Serenity Now: India's Cities on the Water

Although the royals are no longer commissioning art work to fill their many abodes, generations of artistic know-how are still being expressed today. You can haggle for quality textiles, paintings and carvings with the many vendors just outside the City Palace gate.

Float in the Kerala Backwaters

The state of Kerala is located on India's southwestern tip, hugging the coast of the Arabian sea. Kerala is home to a network of salt and fresh waterways -- a series of interconnected canals, rivers as well as India's longest lake, Vembanad -- that all together make up an area known as the Backwaters.

The Backwaters stretch approximately from the town of Kollam to Kumarakom, and thread through rice paddies, remote villages and lush aquatic habitat.

	Backwaters in Kerala

The best way to experience this is by houseboat, structures usually constructed out of palm leaf, bamboo, coconut coil, the wood of the betel nut and jack wood trees. There are hundreds of houseboats on these waters, and they range from one to 10 bedrooms, and with varying degrees of luxury.

You'll want your houseboat to have comfortable lounge seating, flat screen TVs and satellite access, comfortable bedrooms and a personal chef. (You'll find a list of houseboat operators here.)

The longest possible journey in the backwaters will take you three days. Most people who engage a houseboat spend at least one night on it.

Once aboard, you'll travel at a leisurely pace of about 15 kilometers an hour, which gives you plenty of time for close-hand observation of village life. You'll see men and women energetically tackling their chores.

When evening falls, you'll drop anchor for the night, and your crew will light lanterns and serve you a belt-popping feast of local delicacies, simply prepared. Expect lots of seafood and dishes prepared with coconut: Kerala means "land of coconut" in the local language.

Tired of Relaxing?

Each houseboat has a guide who can lead you on tours of the villages you pass through, depending on your interest and enthusiasm. You'll likely fly in and out of the city of Kochi to access the backwaters.

(Kochi was formerly known as Cochin, in the way that Mumbai was formerly known as Bombay.)

It's worth taking an afternoon to explore the Fort Kochi area, particularly the Chinese fishing nets -- enormous turquoise nets that are lowered into the water through a system of pulleys.

Tips:

There are no direct flights to either Udaipur or Kochi from the United States. For Udaipur, you'll most likely connect through Delhi, and most itineraries will have you making an additional stop in Jaipur. Avoid this extra connection by flying Jet Airways, which has a direct flight from Delhi to Udaipur.

For Kochi, you will be routed through Mumbai, where you'll connect for a domestic flight. Avoid that shuttle ride by flying Emirates, which offers a flight from JFK to Kochi that stops in Dubai.

India can be a challenging country to travel in. Although most people speak English, the customs and rules are abstruse and changeable, and the roads and the drivers are chaos beyond description. For the most relaxing experience, you'll want assistance at the airport, and English-speaking drivers for each leg of your journey. It's easiest to turn this task over to a reputable tour operator, such as Greaves Tours.

You will need a visa to travel to India. Apply for one here.

Visit your doctor four to six weeks before you go to India, as the CDC recommends that travelers receive a host of inoculations.