Sachin Tendulkar takes boat journey through backwaters; inspects villa

KOCHI: Master blaster Sachin Tendulkar today undertook a boat journey through Kerala's scenic backwaters to reach nearby Panangad to see a luxury waterfront villa which he plans to buy from a private developer.

Reaching the site, Tendulkar, who co-owns a soccer team called Kerala Blasters, said it was for the first time he was enjoying the beauty of Kerala backwaters about which he had "heard so much."

"I will keep coming here in Kerala to enjoy its beauty. It is definitely one of the reasons for me to come back. ...I look forward to spending more time here during my forthcoming visits to Kochi," he said after seeing the villa he short-listed for buying.

"It is a fabulous place and the experience that I have had is really nice," he said about the villa.

The private developer said the master blaster was impressed with the idyllic location of the villa and was in the process of finalising it.

After seeing the 5,000 square feet three storey villa, he returned to the hotel in the same boat.

Before leaving the site, he sought support for Kerala Blasters from the local people in Panangad who were cheering him from their rooftops.

"He enjoyed the journey through backwaters. It took 45 minutes for him to reach the site. He took the same route to reach the star hotel he was staying," a police officer who escorted the cricketer in the trip said.

Tendulkar was in Kochi to attend the final day of a three-day summit being organised by International Advertising Association (India chapter) as part of its silver jubilee celebrations.