Escaping India’s chaos and eye-watering smog, we set sail aboard a houseboat on an Alleppey backwater cruise in Kerala. Located in the southwest corner of India and covering the Kollam, Kottayam, Alappuzha and Kochi districts, the waterways snake for 900 kilometres. As the Arabian Sea washes ashore, you’re about as far away from the manic pace of India as you can get without leaving the country.