http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/kandath/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from kandath en-us Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:53:33 +0000 Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:53:33 +0000 Beaches in Kerala India are rapidly establishing as one of the most attrative and talked about in the world with its lovely stretches of clean sand swaying palm trees and rippling waves embracing them. I recently visited Muzuppilangad beach in Kannore district in north Kerala. Mind you these ares are totally unexplored magical and out of this world compared to the well known and commercial K http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Kerala/Kannur/blog-101302.html I went for a wild trekk in Nelliyampathy rainforests about 54 kms south of Palakkad City in the south western state of Kerala India. It is a very popular hill station famous for its tea and coffee plantations and excellent weather conditions. It's called as the 'Poor man's Ooty'. It took me almost one hour and a half to get there from Hotel Indraprasta an excellent hotel in Palakkad where I st http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Kerala/Palakkad/blog-84025.html Near the international airport in Chennai formerly known as Madras is the small hillock where the apostle St Thomas the noble missionary and one of the principal diciples of Lord Jesus was assasinated way back in 72 AD. The origin of Christianity in India can be traced to St Thomas Didymas the apostle. While most of Jesus diciples confined their activities to the meditaranian region St Thoma http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Tamil-Nadu/Chennai/blog-83869.html This is one place on the Arabian coast of India where history has stood still. Approximately 3 kms west of Kannur city is Fort St.Angelodramatically silhouetted against the sea its massive laterite blocks give this fort built by the Portuguese in 1505 a faintly menacing air. At one time nearly thousand people lived within Fort St. Angelos walls from where one can enjoy commanding views of th http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Kerala/Kannur/blog-83791.html I realise fully that I am writing this blog completely out of sequence writing about a European city along with blogging on Kerala after my relocation to these shores for at least a few years but my 24 long years at Oxford has undoubtedly made me fall in love with this magical city and hecne these few lines on Oxford Oxford in England is undoubtedly the oldest university in the english speakin http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Oxfordshire/Oxford/blog-83550.html I recently made a visit to an elephant sanctuary perhaps the only one of its kind in the world here in Kerala. It is located in Trissur district near the famous Vishnu temple in Guruvayur and it houses nearly 63 elephants. The elephants of Kerala are an integral part of the daily life here. They are loved revered groomed and given a prestigious place in the states colorful culturespace. Unl http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Kerala/Guruvayur/blog-83523.html The backwaters are a unique contribution of Kerala to the world and is found no where else. This is a network of lakes canals estuaries and deltarsquos of 44 rivers that flows into the Arabian Sea from the Western Ghats. These backwaters are a selfsupporting ecosystem teeming with aquatic life. These canals connect villages together and are still used for the local transport. Over 900 kms of http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Kerala/Kochi-/blog-83406.html Ever since my early childhood days in Kerala where I grew up in a rural village I had been fascinated by the monsoon rains. My long 25 years stint away in Europe added a mysterious touch to it. After relocating to India almost 3 years ago I now have made it a point to observe this amazing phenomenon when ever and where ever possible. The monsoon rain is something Westerners need to experience http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Kerala/Kozhikode/blog-83338.html I recently did a whirlwind trip to the beautiful and magical Mahe which is a tiny enclave of Ponicherry on the east cost of India and 630 kms away with a heavy French influence. In fact this former French town covering approximately 9 kms and have a population of around 36000 people is an incredibly peaceful place. This petit town is situated on the west coast of Indian peninsula between 11 de http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Kerala/Mahe/blog-83330.html Classic Kozhikode in north Kerala is the area which the legendary traveller Marco Polo described in 1320AD as the Great Province of Malabar. In fact Chinese were the first to establish commercial contact with these shores and many eminent travellers followed their footsteps. Ibn Batuta1342Abdur Razzak1443 and Anthanaseus Nikiten1468 were few of them. The remarks made by these travellers co http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Kerala/Kozhikode/blog-83216.html Introduction The cleanest of all Kerala cities with one foot in a different era still shy to embrace the western way of life but eager and happy to welcome visitors from everywhere Thiruananthapuram the capital city of Kerala is a joy to explore . General description When one enquires about this city inevitably one will hear about Sree Padmanabha Swamy first. The city and Lord Padmana http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Kerala/Trivandrum-/blog-83208.html