ON a balmy evening enhanced by a blood-red sunset, there's hardly a ripple as Elegance flirts along the backwaters of the Kerala, a small state on the western coast of southern-most India.
The panoramic backwaters of Kerala - meandering lakes networked by a maze of canals and rivers - stretch for hundreds of kilometres.
Trips on large kettuvalloms (traditional country crafts over 20 metres) - many of which have been converted into luxury houseboats - are bringing international fame to the region, particularly Alappuzha, which has been dubbed the ``Venice of the East''.

But there are no serenading gondoliers on the tranquil Alappuzha backwaters, nor are there any narrow, twisting canals such as those that surround the famous, historic seaport in north-east Italy.
The Kerala backwater country is one of the few places in the world where farming is carried out below sea level.
Little has changed over the centuries; life is good and the pace is slow - colourfully-dressed women still beat their washing clean in the canals and rivers, while their men trudge off to work in the coconut groves and paddy fields.
Alappuzha's immensely spectacular backwaters are renowned for their cluster of palm-lined of islands, including Pathiramanal (sands of midnight) - a popular haunt of thousands of rare migratory birds from all over the world.

Another major backwater stretch is in the Kottayam district, where a network of rivers and canals empty into the great expanse of water called Vembanad Lake, which comes alive during its renowned snake boat races when oarsmen - at least 100 in one boat - slice their way through the waters to the rhythm of their own full-throated singing.
The eight-hour trip from Kollam - one of the oldest ports in the state - to Alappuzha is the longest backwater cruise in Kerala. From Ashtamudi Lake - known as the gateway to the backwaters  a 130km-long system of inter-linked canals and lakes winds all the way to the north.

On the eight-hour trip, an important stop is the little village of Alumkaduva, home of the skilled artisans who craft the strongly-built kettuvalloms, which are held together by coir ropes without a nail in sight.
The Kerala region is not only fast developing as a backwater tourism destination for international tourists, but also for India's spiralling number of top salary earners keen to escape the noise and pollution of the country's over-populated cities.
The demise of houseboat tourism in Kashmir, because of the prolonged fighting between India and Pakistan, has also been a boon for houseboat tour operators in the Kerala region, as well as for major resorts, such as stunning Kumarakom Lake Resort, located on the banks of picture-book Vembanad Lake  the largest lake in Asia.

Kumarakom's fleet of three houseboats offer spacious, elegant interiors with polished wooden floors, airconditioning and their own chef and skilled boatmen. They cruise along the ancient water-trade-routes that transported rice, spices, rubber and coconut, taking in amazing scenes such as fishermen diving deep to bring up loads of mussels (the shells are burnt in kilns to make building lime) and women expertly fishing with their bare hands.
Not far away, with dusk fast approaching on a palm-fringed beach on the Arabian Sea, it's time for the fish to dive for safety. Hovering above are giant eagles - as many as 20 at a time - in search of their evening meal.
And their patience is often rewarded as their massive claws smash into the water and grab their unsuspecting prey.

Not many people know about the eagles of Marari Beach.
But what seasoned travellers do know about this pristine part of India are the backwaters - home to up to 1000 houseboats.
Whisper-quiet Elegance is the largest of them - a double-deck version with four-airconditioned double bedrooms and an upstairs conference facility. But the majority of kettuvalloms are one-bedroom versions aimed at the honeymoon market, while two and three-bedroom craft are targeted at families.
First-time houseboat travellers should shop around for the best prices. But resorts and hotels in the region are the most professional and reliable operators, if not the cheapest, with friendly crews that you can rely on and chefs well-versed in Kerala recipes that have been handed down over generations