My husband and I will be travelling to Kerala next month for a week's holiday in Cochin. We are planning to tour the state's famous backwaters in a houseboat but have no idea how to go about booking one. Can you suggest a couple of tour operators?
Cochin is full of local tour operators who will efficiently organise customised stays on a houseboat with a cruise of the lagoons. Most tours start in Alleppey, about a two-hour drive from Cochin. It is home to some of the southern state's most spectacular backwaters. Houseboat cruises are very popular here and are quite inexpensive, especially during the monsoon season (June to September). Each houseboat has its own service staff, navigator and chef. All the meals feature traditional Keralite food so this is a good chance to savour Kerala's mouthwatering cuisine (if you want vegetarian fare, make a request at the time of booking).
The boats always stop for the night at about 6pm and the tour resumes in the morning after breakfast. Remember that breakfast is served rather early, so be prepared for a knock on your door anytime between 6am and 8am. Checkout is usually before 10am but may vary according to place and the tour operator. Requests to be picked up and dropped off at points other than those listed in the itinerary can be arranged for a small fee.
Grandeur houseboats (www.keralahouseboat.co.in; 00 91 99 9544 9500) has an office opposite Cochin International Airport. A standard one-night tour (check-in at 11.30am) kicks off with a cruise around Punnamadakayal, Vembanad Lake and Marthandom. After lunch, the boat visits the villages of Kuppapuram and Kuttamangalam in Mutteal Thodu. In the evening, after coffee and snacks, guests will be taken on a canoeing trip followed by a walk through one of the local villages and early dinner by candlelight. After breakfast the next morning, the boat will tour the villages of Erumpamthodu and Kannitta before heading back to Alleppey. The company offers everything from cosy houseboats meant for a couple to luxurious seven-bedroom affairs. A standard air-conditioned houseboat costs from about US$125 (Dh400) per night based on two people sharing and includes all meals (breakfast, lunch, evening snacks and dinner) and taxes. Checkout is at 9.30am.
Kerala Houseboat (www.keralahouseboat.org; 00 91 484 326 0738) is based on the banks of the Pamba River and near the famous Kainakary Lagoon. Its fleet consists of one- to four-bedroom houseboats. After check-in (12.30pm), the afternoon is spent touring the surrounding villages, followed by lunch and a stop at a local village (destinations can be picked when booking) where, if you like, you can buy fresh seafood from fishermen and have the boat's chef cook it. The evening is spent on the houseboat, right in the middle of the lake. A tour of the backwaters in a one-bedroom air-conditioned houseboat costs about $140 (Dh515) per night based on two people sharing and includes taxes and all meals. Checkout is at 9am.
Houseboats of Kerala (www.thehouseboatskerala.com; 00 91 9995732100) offers eco cruises that take in remote villages in and around Alleppey, starting at Kumarakom. Guests have the option of stopping at popular tourist spots at no extra cost. Transport from the houseboat dock to Cochin is extra. A one-bedroom houseboat (air-conditioned) costs from $150 (Dh560) per night, and includes taxes and all meals. Check-in is at noon and checkout at 10am.
Do you have travel questions or queries? E-mail them to us at travel@thenational.ae
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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How to play the stock market recovery in 2021?
If you are looking to build your long-term wealth in 2021 and beyond, the stock market is still the best place to do it as equities powered on despite the pandemic.
Investing in individual stocks is not for everyone and most private investors should stick to mutual funds and ETFs, but there are some thrilling opportunities for those who understand the risks.
Peter Garnry, head of equity strategy at Saxo Bank, says the 20 best-performing US and European stocks have delivered an average return year-to-date of 148 per cent, measured in local currency terms.
Online marketplace Etsy was the best performer with a return of 330.6 per cent, followed by communications software company Sinch (315.4 per cent), online supermarket HelloFresh (232.8 per cent) and fuel cells specialist NEL (191.7 per cent).
Mr Garnry says digital companies benefited from the lockdown, while green energy firms flew as efforts to combat climate change were ramped up, helped in part by the European Union’s green deal.
Electric car company Tesla would be on the list if it had been part of the S&P 500 Index, but it only joined on December 21. “Tesla has become one of the most valuable companies in the world this year as demand for electric vehicles has grown dramatically,” Mr Garnry says.
By contrast, the 20 worst-performing European stocks fell 54 per cent on average, with European banks hit by the economic fallout from the pandemic, while cruise liners and airline stocks suffered due to travel restrictions.
As demand for energy fell, the oil and gas industry had a tough year, too.
Mr Garnry says the biggest story this year was the “absolute crunch” in so-called value stocks, companies that trade at low valuations compared to their earnings and growth potential.
He says they are “heavily tilted towards financials, miners, energy, utilities and industrials, which have all been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic”. “The last year saw these cheap stocks become cheaper and expensive stocks have become more expensive.”
This has triggered excited talk about the “great value rotation” but Mr Garnry remains sceptical. “We need to see a breakout of interest rates combined with higher inflation before we join the crowd.”
Always remember that past performance is not a guarantee of future returns. Last year’s winners often turn out to be this year’s losers, and vice-versa.
CRICKET%20WORLD%20CUP%20QUALIFIER%2C%20ZIMBABWE%20
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Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
'Midnights'
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Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
The%20specs
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The%20specs%3A%20Macan%20Turbo
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Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
Specs
Price, base: Dhs850,000
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 591bhp @ 7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm @ 3,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 11.3L / 100km
Honeymoonish
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The Gandhi Murder
- 71 - Years since the death of MK Gandhi, also christened India's Father of the Nation
- 34 - Nationalities featured in the film The Gandhi Murder
- 7 - million dollars, the film's budget
The specs
Engine: 2.4-litre 4-cylinder
Transmission: CVT auto
Power: 181bhp
Torque: 244Nm
Price: Dh122,900
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Company%20Profile
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Company profile
Name: Infinite8
Based: Dubai
Launch year: 2017
Number of employees: 90
Sector: Online gaming industry
Funding: $1.2m from a UAE angel investor
BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Lamsa
Founder: Badr Ward
Launched: 2014
Employees: 60
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: EdTech
Funding to date: $15 million
ICC T20 Team of 2021
Jos Buttler, Mohammad Rizwan, Babar Azam, Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, David Miller, Tabraiz Shamsi, Josh Hazlewood, Wanindu Hasaranga, Mustafizur Rahman, Shaheen Afridi
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Company%20Profile
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Match info
Arsenal 0
Manchester City 2
Sterling (14'), Bernardo Silva (64')
Manchester United's summer dealings
In
Victor Lindelof (Benfica) £30.7 million
Romelu Lukaku (Everton) £75 million
Nemanja Matic (Chelsea) £40 million
Out
Zlatan Ibrahimovic Released
Wayne Rooney (Everton) Free transfer
Adnan Januzaj (Real Sociedad) £9.8 million
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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MATCH INFO
Euro 2020 qualifier
Norway v Spain, Saturday, 10.45pm, UAE
UAE%20SQUAD
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