26-28 June 2010
This post comes in toooooo late… but I ve got just me to blame. I hope the details are etched in my memory and I can do maximum justice to this trip!
Well, if you have a Mallu friend who’s getting married in God’s own country and especially during monsoons, don’t think twice. Its so much more worth than you can imagine. Thanks to dear Mallet, we had a short reunion and a super good trip.
26th Sep
The wedding was on a Saturday and I had thought that the “vacation” doesn’t start until Sunday morning… but I was wrong. During monsoon, every corner of Kerala makes you feel so relaxed and great. The water and greenery is soothing and pleasant to the eyes. Changanachery, a small town in Kerala, is where our journey began… to be exact, it started a few hours earlier when me and Karthik woke up to beautiful landscape & scenery during our train journey. At Changanachery, I caught up with friends (UK, Nabz, Mohit, Simmi, Dipti) and ex- colleagues from Hyd. One of our colleagues had booked / organized evening n overnight houseboat at Alleppey for all of us that day – needless to say, I was not quite excited since we did it all few months back. Nevertheless, post the wedding we packed our bags and pushed off!
We were back in Kerala after 6 months… first during Christmas & now during monsoons. Alleppey looked quite the same – narrow roads n water ways brought back memories of the December vacation. The change now was that instead of a day trip, we were doing overnight houseboat trip. This time we hired a 3 bedroom houseboat that also had an upper deck. I was surprised that I enjoyed the experience much more this time. The slight drizzles, overflowing water, bright colors and greenery made it a totally different experience. Thanks to rain gods for taking a break n letting us take in the full beauty of the trip. Upperdeck was ideal for chit-chats n silent moments; tea n pakoda; clicking n being clicked…… well, till the time mosquitos start their daily raids. The snacks were delicious and food ok. The houseboat was parked next to some fields for the night. Pack of cards, music, memories were good to keep us engaged into the night. We woke up early to catch the sunrise, but there were too many clouds. We started our journey back post breakfast and thanked Shibu for arranging it all!
27th Sep
The group reduced to half its size in the second leg of our trip to Munnar. It kicked off very well when we managed to convince Nabz to take another day off and join us… We started quite late in the morning and it was about lunch time when we reached Munnar. On our way to Munnar, we stopped at a couple of spots and even succumbed to impulse and bathed in a waterfall. We had just 3/4th of a day at Munnar and we wanted to make the best out of it. Inspite of me feeling sick most part of the journey uphill, the breathtaking views did cheer me up. By the time we reached Munnar, we were refreshed and famished. The local ‘Saravana Bhavan’ came to our rescue and we binged on some yummy dosas. Post lunch, we directly headed out for some sight seeing. First was the elephant camp, where we rode in pairs of 2 /3 on the elephant through a slightly hilly patch amidst tall trees. The ride was bumpy and we could feel the muscles of the elephant moving under our legs. It was interesting to see the elephants maneuvering the ups & downs of the terrain - overall, a fun ride. The next spot was the dam – the dam by itself is nothing to rave about but all that remains in my memory is the yummy tea / omlettes / snacks from the local shops. It was drizzling when we reached and we couldn’t have asked for a better weather to dig into the hot snacks.
Finally, we started our journey to Ayur Resort & Spa. All that we saw till then was beautiful & breathtaking, but as we rode higher up to reach the resort, things started getting mystic. We stopped at a viewpoint where we could see clouds floating below us. Words / pictures can never do justice to the beauty the place beholds. The magical state remained with us as we rode into the resort. Our rooms were good but almost with no view. The weather was chill n nice – we were all cuddled up in 1 room snacking, watching FIFA match (cant remember which one) with the game of trump keeping us company.
28th Sep
We woke up early enough to explore the resort and places around. The resort is quite good, located in lovely surroundings (recommended if you have a vehicle on you) and cost effective in monsoons. Me & UK binged on relaxing Kerala massages while the rest trekked around the place. We packed again to reach Cochin; on the way back we visited a tea factory through a friend’s contact. After dropping the rest at Cochin airport, me and Karthik rode to Ernakulam railway station. On our way, we stopped for late lunch at a restaurant. We also got some chips & Ghee cake from Quality Bakers (damn I forgot the town’s name L ). The ghee cake was so yummmmmmmm – Karthik & I loved it.
This trip was an eye-opener, for I realized what they meant when they termed Kerala – God’s own country. Munnar is amazingly beautiful and a must visit
Tips & Tricks:
1. Kerala during monsoons is a gamble; we were veryyyyyy lucky that the rain gods were in our favor and we were subjected to just the pleasant drizzles.. If you ask me, August should be a safer bet – beauty n greenery sans the rains
2. Kumarakom house boating is supposed to be better than the one from Alleppey. So check it out!
Our Take - Munnar
Priya's rating: 8/10
Karthik's rating: 7.5/10
