If you go to www.keralatourism.org and look under 'Houseboat holidays' on
the bottom right hand side of the home page you till find a list of
'recommended' houseboat operators.
The operator we used was Pulickattil, which I thought was average. If I was
doing it again, I would try a different operator.
The Lonely Planet South India Guide (2001 edition) has a detailed 2 page
section on the various options for Backwater crusies around Alappuzha and
Kollam. Presumably the other guides that were recommended as superior to
the LP guide in response to an earlier post by indonotabi have equivalent or
superior information.
"Nige" wrote in message
news:cprqie$111$1@hercules.btinternet.com...
>
> "Cliff Bott" wrote in message
> news:Keyvd.72338$K7.34629@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
> > The New Woodlands Hotel, 72-75 Dr Radhakrishnan Salai, phone 811 3111,
is
> > clean and has a variety of reasonably priced rooms. It is a favourite
> > with
> > ex-patriate Indians going to Chennai to attend the music festival in
> > Dec-Jan. Because it is popular it would be wise to book in advance.
> >
> > I understand there is now a fixed price taxi service from the airport to
> > the
> > city, about 200Rs, the booking desk is in the airport.
>
> Last time I was stopping off in Chennai for a few hours, the airport
looked
> much better organised.
>
> > Travelling by train is a great way to get around and also to meet
people.
> > As well as day travel, on longer trips you can travel overnight in
> > reasonable comfort in A/C sleeping compartments.
>
> Am not sure if this is the best one, but you can certainly pick up some
> excellent knowledge from http://www.seat61.com/India.htm
>
>
> > For a 2 week journey between Chennai and Trivandrum by train there are
two
> > possibilities: you can go via Coimbatore and visit one of the hill
> > stations
> > at Ooty or Kodaikanal, Kochi (Cochin), and do a backwater cruise (highly
> > recommended) via Kollam or Alappuzha (Alleppey).
>
> IS THERE A RECOMMENDED RESOURCE FOR THE 'BACK WATER CRUISE' ?
>
> Or you can take a more
> > southerly route and visit some of the temple cities: Thanjavur
(Tanjore),
> > Tiruchirarappali (Trichy) and Madurai. Mahabalipuram is worth visiting
on
> > a
> > day trip from Chennai.
> >
> > January is a good time to travel as it is in the 'cool' part of the year
> > (relatively speaking - Chennai is hot all year round). Only drink
bottled
> > water which, fortunately, is cheap and readily available. Only eat
> > freshly
> > cooked food. Particularly in Tamil Nadu, it is best to avoid meat and
> > fish
> > and stick to the traditional vegetarian food which is widely available.
> > Avoid salad. Take a tropical strength mosquito repellant. Use air
> > conditioning or a fan at night to keep the mosquitoes away.
> >
> > South India is a safe place, the people are friendly and, considering
the
> > vast difference in income between westerners and the ordinary people,
> > there
> > is remarkably little dishonesty and hassle. The main problem is with
the
> > auto-rickshaw drivers, particularly in Chennai. Even if you agree with
> > them
> > on a fare when you get on board, more often than not you find they ask
for
> > more at the end of the ride. Also they are paid commission by the
> > Kashmiri
> > tourist store operators so you usually end up travelling via one or two
of
> > these establishments. There is no magic formula for dealing with the
> > auto-rickshaw drivers. Even the locals have problems with them.
> >
> > In Chennai you should try to see a performance of carnatic music and/or
> > the
> > BharataNatyam dance form. In Trivandrum you should not miss a
performance
> > of the marvellous and unique Kathakali dance drama.
>
>
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