Honeymoon - Kumarakom - part 2

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Reached our cottage, refreshed ourselves, came out and settled in the ever present hammocks. Soon hot tea and spicy savories were served and we just laid there lazing in the hammock watching the sun set. Since we were the only guest, the service was very good and quick. Retired for the day and the next day greeted us with a gentle shower. It was just awesome to sit by the lake during the rain. Had our breakfast by the lake side and got ready for the houseboat trip. The normal boat ride is between 12 noon - 10 AM (next day). The boat had two well furnished bedrooms with attached bath, a kitchen, a drawing room with sofa and TV and also a small balcony in the upper deck. We were accompanied by three guys out of which one is a cook and two guys steered the boat. They explained us more about the place, their culture, business and everything. We went past many big and palatial houses which had the lake front as their main entrance, agricultural fields, some natural and artificial islands. Soon, the boat stopped in a small island filled with coconut farm and had our lunch. Soon, many boats were lined up there for the lunch halt. This island had a small shop selling cooldrinks, snacks and more importantly 'toddy', the local drink of Kerala. A must stop place for bachelors.











After the lunch, we took a small nap and when we were back, it was raining again. To add to the awesome weather, our friendly cook served us with super hot tea and pazhampuri. The lake was very very vast and at times, we could not see the shore at all. The guide informed us that at some places, the width is even close to 15KMs. We soon stopped and visited a small church. Went via the Thanneermukkom bund, which separates the sea water and the fresh water and eventually came to a halt along the shore around 6 PM. The boats are not allowed to sail in the lake after 6 PM, unless without prior permission.

With the help of the boatmen, we went out on a small ride in a small boat parked in one of the houses. After dark, we came back to the boat, put on the curtains in the drawing room to assure privacy and watched a couple of movies, had a sumptous dinner with 'karimeen' and retired to bed, with the gentle rocking of the boat to put us to sleep. The next day, we again set on the sail, had breakfast and reached back our resort around 10:30 AM, settled in the room, finished our lunch by the side of the lake, packed our things and set out to the railway station.

Thus ended a long, interesting and absolutely fantastic honeymoon trip. After days of relaxing and watching endless tea estates, rivers, lakes, waterfalls we were back to the pollution filled city and busy life of Chennai.

Points to note

1. Access : Road /Rail : Kottayam is the nearest city, which is very well connected to other parts of the state. Air : Cochin is the nearest airport.
2. If you plan to visit both Munnar and Kumarakom, i suggest you to go by cab so that you can enjoy the scenaries around. There are direct buses too.
3. In the boat and also in the resort, specify the style of cooking that you prefer. By default, they cook it Kerala style, which some of them might not like.
4. The boat people do not provide 'karimeen' by default. Hence, ask them to buy and prepare it for dinner. They do a very neat job.
5. They do have life jacket and you can swim if you want. Tell them before hand, so that they will stop in places conducive for smimming.
6. If interested, tell the boatman to arrange for a ride in the small boat.
7. Staying options are available aplenty in Kumarakom.
8. The boat house, if booked through resort might cost a bit more. If you want to save some money, go directly to the boat jetty, stike a deal with the local boatman and choose a boat of your choice.
9. The best period to visit it August-November, which is the lean season. You will have a very good climate and the resorts will charge a bit less.
10. Avoid going during December-January when the rates are at their peak.
11. You have the option of AC boats and if you wish to stay overnight, you can also opt for the boat to be parked in the middle of the lake. In such case, you have to inform the resort/boat office before hand, since necessary permission has to be got from the government.
12. Some places of interest are - Bird sanctuary, Parithimanal.

Honeymoon - Kumarakom - part 1

Kumarakom is one of the most famous tourist destination in Kottayam district, of Kerala - truly the 'God's Own Country'. This is a cluster of islands formed by the Vembanad lake, one of the largest fresh water lakes in Asia. Alleppey and Kumarakom are the two major towns that fall around this lake and naturally they are very rich in vegetation and more importantly tourism. These places can even be called as the 'Venice of Kerala', since boat is one of the main means of transport and almost every household has atleast a small boat 'parked', just like we have two wheelers. These towns are very very famous for their lake side resorts and the houseboats. Most part of the lake is bordered by very nice resorts. Another high point in Kumarakom is the boat house, which you can rent from a couple of hours to days together based on your need. They come with two/three/four bedroom boats for groups, in which you can stay overnight. There are boats that have a big room ideal for family get-together and office meetings, which you can rent for some hours. There is not much activity to be done here, but for lazing in the hammock watching the water sway to the tunes of the air, or float in the boat in the middle of the ocean-like lake. A perfect place for honeymooners.

