discover hidden temples and magical shrines. The traditional rice boat exterior of the Lotus belies its sleek interiors with a hint of colonial charm and a relaxed house party atmosphere. The indoor living cum dining room has tactile teak floors adorned with hand-woven durrie rugs, paintings depicting temple murals, squishy armchairs scattered with silk cushions and panoramic windows that open onto the cooling breeze and the fascinating ever-changing 180-degree view. The two generous bedroom suites have everything needed for easy living and a sound night’s sleep: sumptuous king-sized beds, positively palatial bathrooms, i-pod docks, super silent a/c and private verandahs for quiet moments and early morning tea. Our caring and ever-attentive team soon makes this houseboat feel like your own floating home. In the cool of the evening, the sun-deck transforms into the perfect location to sip an aperitif or dine under a twinkling star-filled sky. Chef spoils guests with seafood thali feasts and Mediterranean specials prepared using the freshest fish and plump prawns.

I think that we would have been better off at the Hermitage Hotel for these two nights that we had spent on the Lotus. They are selling a dream that they failed to deliver