The winged awnings, when raised, give the houseboat the full advantage of the breeze, and one can get a better outside view. There is little to do on a Houseboat except laze on the sundeck comfortably ensconced in a rosewood-and-cane easy chair with a tender coconut. Or catch up on your reading as you watch the daily life activities of the locals - a man clambering nimbly up a coconut palm to break the mature nuts or for tapping toddy - a fisherman casting his net in one clean circular movement, a duck farmer precariously balancing on his tiny dug-out canoe or a child shyly waving from a banana plantation. Listen to the cries of distant darter birds, surprisingly loud over the waters. Or pick up a book and while away an hour or two, watch the countryside and village activities, try your hand at fishing local style with a rod, feast on tender coconuts and the exotic meals produced by your personal cook and realize that the world has not come to an end by your inaction. All meals are served on board. Your cook also stands in as a boatmen and life guard if and when required. The meals are simple - no pretense - no stylish presentation - From the confines of a 4 x 3 feet space he produces mouth watering dishes served with love and respect. The menu may include 'kootu', lentils and gourd, stirred with cracked pepper and tangy mustard seeds, then garnished with roast coconut shreds. Grilled karimeen could follow, freshly caught from the backwaters and marinated in red chilis and shaved ginger, chased with lime. Perhaps, if he can manage it, he'll proudly serve up a dish of the enormous local prawns, to go with the piping-hot white rice that arrives at regular intervals. A spicy Chicken gravy serves well to fill you up, and the little dishes of pickles, limes and relish wake your taste buds up time and again, for more. You retire for the night to a queen sized bed. A fan, powered by the solar panels on the roof, whirrs to life or the AC cools you. You are asleep, lulled by the gentle rhythms of paradise.