Trip to Kerala

 I had heard that Kerala is a beautiful state & now I know why its called God's Own Country. Below I present  my experience of the places I visited during November 2012.

Itinerary Bangalore -Guruvayuoor - Kondai Lip Resort, Cochin – Alleppy –Trivandrum- Kovalam -  Kanyakumari.

 Day 0 - 01-11-2012: Bangalore to Guruvayoor.

    To reach our first destination Guruvayoor, Thrissur was the nearest railway station. We took the Bangalore – Trivandrum weekly express & reached Thrissur next day 0445hrs. We had booked a local taxi in advance  for the entire trip till Kanyakumari. Drive to Guruvayoor was 40 min.

  

Day 1 - 02-11-2012: Guruvayoor - Kondai Lip Resort.

   Guruvayoor is a small town with the temple in the center and lots of hotels & restaurants around it within walking distance from the temple.

There is a strict dress code for visiting the Lord Krishna temple in Guruvayoor. Men have to wear Dhoti with no shirt. Ladies have to wear sari or salwar kameez with the chunni tied around the waist. The temple structure is large with two entrances one east & one to the west. Inside the temple lord Kirshna’s idol is illuminated by oil lamps (diyas) and is quite dark, due to which the actual idol was visible but not quite clear. Darshan (visit to the temple) took about an hour & we returned to the hotel we had booked  for freshening up. We had breakfast at sarvana bhavan which was one of the many restaurants on the east end of the temple. By 0930 hrs we checked out and moved towards our next destination Kondai Lip  heritage resort.

 Kondai Lip Resort.

  One of my friends suggested this resort and informed that the stay here would be memorable & it indeed was.  This resort is located about 30 km south of Cochin in the backwaters & is about 9 km interior from the Cochin – Trivandrum highway. The road from the highway is narrow and backwaters touch both sides of the road most of the way. It would be very difficult to negotiate this stretch during night. Last km of the road was quite  bad & unpaved, but we could see that repairs were being done. We reached at 1 Pm & found there was no direct approach by road into the resort. Couple of honks by the driver brought a boat man out & the resort’s boat took us across the 30 meter canal into the resort along with the luggage. It felt nice & well different.  We were greeted and directly escorted to the two cottages we had booked.

The cottage we stayed

   About the Resort-  The resort is picturesquely set in the middle of the backwaters & there are canals all around.  There are about 10 wooden cottages & each cottage has two separate rooms with attached bathrooms. Cottages are quite neat, air-conditioned & designed in typical Kerala style. In front of the cottages they have uniquely let some of the backwater into their premises like a small lake. All around the Lake there are tall coconut trees adding to the beauty. The water in the lake is still and two pedal boats  are provided which guests can use whenever they like. In between the cottages nice trimmed grass with stoned walkways are provided with coconut trees placed randomly. 

View in front of the cottage in the early morning

It was very refreshing to wakeup in the early morning listening to the sound of the birds chirping around the lake. The views in the early morning were serene not to mention the Sun rising over the backdrop of backwaters & coconut trees. The pedal boating was quite relaxing in the gorgeous morning. Staying in this resort was like sitting in the lap of nature.

The open restaurant

   We had a delicious lunch in their open restaurant after settling down in the comfortable cottage. In our package there was a motorboat cruise included, around 3:30 pm we were taken on a 2 hour cruise in the backwaters which was quite enjoyable. The cruise went through a canal and we could see many Chinese fishing nets in action. The boat stopped at a place and 5 min walk gave us a surprise we were at an isolated beach, it was quite clean & beautiful. 

An isolate beach near the resort

The group from the resort were the only ones there & we thoroughly enjoyed the 40 min we spent there & got back to the resort as the night descended. It got quite dark as the resort is away from towns & the lighting is kept limited to the walkways. There was nothing much to do after dark. Lunch, dinner had to be ordered an hour in advance as it takes some time to prepare. We had early dinner at 8 and called it a night. The food at the restaurant in the resort was excellent. Hospitality of the staff was good.

 Day 2 - 03-11-2012:  Cochin.

    We planned half day visit to Cochin. Visited the Beach, Spice market. On the way to the Cochin beach we spotted INS Dornacharya Navy museum & paid a visit. It was not impressive but worth only if you have time to spare.

The beach was something to forget, dirty & pathetic. Only attraction was watching huge carrier & passenger ships coming in though the channel & going towards Cochin port.

   The spice market is set inside Jewish town, Lots of Jewish community living in Cochin & gives a look into the community who settled in India since some generations. Many shops sell Indian spices & Kerala handicrafts.

   Our driver suggested a great Vegetarian restaurant called Subiksha in Bharat Hotel inside Ernakulam town. The food was just great. It was a buffet system, Rs180 per person. After lunch we returned back to the resort & spent time boating & enjoying the scenery.

