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Kerala is on the very southwest tip of India. It's the legendary Coast of Malabar. Spice traders have haunted its ports for millennia -- Phoenicians, Arabs, Greeks, Romans, Jews, Chinese, Portuguese, Dutch, British -- everyone wanted in on the brisk trade of cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, pepper, turmeric, nutmeg, fenugreek, sugar, ginger, cashews, coconuts -- the list goes on and on.

It's also the home of Ayurvedic Medicine - now finally being recognized, even by the West.

Its vast and intricate network of inland waterways, which you can explore from a houseboat like this, are being discovered by tourists who are attracted by great weather, delicious food and charming, people. We spent 2 weeks here.

Houseboat