Finally...our much awaited Kerala trip!! We had been planning it for years now but somehow it never came together. This time when we got a good deal on flight tickets we immediately grabbed the opportunity. And like they say - "Intezaar ka phal meetha hota hai", this trip was worth the wait!!
We started with the motto - "This is a holiday, its going to be relaxing, not rushing around trying to cover too many places". We landed in Cochin and didn't waste a single day.
Cool Cochin
We went to Marine Drive, took a small motor boat and went around the waters watching the shipping yard, the first apartment in Cochin, a small island where the film Chandramukhi was shot. Bonus in this boat ride was that we got to see a Dolphin playing around.
Magnificent Munnar
Next we went to Munnar. En route, we stopped at a spice garden where we saw various ayurvedic plants and spices. For the first time, I saw cardamom and clove growing on the plant. After the tour, we bought some useful Ayurvedic medicines and spices at their outlet. Just beside the spice garden, there was an elephant ride point. We had a lot of fun. Next we went to the Tea Museum where we saw a documentary on the history of tea plantations at Munnar and also got to know how various types of tea are prepared. We also had a tour of their tea factory and bought some fresh KDHP tea packed with a lot of flavor. Our hotel was at a very high altitude. We drove through a cloud in fact at one place. It was so beautiful. Our hotel itself had a beautiful viewpoint. We could see a river flowing between two hills, beautiful clouds. It was so breathtaking. I could admire the beauty for hours together. As summer had set in, it wasn't too cold in Munnar, just the right temperature. We relaxed for the evening, playing pool and TT. Next day was a memorable one. We went to Gap Road viewpoint. It was so beautiful, we just sat by the valley and enjoyed the view for sometime. We also enjoyed the homemade chocolates sold on the roadside. Cocoa is widely grown in Munnar apart from tea, so how could we miss chocolates over there? We went to Blossom Garden where there was a wide variety of flowers, some so rare at least I had never heard of them. There were some flowers named "Lady's Shoes" because they looked like a lady's shoes in fact. So cute!! Next we went to Echo Point. Abhinav had a lot of fun shouting and listening to the echo. I found some fruits on the roadside called Chaamanga in Malayalam, looked like a pink and sweet version of Amla. I liked the taste. We also went to a dam but it wasn't worth it. In the evening, we went to a Kathakali performance followed by a Kalaripayattu show. Kalaripayattu is a Martial Art form originated in Kerala. The performance was really thrilling and gave me goosebumps. When the warriors swords clashed, there were sparks flying. They also performed other difficult feats like jumping through a ring of fire and swinging sticks whose ends were on fire. It took years of practice and commitment for them to get to this level. Hats off to those warriors!! This show is a must and main attraction of Munnar.
Amazing Alleppey
Next we went to Alleppey. We had a houseboat booked in advance for a night stay. The journey was too tiresome. But once we entered our beautiful houseboat, we forgot everything. Lower and upper deck with cool breeze, two A.C. bedrooms, a TV and VCR, what else do you need? We relaxed on the upper deck watching the sun set over the water, with cool breeze and birds cawing. We cruised in the backwaters till 5.30p.m. when it was time for the boats to anchor, as fishermen would cast their nets for fishing in the night. Our kids had fresh seafood too. Next morning we started for Kovalam.
Kovalam
It was quite a long journey to Kovalam. By the time we reached our hotel it was evening. We went to our hotel, took some rest and went to the beach which was at a walkable distance from the hotel. The beach itself was nothing special but the speedboat ride was amazing!! I was a bit nervous but still enjoyed it. We also relaxed at the spa, we couldn't miss the famous Kerala massage!! Next morning we started for Kanyakumari. En route we had hoped to visit the famous Anantha Padmanabhaswamy temple. But we didn't know that its open only till 11 a.m. and we had started late from Kovalam, so maybe next time!
Peaceful Poovar
Right after we started from Kovalam, our driver told us about an amazing backwater cruise in Poovar. We engaged a motorboat and went through the Anaconda stretch as they call it, these are mangroves which have grown in a zigzag manner and hence the name. It was similar to the Amazon forest that we have seen in The Anaconda movie. It was an awesome ride. Once we were out of the mangroves, we reached Poovar island. Beautiful blue waters, so pure and untouched(and hence pure??). It is the cleanest beach I have seen other than Coral Island in Andaman. Kids enjoyed a horse ride on the beach. In the waters, there were floating restaurants and floatels(floating hotels). We had lunch at a floating restaurant. Its a different experience. We also saw the Elephant rock(naturally shaped like an elephant) and Mother Mary statue. Next we proceeded to Kanyakumari.