Day 3 - 04-11-2012: Kondai Lip Resort – Alleppy –  Trivandrum – Kovalam.

    After early breakfast & checkout we proceeded towards Alleppy backwaters. Our intention was not to spend much time as we had already seen backwaters and going to see more in coming days. We had to reach Kovalam early evening so as to visit the Light House at Kovalam beach which was top priority as it was a childhood dream to be on a lighthouse.

    We started out at 9 and reached Alleppy at 10am. We booked a 6 seated motor boat & went via the backwater channel to a huge lake and returned back in an hour & half. The backwater in the channel was a bit smelly but it was ok in the lake. We paid Rs700 for the boat. 

   We then proceeded towards Trivandrum. The National Highway was not divided and narrow, took about 4 hours to reach Kovalam. The drive was through lush green surroundings with frequent bridges over backwaters & more than once sea could be seen. We stopped at Kollam town on the way to have lunch & reached Kovalam at 3 Pm. We checked in to the CPWD guest house & immediately left for the Light House beach as visit timing was from 3 to 5 Pm & we did not want to miss that. The beach was a disappointment,  it was unclean & crowded. As we moved on the footpath along the shore there was the light house. 

Standing pretty

View of the beach from lighthouse

It was an amazing sight. It stood on the edge of a small rocky hill overlooking the beach & the ocean beyond. A modest entry ticket for each person, one for camera & a steep climb of 145 steps over spiral stairway brought us to an iron ladder after which we were on the observation platform. The view took the breath away. It was unbelievable, amazing. 
Which ever way you look the views were fantastic, even the unimpressive beach looked beautiful from the top & the wind was blowing with gale force.

The light of the lighthouse

Many visitors were admiring the views but missing the main part, “The Light beam”  of the Light house, Which was one level above the observation platform & can be seen surrounded by reflectors just as we reach the top of the iron ladder. The Lighthouse is all of 56 meters height & its Beam has a reach of 16 miles.

As the Sun set over the Arabian sea there was a mad rush of vehicles moving up the steep climb from the beach into the town.

Next we went to the famous Padmanabha Swami temple in Trivandrum (11 Km from Kovalam). Again there was the same dress code to be followed, Dhoti for men & sari for women. Dhoti’s can be rented / purchased near the temple. The temple structure was huge & impressive. The deity of Padmanabha Swami was again illuminated by few oil lamps and not clearly visible. Had a wonderful dinner at Ariyan Nivas restaurant (Veg) close to the temple. The South Indian Delicacies were quite delicious & definitely recommended.

Day 4 - 05-11-2012: Kovalam – Golden Sand Beach  – Hanging Bridge – Kanyakumari

fantastic view from the hill

  Morning we enjoyed another breathtaking view of the sea from a vantage point on the hill on which the guest house was located. An expanse of coconut trees stretched till they merged with the sea.

   Next Stop was Golden Sand Beach at a town called Poovar. It was around 20 km from Kovalam and a 30 min drive brought us to the town. We learned from the internet that this was mostly called a foreigner’s beach and is an island. Our driver informed that the approach to the beach is from the backwaters via a motorboat & was nice to take us to one of his friend’s boat company “Kerala Boats”. We booked the boat for 2 hours for 1200 rupees.

   The 20 min boat ride was wonderful. The backwaters passed through thick mangroves, sometimes covering the whole canal. We saw many interesting birds from close quarters, and they were going on about their business oblivious of our close approach which our  boat man cleverly negotiated.

   Soon we were in open & the backwaters ended at the heavenly beach. It was Just beautiful, clean & isolated. In fact ours were the first foot marks on the sand that morning after high tide washed over the beach in the night. The sand really was golden in color & the sea blue with huge waves crashing on to the steep sloping beach. Which made going into the water dangerous at this point but further up the beach the slope eased out and there it was good to go into the water. What fascinated me were the waves, 6 – 7 feet high & at regular intervals a much larger one would just sneak on to the high ground surprising us. This was The Best Beach I had ever been to in or outside India. Can’t say enough just take a look at the pictures below.

   

We spent about an hour & a half of the best time of the trip & returned reluctantly back via the motor boat to continue our journey towards the southernmost city of Indian Subcontinent Kanyakumari.

   While searching for places to see near Kanyakumari in the net, we came across something called as Hanging Bridge of Mathur. We asked our driver &  it turned out that its 60 km before Kanyakumari, 10 km off the highway. Since we had lots of time on hand, planned to visit it. We had no idea whether the detour was worth it or not as no information was available other than just “must visit” in the internet. We went off the highway and were going through very remote villages, narrow unpaved roads & we started to doubt our decision to visit this place. After many enquiries we finally reached it. It was an impressive 30 meters high walk only bridge connecting two villages over a valley. 

   We first went down to the valley to admire it from below & wondered why they had to built this huge bridge just for people to cross over in this remote area. After we climbed over the other side and started walking over it we realized it for what it was & its importance. It was an Aqueduct to transfer water from the hills to the coconut & rubber tree plantations over the valley to the other side. 

