Blogs from Periyar National Park, Kerala, India, Asia

The goal was to experience the Kerala Thekkady area, including the Periyar National Park and Wildlife Preserve, in a budget friendly and authentic way. So when Sumod, a man I met on the streets of Kumily suggested this “option,” I thought, “that sounds fun.” But I had little idea what to expect. That’s okay, because that’s what I like about travel. Not knowing what to expect. It’s the best way because then anything can happen! And everything always works out, somehow. Sumod met me on the darkened street at 5:00 AM outside my homestay. We walked to the bus station, where our daily 5:15 AM bus was predictably late. This Kerala government bus makes a daily run to a faraway village, traveling through a portion of the Periyar National Park. We sped off into the dark ... read more

OK, so our last night at Shola Crown wasnt the best. We went down for the BBQ and quickly decided that we needed some different food so proceeded to the restaurant where the Hotel Manager told us that he would bring it up to the room. 2 hours later, despite multiple requests and growing frustration it still hadn't arrived and the kids needs to sleep. However, with the music still blaring from the BBQ there was no chance of that. Anyway, after much gesticulating by Dad and some fairly colourful language, the food came and the kids ate a bit before going to bed.......once the music had stopped! All of this on top of the fact that mum and dad found out that our flights home might be cancelled, this could be good news if it ... read more

HE SAID... We were leaving Madurai and heading west to Thekkady. Ren woke early and headed out to buy water and a few packets of electrolyte for me as I had been ill during the night. I hydrated, packed and made my way down to reception. I wasn’t feeling too bad, but I was looking forward to the destination more than ever. Ren was coming down with a cold/flu, so we weren’t travelling well. About an hour into the trip I started feeling back to normal, but Ren was getting worse. We were making our way westwards across the bottom tip of India, so we were travelling through rural landscapes filled with rice, palm, banana, sugarcane and cardamom plantations. We had a brief stop in Theni to buy some throat lozenges for Ren before we started ... read more

Up before the crack of dawn with no breakfast! We drove twenty minutes to Periyar National Parkfor a boat ride on Mullaperiyar Lake to see wildlife. A heavy mist or fog delayed departure, and a mix-up placed us nicely on a small boat that was much less peopled than expected. All twenty people had assigned seats and were expected to keep them (standing up momentarily was allowed to get a good shot). Crewmembers tied us into our very serious lifejackets. I sat in a great single seat on one side. The views were magical – the kind we see in professional photographs: mountains, water, rising mist, thin sun. The view cleared during our cruise until we returned in warm sun and golden–green vegetation. At first we saw birds pointed out by the guides: many egrets; plain, ... read more

Ho-hum. Maybe it was because the water in the lake was low, maybe it was because both my food and shower were cold; maybe it was because there were 40 mosquitos in our room upon arrival; maybe it was because the hotel treated us this way despite the fact that they charged more than most four star hotels in Europe, Japan, or the USA, but I do not recommend staying at the Lake Palace in the Periyar Tiger Reserve. http://www.lakepalacethekkady.com/ The Lake Palace is the former summer palace of the King of Travancore, but it can only be visited by guests of the hotel. Given that the hotel service is so bad but the grounds are worth a visit, the palace would better serve the public if it were turned into a museum that everyone could ... read more