Paradise search : Malabar Escapes, Discovery, India

This is the second part of our Keralan paradise search through Malabar Escapes’ properties. Remember part one, one the shores of lake Vembanad?
Today we embark on a houseboat for a little cruise. Doing a backwater cruise is considered the number one activity for tourists in Kerala. They usually do it on traditional boats, that’s why I was curious of the slightly more modern version you see above. Turns out it was also more eco-friendly than the other boats, which was a good surprise since in India where the environment is rarely a priority.

I already admired the use of bright tones in the Purity hotel, the same principles works also very well on the boat with its clean lines and graphic pops of colors.

There’s a vast sundeck with a large table, deckchairs and two adventurer’s accessories: a pair of binoculars and a guidebook about Keralan birds. We ended up spending more time trying to spy on the passing boats than watching birds, I guess we aren’t born-ornithologists.

Having your meals on the deck while watching the landscape go by is definitely a luxury.

Let’s go inside now.
There’s a living room, a bedroom and a wet room, all pretty spacious and light. There’s also big windows to watch the landscape, should you decide to stay indoors. And this might look like a detail, but you’ve got A.C. in all the rooms, and believe me, since it can get very hot in these parts, you’ll welcome the chance to sleep in a cool room.

On the first evening we stopped at another Malabar Escapes’ property called Privacy to have little swim and then dinner in the garden, with nothing but darkness and silence around us. Once again the lake at sunset worked its magic…