Kerala

Southern Sojourn to God’s Own Country

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I wish to take you once more on a virtual trip through the mazes of the exuding beauty of the enchanting Kerala.

The peaceful green city of Trivandrum gradually unfolded itself with its narrow roads and neat colourful private houses half hidden amidst the coconut palms.From the airport, we took a pre-paid taxi to our hotel Uday Samudra (popularly known as UDS) at Kovalam – 16 kms from Trivandrum. We were given a sea-facing spacious room with a pool in front.

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Kerala – A Trip to the God’s Own Country

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This was the best experience of all as we were on the houseboat for the first time. The person driving the boat was amazing. Thought of being on water for 22 hrs was amazing. The boat went through several lakes and canals. We saw several villages where the only means of transportation was boat.

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Bamboo Rafting in Tiger Country.

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…Then the trek started in dead earnest, and soon we were walking through some shoulder height elephant grass. The guides showed us some exotic butterflies flitting about in the grass. At one place they pointed out to some Niligiri langurs peering down at us from the high trees. That really made us feel that now we were being stalked and hunted rather than the other way around…

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Periyar Tiger Reserve

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Kerala has more than its fair share of wildlife sanctuaries and national parks in the Western Ghats. Of these, the Periyar Tiger Reserve at Thekkady [Kumily] is the most visited. It is our favourite wildlife reserve simply because we have always seen wildlife there on every trip, without even trying to!

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Romancing the rain in Wayanad

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The Chembra Peak which at 2100 meters above sea level is the loftiest peak in Wayanad forms the backdrop to Annapara. For those who have a head for heights, it makes for some exhilarating trekking. Almost half way up, you will come across a heart-shaped lake- what a romantic spot to get down on one knee and propose to her!!!

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Kerala’s Green Treasures-Idukki Trip Oct 2011

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As we moved on towards Idukki, the rain got heavier and the drive became difficult. Our driver Rajesh, informed us that though he was a resident of Kottayam, this was the first time he was driving from Kottayam to Thekkady via Idukki. Hearing this made me more anxious, and I began to worry whether I had chosen the right time to visit the wettest district in Kerala.

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Kerala – A Tourist State

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The emphasis is on the ‘paying’ tourist and not on the spot. Well some of us definitely enjoy this ‘tourism’ but some of us want to run away from it. Having access to mineral water on a hill top is good, but more important is access to written material about the place, the history, the geography.

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Sweet and Sour Kerala Trip Part 2 – Beautiful Munnar

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Our driver suggested us to stop at a point where you can enjoy Elephant Ride. We were first not in a mood but considering our little daughter will have some fun, we decided to stop by. Then we had to think again about taking a ride as they charge quite much for a 15 min ride. 350 rs per person was not a fair deal but innocent and disappointed looks on daughter’s face persusded us to go for it. I was afraid of the ride at first but once the elephant started moving it was very enjoyable. The ride takes you back to childhood age and you want to scream loud in happiness and glory of sitting on an elephant. The only thing that disappointed us was the condition of elephants and the rude way in which they were being treated.  I had a pity on poor animals.

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Sweet and Sour Kerala Trip – Exploring Kochi

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Kerala is a paradise for sea food lovers and non vegetarians. Fish and rice is staple food of the state but if you are a vegetarian, it may be little difficult for you find variety of veg food. Same was the case with me. With only one vegetarian dish in dinner menu at hotel, we decided to look around for some other options and only ended at the Food Court of a nearby Mall. The initial idea was to roam around after dinner but since we had to leave early next morning for Munnar and it was already late we went back to hotel and retired to bed.

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