From the Land of Green

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Planning a trip is overwhelming, from narrowing down to the place to selecting what to see and do, to all the reservations. Having received mixed reviews from my friends and colleagues, I turned to trip advisor and many travel journals for essential information, for example, package cost, weather, travel, food and so on. I had planned for “God’s Own Country—Kerala”.



I have had Kerala on my bucket list for the longest time, not wanting to miss anything; so I planned a tight four days trip with a travel agent covering Munnar, Thekkady, and Alleppey planning to stay for a day each in Thekkady, Alleppey and in Munnar for two days.



Many had told me about Kochi’s culture and historic importance, but I was far more interested in getting rid of the hustle bustle of the downtown. However, to brief a little Kochi, the largest city in Kerala, has historically been an important port city right from the 14th century - colonized by the Portuguese, Dutch & British at different times in history, the city still preserves an intriguing mix of architecture from its varying colonial past. Ernakulam is the city’s cosmopolitan part where as Fort Kochi is the tourist hub.





In addition, to enjoy seafood anybody and everybody would love to visit Kochi’s great restaurants and cafes, my favorite dish had been Kerala’s famous “Karimeen fry”—a non-vegetarian seafood dish.





<br class="kix-line-break" /><br class="kix-line-break" />Coming back to my favorite, Munnar is a Hill-station on the foothills of the Western Ghats, One of the most pursued tourist spots of Kerala owing to its scenic beauty—luxurious carpeted plantations of tea and spices around its hills. It is also the largest tea-growing region in the south. As it was a pre-planned trip through a travel agent, I had a private car and driver booked for the entire trip. Therefore, I started from Kochi to Munnar, starting from Kochi airport. The journey was quite scenic but nearly 4 hours long! Moreover, all through the way, my car driver played recent Bollywood music! which made me quite a thinker.





Resorts and hotels in Munnar are far away from the market and tourist spots, I had to plan my entire day well before leaving the hotel. One of the things I enjoyed most in Munnar was stopping on the way and walking through tea gardens, there are hidden scenic places to discover by chance, and if you are lucky, you will get to see tea pickers in action!



Places I would like to highlight are the Mattupetty dam, Spice gardens—that you will spot every now and then, while commute, Echo point—enjoyed the paddled boat and yelling against the misty mountains and chocolate shops—which claimed to be homemade and healthy.



Thekkady was quite adventurous, but we could not stay more than one day. To brief a bit, Thekkady is heaven for wildlife as well as for nature lovers. Its moderately cool climate, scenic beauties, lush greenery and the exotic wildlife sanctuary attracts tourists from the nook and corner of the world.



<br class="kix-line-break" /><br class="kix-line-break" />I found the elephant ride in Thekkady to be short and over rated. I did not enjoy the food in all that much. I also surprisingly found the coffee & tea very mild & milky here. Thekkady was not my favorite of the Kerala trip for sure, but I do plan to come again in the monsoon or winter to visit all the places I have missed!

Moving to the final destination Alleppey houseboat was my best experience after Munnar. I got into the houseboat at 12 Noon from one of the jetties in Alleppey. As soon as boarded, my first impression was that the boat crew was warm and cheerful as they welcomed me with light refreshments. The booking agent introduced me to the crew and left me with a warm smile. As the boat slowly departed, the allotted rooms were shown. I left my luggage in the room and came back out into the open to do a little sightseeing.

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<br class="kix-line-break" />The boat cruised along narrow canals where I saw the full glory of village life. People traveled in canoes to reach the main land, as many houses there do not have an approach road. Even children were using canoes the way we use cycles and bikes to move. It was amazing! We passed by other boats and it was a delight to see the guests there having a ‘Wow’ expression on their faces. The boat stopped for lunch at 1 PM right in the middle of the lake, making me feels all the more awesome. After it was anchored, the boat started slowly rotating on its own. I loved the feeling it gave me, and I had a really good time.



For lunch, they served fish fry, chappathis, rice and a few more dishes. They prepared the food differently, and it tasted superb. After we had our lunch, and the crew had theirs, the cruise resumed. By 5:30 PM, the boat was docked near its owner’s house. The boats usually have their own regular parking slots. The boat’s TV was connected to the cable in the owner’s house. I spent more time roaming around, though. By 8 PM, dinner was served, and I hit the bed by 10 PM. Let me tell you, sleeping on a floating boat is very different!



To sum up my experience, Kerala had been one of the best places, I ever experienced. I would recommend all, who loves nature and seafood to visit Kerala in Winters.

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