Coming to the rest of our honeymoon trip, we started from Munnar in a cab. The ride was again great along the neat, wide and winding roads of the hills with a river on one side, which accompanied us all the way and numerous waterfalls on the way with intermittent spells of rain and some good soothing music of Illayaraja for our company. The romantic journey from Munnar to Kumarakom took us close to 4 hours. Once inside Kumarakom, we could see the boats of all sizes and shapes, criss crossing in the small canals running across the town. We could understand why the roads were neglected since boats are the most sought after means of navigation. Hence, there was very less pollution in the air and with the remarkable amount of greenery and waterways to boot, this place automatically seemed romantic. We went across numerous canals and vast area of paddy fields and finally reached our resort - Illikallam.










Illikallam is the resort that is being undertaken and promoted by the Kerala Tourism department. This has 8 cottages which are just a stones throw away from the lake, set amidst cocunut trees and a small fish pond. The rooms are very well maintained and has very friendly support staff. Dont miss the 'karimeen', which is very famous in the whole of Kumarakom.

To be continued here

Honeymoon - Munnar - Part 2

Continued from here

The third day, finished our breakfast, we set out to the AnaiMalai/RajaMalai, which is the highest peak in South India. On the way, we visited the waterfalls which is near the resort and then a road side cave temple. RajaMalai is being maintained by the forest department. Hence, they didnt allow any private vehicles after a certain point. We got down from the auto, bought the tickets and got into the forest departments bus which took us until a certain point. We had to walk the last 1 Km stretch, which some of them might find difficult. But, the path was very well maintained with neat roads. Again here, it was drizzling and it was very very cool at the top. Went past couple of small waterfalls, saw only one Nilgiri Thar which is a rare species and can be seen in abundant only in very few places and reached the last point until which people are permitted. The view from the top was absolutely stunning, but most of the places were covered with mist. Nevertheless, it was great to be there with the winds blowing very heavily. This spot is one of the highlights and must see in Munnar. Since, we went during the late monsoon, all the waterfalls and lakes were brimming with water. Came back, visited a couple of waterfalls on the way and started our journey back to our room.












The return journey was very eventful. The slight drizzle with accompanied us for the two days turned out into heavy rain. Also, the auto in which we were traveling didnt have a proper whipper, headlight and horn. The visibility was close to nil and the roads too were narrow with lots of sharp and blind turns. It was getting dark too. and to highlight all these, the driver got a call on his mobile and he was riding the auto with one hand. It was a thrilling ride and fortunately we reached the resort unscathed. That night was even more cold.
The next morning, we packed our bags and set out in a cab to Kumarakom, our next destination.

Points to note

1. Access : Rail : Dindugal/Cochin is the nearest rail head. Road : Munnar is very well connected to Madurai, Dindugal, Pazhani, Kottayam, Cochin by road. The travel time is 3-4 hours from any of these points.
For the travellers from Chennai/Bangalore, the best mode is to take the KPN Travels, who operate direct service to Munnar. Though the journey is long, the buses are very good and comfortable.
2. I suggest you to take an auto for local transport. The auto charges are very cheap and the drivers are very friendly and share lot of information.
3. The sight seeing places are a bit far off. You may have to travel a lot. Though the number of places are less, all of them are very beautiful and the ride along the roads alone will make you feel complete.
4. Since, the places are very beautiful and neat, with not much crowd and a great climate to compliment, this is highly recommended for honeymooners. Ideal to spend 3-4 days. If you plan for a longer visit, you can club Kumarakom - another honeymooners paradise, which is 4 hours drive from Munnar.
5. Thekaddy is a popular destination near Munnar. It has a big forest and a boat ride in the middle of it. Chances of spotting a elephant/bison are more.

