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The popularity of
Kettuvalloms has returned in the function as major tourist attractions.
Many find the Kettuvallom an ideal means of exploring the beauty of the
Kerala backwaters. The houseboats in Kerala, south India, are huge,
slow-moving, exotic barges used for leisure trips. They are a reworked
model of Kettuvallams (in the Malayalam language, Kettu means "tied with
ropes", and vallam means "boat"), which, in earlier times, were used to
carry rice and spices from Kuttanad to the Kochi port. Kerala houseboats
were considered a convenient means of transportation |
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Such a houseboat is about 90 to 100 feet
(about 20 to 25 meters) long and about 15 feet (about 5 m) wide at the
middle. The hull is made of wooden planks that are held together by
ropes of coconut fiber; the usual wood is 'Anjili'. The roof is made of
bamboo poles and palm leaves. The exterior of the boat is painted with
protective coats of cashewnut oil. |
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Unbelievable as it may sound, not a single
nail is used in the making of a Kettuvallam. Jack wood planks are joined
together with coir rope and then coated with black resin made from
boiled cashew nut shells. The materials that go into the making are all
local and Eco friendly bamboo poles, coconut fiber ropes, bamboo mats,
coir carpets etc. These traditional country boats were used as the mode
of transport in the early times from the isolated interior villages to
the towns. |
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But these boat services have been laid off
with the developments taken place in the transport services in the
recent past. Today these giant 80-foot watercrafts have been adapted
into luxuriously furnished houseboats. |
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A Kettuvallam usually has one or two bath
attached rooms, an open lounge, deck, kitchenette and a crew comprising
two oarsmen and a cook. Traditional lanterns are used as lights. Your
holiday in this tranquil world is the comfortably furnished houseboats.
Come, check into a houseboat for a memorable cruise along the backwaters
of Keral |
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