The National Geographic magazine, in a special millennium collector's issue, selected Kerala in India as one of the top 50 destinations in the world. Over the years Kerala has earned a tourist friendly image in the eyes of travel planners. A place that has retained almost all of its natural charm, ethnicity and cultural distinctiveness. The famous Kerala backwaters at Poovar near Thiruvanthipuram, earlier known as Trivandrum, are set amidst 12.5 acres of coconut groves alongside the beach.

It is a sunny afternoon in Thiruvanthipuram and there is a vehicle waiting at the airport to drive us to Poovar Island, 38 kilometers away from the State capital. Winding its way out of the city our jeep speeds on a country road with its familiar bumps and potholes. For the outskirts of a state capital, Thiruvanthipuram looks lost in an unhurried bliss.

We soak in the languid beauty of the countryside till the jeep comes to a sudden halt. The resort where we'd be staying is located on Poovar Island and there is no other way to reach it but by a 15-minute boat ride through a coconut-lined backwater channel. As we get off the boat jetty at the island, I was amazed at the sheer brilliance of the location. The brochure was right. The Poovar Island Resort is located on the most serene backwaters, which open out to a dream golden sand beach and the sea. Only whispering waves and chirping birds punctuate the tranquility.

The Nadaswaram music, flowers and tilak over, I was led to one of the most amazing hotel rooms I have checked into---a floating cottage. A floating cottage? Yes, a cottage that gently sways over the backwaters - India's first. I am told.

The resort set amidst 12.5 acres of coconut groves alongside the beach has 50 land based conventional rooms. But its main attraction are the 10 floating cottages on the backwaters. Samira Warda, the general manager of the resort tells us that the floating cottages have been built with a keen eye on not disturbing the local ecology and using only local resources.

The view from the cottage is like that on a picture postcard. The furniture is cane, wood and very local. There is even what could be called a balcony that juts out over the gently lapping water underneath. A walk by the beach takes one to coconut and banana groves.

Food is a welcome break. We prefer to go to our floating cottage. With Malayali, Western, Asian and Indian cuisine to choose from, we fall for the local flavours. Mealtime in Kerala, we soon discover, is a tangy affair of rice, seafood, coconut-based stews, a slew of spices and a mind-boggling array of dishes with banana as the main element.

But it is the breakfast that is a tourist's delight in Kerala. There is a wide array to choose from---Wellayappum, puttu, iddiappams with sambhol and of course the idli, uppuma and dosas – served and eaten on banana leaves. It is obvious why the authoritative Travel & Leisure has termed Kerala's morning repast as the best breakfast in the world which is " almost as much fun to eat as it is delectable."

We devote the first half of the day to the famed Kerala massage. The massage is said to cure a myriad of ailments. But it also apparently transforms serious and dour souls into sprung-to-life individuals.

There is a rich tradition of the Ayurvedic system in Kerala dating back to 600 BC. Poovar, being a holiday destination, attracts plenty of tourists who come for the medicated steam baths, herbal oils and gentle rubs that breathe new life into tired bodies and stressed minds.

But Ayurvedic rejuvenation is not all. There's a lot more to do. Like soaking in nature on hammocks. Or rowing in a kettuvallam (houseboat) to a neighboring fishing village or even visiting a centuries old kaliyaripattu (martial arts) centre.

Having had our quota of fish and other assorted seafood, we decide to explore the martial arts centre. I wonder aloud---rather tactlessly---who were the martial artists supposed to use their prowess upon? The villagers look so mild. " It's for mental discipline and a way to keep fit," a villager explains sternly.

Three days later, we are still not able to shake off the magic of the dawn at Poovar which seems to have taken over our senses. Last evening we were on the sunset cruise. Twelve hours later we are wide awake at 4.45 a.m. And waiting breathlessly. An early morning boat glides through the vast emerald water expanse, as the golden sunrays light up the lush green palm trees on the shores of the backwaters.

" Water colours by God," is what someone called this scenery. And we couldn't agree more. The backwaters, we realise, could very easily become a habit!

ACCESS: Thiruvanthipuram is well connected by air and rail from all major Indian cities. Poovar Island is 31 kilometers away. Taxis and jeeps available at airport and railway station to take you to the ferry point around 25 kilometers away. From there take a ferry to Poovar.

ACCOMMODATION : The Poovar Island Resort offers double occupancy for Rs. 9999/- for land-based sea facing cottage and Rs. 12500/- for a floating cottage for three nights and four days. The cost includes arrival – departure, boat transfers, all resort activities as per the daily programme, one hour sunset cruise, transfers to and from the airport by the hotel coach, buffet breakfast, lunch and dinner as per plan, one half-day sightseeing trip by hotel coach to Thiruvanthipuram. The costs are inclusive of all taxes.

CLIMATE : Not many swings in temp with the weather. Summer from February to May (24-33 degrees C); Monsoon from June to September (22-28 degrees C); Winter from October to January (22-32 degrees C).