6. Some well known tourist routes are -
* Munnar - Mattupetty Dam - Indo Swiss Livestock Project - Echo Point - Kundala Dam - Top Station (34 km),
* Munnar - Pothamedu - Chitirapuram - Pallivasal - Cheyappara - Adimali - Valara (40 km),
* Munnar - Rajamala - Marayoor - Chinnar (70 km),
* Munnar - Devikulam - Lock Heart Gap - Power House Waterfalls - Anayirankal (32 km).

If you need any detail, drop a mail to shankar.nash@gmail.com

Honeymoon - Munnar - Part 1

After a series of group trips, now comes the first of our honeymoon trips. It was during Sep'07 that we set out on our honeymoon trip to Munnar and Kumarakom.

Munnar, is a serene hill station atop the western ghats section in the TamilNadu-Kerala border Border. Though it falls under Kerala territory tamil is the major language here. Unlike Ooty and Kodaikanal, it is less populated and even more beautiful Munnar is very famous for its tea estates, which form atleast 90% of its real estate. Wherever you go, all that you can see is tea, tea and more tea. Munnar has lot to offer in terms of green meadows all along, numerous of waterfalls and lakes, mountains engulfed with mist, neat roads and hassle free traffic, less crowd, good options for boarding and lodging, sloppy tea estates, all that a normal traveller would long for. The sight seeing places are few and far off, but you are sure to enjoy the beauty of this place. You can just go for a drive on and on enjoying the consistent beauty all along. Its rightly called as a honeymooners paradise, since there wont be much crowd any where.












It was on the 3rd of september, after a lot of hustle and bustle over the previous two weeks, we came rushing to the KPN bus stand in Perungulathur, chennai just in time for the bus which goes to Munnar directly. After a long and comfortable ride of close to 14 hours we reached Munnar around the next day noon. Once we got down at the busstand, we were swarmed by bees of autowallahs. We were really astonished by the cheap rates that these auto wallahs demanded. Took an auto, settled for Rs.150/- for a drop to Sterling Resorts, which is 22kms away from the busstand. Soon we were in the narrow, but safe and good roads enjoying the beauty of the places around and the wind brushing our face. On the way to Sterling resorts, we came across a small viewpoint, which had a tea/soup shop which also happenned to be the only shop that we encountered in the whole journey. Hence by default, this place attracted people. Dont miss the tea here, if you happen to go. The auto driver was very friendly. Hence, we booked him for the sight seeing tour too. Reached the resort by 1 PM, refreshed and had a yummy lunch in the resort. By this time, the weather turned absolutely fantastic, with the wind getting heavier and cooler and frequent short spells of rains.
Something about the resort - Sterling is a big chain of resorts and has properties in all major tourist destination across India. Munnar's sterling is their latest addition and best that i have been to, with the rooms maintained very clean. The service, facilities and the food are equally great. The location itself deserves a special mention, with a good view of the valley and a distant reservoir from all the rooms. There is a small waterfall near the resort, which can be reached by walk. In the night the resort looks even more beautiful with the light setting of the adjacent ClubMahindra resort adding more beauty. We booked through an agent. Hence, we got the rooms at close to 40% discount. For more details on the tarriff and the discount, drop a mail to shankar.nash@gmail.com

The next day, the same autowallah came to pick us up for the sight seeing trip. The weather was even more cool and there was slight drizzle all along the day. The places looked even more green and beautiful. All that we could see where tea estates and more of it only. It was as if a vast green carpet has been spread over the landscape. If there was something that we saw other than tea, then it was the mist. The ride in the auto in this weather was absolutely thrilling, with the cool winds blowing from all sides. Visited the places like Elephant point, which is supposed to be frequented by elephants. Then the echo point, which was nothing but a lake lined up with lots of small shops. Then went for a speed boat ride enroute the echo point, which was quite good. Then to a nursery, which had quite a good collection of different species of flowers. By this time, it was close to 5 PM and started getting dark, hence returned to the room. Since, we had abundant time at hand, we prepared our own dinner(noodles and soup) and finished the day with a candlelight dinner.

To be continued here