Kanyakumari
The first sunset we saw in Kanyakumari was quite clouded, so I started to wonder why is it so hyped about. The next morning I gathered some hope for the sunrise. It was a bit cloudy, but even then you could see blue rays of light just before dawn. Its nothing like what I have seen before. We couldn't see the sun coming out of the waters, there were some damn clouds blocking everything, but still the sunrise was heavenly. After breakfast we set out to see the Padmanabhapuram palace(world's largest wooden palace) of the Travancore kings of 1800s. It has 14 buildings. The main building has a pillar made of Jack wood. It was considered auspicious to have the first pillar made this way. There were intricate carvings even on the wood that was supporting the ceiling. Couple of buildings had the walls also made of wood. They had an auditorium built especially for conducting dance programs during Navratri festival. It had a finely polished floor with glass finish for better effect. Next we went to Suchindram temple. It’s a very old temple and has many notable things like an 18 foot statue of Hanuman in a pose with his tail above his head, this denotes his state right after Lanka Dahan. Devotees apply butter and sandalwood paste and do abhishekam to calm him down. Another statue was Neelakanta Vinayakar, which had Ganesh, Shiva and Parvati all carved on the same rock. There was another statue which had the trinities on the same rock, face was Brahma, carved on a Shiva Linga, and Adiseshu on top denoting Vishnu. I felt a strange sense of peacefulness in that temple, which I never felt in the temples built these days. In the evening we went to the Sunset point and watched a superb sunset. The sky was filled with all sorts of colors, its indescribable. Thats when I realized why Kanyakumari sunrise and sunset are considered special. After that I visited the Kanyaka Parameshwari temple and went back to our hotel. We missed going to the Vivekananda rock because there was some confusion about the jetty timings which we later found to be open only till 4 pm.
Back to Cochin
Next day we went back to Cochin to catch our flight. After an amazing 8 day trip, we were refreshed and ready to head back home. Take a tour of the whole world, but still you will agree its "Home sweet home". And now....I can't wait for my next trip/exploration of India!!
We started with the motto - "This is a holiday, its going to be relaxing, not rushing around trying to cover too many places". We landed in Cochin and didn't waste a single day.
Cool Cochin
We went to Marine Drive, took a small motor boat and went around the waters watching the shipping yard, the first apartment in Cochin, a small island where the film Chandramukhi was shot. Bonus in this boat ride was that we got to see a Dolphin playing around.
Magnificent Munnar
Next we went to Munnar. En route, we stopped at a spice garden where we saw various ayurvedic plants and spices. For the first time, I saw cardamom and clove growing on the plant. After the tour, we bought some useful Ayurvedic medicines and spices at their outlet. Just beside the spice garden, there was an elephant ride point. We had a lot of fun. Next we went to the Tea Museum where we saw a documentary on the history of tea plantations at Munnar and also got to know how various types of tea are prepared. We also had a tour of their tea factory and bought some fresh KDHP tea packed with a lot of flavor. Our hotel was at a very high altitude. We drove through a cloud in fact at one place. It was so beautiful. Our hotel itself had a beautiful viewpoint. We could see a river flowing between two hills, beautiful clouds. It was so breathtaking. I could admire the beauty for hours together. As summer had set in, it wasn't too cold in Munnar, just the right temperature. We relaxed for the evening, playing pool and TT. Next day was a memorable one. We went to Gap Road viewpoint. It was so beautiful, we just sat by the valley and enjoyed the view for sometime. We also enjoyed the homemade chocolates sold on the roadside. Cocoa is widely grown in Munnar apart from tea, so how could we miss chocolates over there? We went to Blossom Garden where there was a wide variety of flowers, some so rare at least I had never heard of them. There were some flowers named "Lady's Shoes" because they looked like a lady's shoes in fact. So cute!! Next we went to Echo Point. Abhinav had a lot of fun shouting and listening to the echo. I found some fruits on the roadside called Chaamanga in Malayalam, looked like a pink and sweet version of Amla. I liked the taste. We also went to a dam but it wasn't worth it. In the evening, we went to a Kathakali performance followed by a Kalaripayattu show. Kalaripayattu is a Martial Art form originated in Kerala. The performance was really thrilling and gave me goosebumps. When the warriors swords clashed, there were sparks flying. They also performed other difficult feats like jumping through a ring of fire and swinging sticks whose ends were on fire. It took years of practice and commitment for them to get to this level. Hats off to those warriors!! This show is a must and main attraction of Munnar.