Aqueduct of Mathur

The views from up & below it were spectacular. This was the longest (384meters) & highest Aqueduct in Asia. After feasting our eyes with the scenery we continued towards Kanyakumari & reached in the evening around 3 after having lunch on the way. 

As we turned the final bend into Kanyakumari we saw the sea in the south & our driver mentioned " There you are sir, India ends here".

Hotel Sea View room

   We booked two rooms at the Sea View Hotel. It was one of the best in the town with nice clean rooms & beautiful view of the Sea & Vivekananda rock from large windows. The service & food was great.

The town of Kanyakumari was like any pilgrimage town in India, crowded & not so neat. The temple was 5 min walk from the hotel & the dress code follows here too.

    Temple is situated on a rocky beach  & behind it is the tip of Indian subcontinent’s southern most point where the sea or shall I say 3 seas lie. This is the point where the Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean & the Bay of Bengal meet which makes this a unique place for tourists & pilgrims. 

The meeting point of 3 seas at Kanyakumari

Hindus believe it to be a holy place and many people were taking dip in the sea. Steps were there to go down to the meeting point & a wall protected the sitting area from the waves. Another unique thing about this point- from the same place Sunrise & Sunset can be seen in the morning & evening respectively as it’s a peninsula & hence is a major attraction. You can actually feel & see the land ending and the peninsula extending behind.

Sunset at Kanyakumari

   The sea was quite rough because of the rocks and as the magnificent Sun set over the sea the ferocity of the waves increased splashing water over to the sitting point with increasing frequency. It was quite a feeling to just sit there listening to the sound of the waves breaking over the rocks while the Sun’s afterglow did a Picasso in the sky till darkness filled in & the waves indicating us it was time to get back to the hotel. 
We had an early dinner and next morning I woke up to the view of Sun rising from the sea. It was beautiful & thanks to the location of the hotel I could watch it from the room Window.

Day 5 - 06-11-2012: Kanyakumari

    We paid an early morning visit to Suchindram Temple outside Kanyakumari. There are two unique things about this temple. One - three gods Brahma, Vishnu & Shiva are carved in a single statue. Second –  there are 7 pillars which when stuck are said to make sounds similar to the 7 musical notes.

   It was around 10 when we visited Vivekananda Rock Memorial which stood on a rock in the sea a km off the coast of Kanyakumari. Adjacent to it recently on another rock memorial of a great poet Thiruvalluvar was constructed. 

There is a boat jetty taking passengers across every 30 min from 9 am to 4 pm. Getting on the 50 seat boat was like getting into an unreserved compartment of a passenger train. After a lot of shoving, pushing & a mad dash at getting life jackets which are mandatory you will find yourself in the boat. Even though there is a queue system it suddenly vanishes as it reaches the boarding point. 10 min ride brought us to the memorial rock getting down is tricky as the water around the island is rough & the boat moves backward & forward, you jump out when its closest to the bank. 
It was nice to spend about 15 min before we joined the vanishing queue to board the return boat. We spent a soothing time in the evening at the Sunset point & thoroughly enjoyed it.

Day 6 - 07-11-2012:  Kanyakumari, Island Express

Kanyakumari - India's Southern most station.

     

Our return journey to Bangalore was by Island Express starting at 1040 form Kanyakumari terminus.  We reached station at 10 with plenty of time & boarded the train which was already on the platform. The station was unique too as it marks the southern most station of Indian Railways.

Island Express ready to start

At 1040 Island express left Kanyakumari moving north back into Kerala. Sitting beside the windows we enjoyed the beautiful scenery go past as the train passed numerous bridges over the backwaters and green coconut plantations.

We reached Bangalore next morning 0530 with lots of wonderful memories to last a long time..

  

Note:

1. Stay at Kondai Lip is quite recommended. We had a wonderful time, it was like we were in the lap of nature. www.kondailip.com

2. Golden Sand Beach at Poovar is a must. I am sure you would enjoy it as much as I did. There are resorts near the beach itself.  Map

3. Sea View hotel at Kanyakumari gets a thumbs up. Pls choose 4^th or 5^th floors to get a sea view room. Insist upon it with the hotel or can also book through travelguru. www.hotelseaview.in

4. The Aqueduct at Mathur is around 60 km from Kanyakumari on the way to Trivandrum & is recommended if travelling by road from or to Trivandrum. It might not be worth going all the way just to visit it and come back to Kanyakumari.
5. We were quite impressed with our driver Mr. Sabu who is a nice gentleman & patiently took us to new places finding out the route on his own (the hanging bridge- aqueduct). I would recommended any one travelling to Kerala to book his vehicle. Mob No:+91 8907359088

Ravindra
Delhi
08-12-2012 2255 SAT