We were surprised and a little disappointed when we first saw the boat that had been scheduled for the three of us. We had hoped for a smaller, more intimate traditional boat with a thatched sunroof. It turned out however, to be a good choice, with our very friendly Captain and the ability to sit or stretch out under the shaded rooftop.
The ultimate cruise is an overnighter on one of the picturesque houseboats which range in size from this modest one to three story floating luxury mini hotels, where you have A/C bedrooms, and are pampered and treated to a freshly caught fish dinner.
The traditional wooden boats come in all sizes, from the big floating houseboats to the small canoes like this one docked under a magnificent Banyan tree, though more often than not they did not have outboard motors attached. Because the only access to many of the houses is by foot path or water, people who live on the canals use these canoes as their main mode of transport. There are also the public ferries which are always packed with people, though I have to say some of these boats did not look very seaworthy.
We saw quite a few of these medium sized working boats loaded down with everything from cooking gas tanks, to bricks and sand, some loaded down with so much that it looked as though the slightest wave would sink them. These boats typically did not have motors, but were propelled by human pole power.