Amazing Alleppey
Next we went to Alleppey. We had a houseboat booked in advance for a night stay. The journey was too tiresome. But once we entered our beautiful houseboat, we forgot everything. Lower and upper deck with cool breeze, two A.C. bedrooms, a TV and VCR, what else do you need? We relaxed on the upper deck watching the sun set over the water, with cool breeze and birds cawing. We cruised in the backwaters till 5.30p.m. when it was time for the boats to anchor, as fishermen would cast their nets for fishing in the night. Our kids had fresh seafood too. Next morning we started for Kovalam.
Kovalam
It was quite a long journey to Kovalam. By the time we reached our hotel it was evening. We went to our hotel, took some rest and went to the beach which was at a walkable distance from the hotel. The beach itself was nothing special but the speedboat ride was amazing!! I was a bit nervous but still enjoyed it. We also relaxed at the spa, we couldn't miss the famous Kerala massage!! Next morning we started for Kanyakumari. En route we had hoped to visit the famous Anantha Padmanabhaswamy temple. But we didn't know that its open only till 11 a.m. and we had started late from Kovalam, so maybe next time!
Peaceful Poovar
Right after we started from Kovalam, our driver told us about an amazing backwater cruise in Poovar. We engaged a motorboat and went through the Anaconda stretch as they call it, these are mangroves which have grown in a zigzag manner and hence the name. It was similar to the Amazon forest that we have seen in The Anaconda movie. It was an awesome ride. Once we were out of the mangroves, we reached Poovar island. Beautiful blue waters, so pure and untouched(and hence pure??). It is the cleanest beach I have seen other than Coral Island in Andaman. Kids enjoyed a horse ride on the beach. In the waters, there were floating restaurants and floatels(floating hotels). We had lunch at a floating restaurant. Its a different experience. We also saw the Elephant rock(naturally shaped like an elephant) and Mother Mary statue. Next we proceeded to Kanyakumari.
Kanyakumari
The first sunset we saw in Kanyakumari was quite clouded, so I started to wonder why is it so hyped about. The next morning I gathered some hope for the sunrise. It was a bit cloudy, but even then you could see blue rays of light just before dawn. Its nothing like what I have seen before. We couldn't see the sun coming out of the waters, there were some damn clouds blocking everything, but still the sunrise was heavenly. After breakfast we set out to see the Padmanabhapuram palace(world's largest wooden palace) of the Travancore kings of 1800s. It has 14 buildings. The main building has a pillar made of Jack wood. It was considered auspicious to have the first pillar made this way. There were intricate carvings even on the wood that was supporting the ceiling. Couple of buildings had the walls also made of wood. They had an auditorium built especially for conducting dance programs during Navratri festival. It had a finely polished floor with glass finish for better effect. Next we went to Suchindram temple. It’s a very old temple and has many notable things like an 18 foot statue of Hanuman in a pose with his tail above his head, this denotes his state right after Lanka Dahan. Devotees apply butter and sandalwood paste and do abhishekam to calm him down. Another statue was Neelakanta Vinayakar, which had Ganesh, Shiva and Parvati all carved on the same rock. There was another statue which had the trinities on the same rock, face was Brahma, carved on a Shiva Linga, and Adiseshu on top denoting Vishnu. I felt a strange sense of peacefulness in that temple, which I never felt in the temples built these days. In the evening we went to the Sunset point and watched a superb sunset. The sky was filled with all sorts of colors, its indescribable. Thats when I realized why Kanyakumari sunrise and sunset are considered special. After that I visited the Kanyaka Parameshwari temple and went back to our hotel. We missed going to the Vivekananda rock because there was some confusion about the jetty timings which we later found to be open only till 4 pm.
Back to Cochin
Next day we went back to Cochin to catch our flight. After an amazing 8 day trip, we were refreshed and ready to head back home. Take a tour of the whole world, but still you will agree its "Home sweet home". And now....I can't wait for my next trip/exploration of India!!
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