Travel + Leisure

HOMELAND

TRAVEL + LEISURE / MARCH 2016

Musing over exotic islands in foreign lands is
passé. Back home, our pretty little dots have

claimed our next vacation dates. Here’s why this
might be the right time to introduce your kids
to the treasures at home. BY ANWESHA SANYAL

Indian Island

Holidays

HOW OFTEN do we book into a glamorous

island resort far away for a family vacay;

Canary or the Caribbean, there is always that

perfect celebratory travel plan pulling us away

from that which is our very own. As ‘exotic’

gets crowded, turn to your own islands for a

holiday inspiration.

Munroe Island KERALA

Houseboats have never been prettier. Nor have the

mangroves. Only 27 kms from Kollam, the backwaters

of Ashtamudi Lake and Kallada River take you on a canal

cruise to the island named after Colonel Munroe, the

British President of erstwhile Travancore. The slow life of

the Munroe isles is a sharp contrast to the buzz of the city-

watch fishermen take boats out early in the morning, ladies

of the village make ropes with coconut fibre, an abundance

of coconut trees lining the riverside, orange sunsets on the

backwaters, and migratory birds flying into the horizon.

WHATTODOBook a deluxe houseboat on Queen Ashtamudi

(queenashtamudi.blogspot.in)that takes you from Kollam

to Munroe. The journey is as beautiful as the destination—

introduce your kids to Keralite cuisine that is served

onboard on a banana leaf.

DiuGUJARAT

This little corner in India has a coastal length of only 21kms

but has amassed greatly from its Portuguese history—the

architecture and cultural identity—while being influenced

by the Gujarati culture. The Diu Fort is its most famous

Munroe Island Kerala Nagoa Island Diu

FROM LEFT: ANDERS BLOMQVIST/GETTYIMAGES; ANAND PUROHIT/GETTYIMAGES