Blogs from Kovalam, Kerala, India, Asia

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Asia » India » Kerala » Kovalam November 20th 2017

For different people, oceans can mean different things. For some, it may mean beaches and seashores with a lot of surface adventures. To others, it means something deeper than that. My entire perception of the oceans got altered in a major way recently – Thanks to Bond Safari of Kovalam in Kerala. One may have seen a lot of marine life videos from sources such as Discovery and Animal Planet and even YouTube these days. But when we watch such videos, we think that such activities are really complicated to be carried out by the majority of ordinary people who do not have much knowledge of the marine life. Thanks to Bond Safari, having such experiences are not impossible in Kerala anymore. During November 2017, I visited Kovalam and enjoyed the beauty of this coastal village ... read more
Scuba diving
Scuba diving kerala
Kovalam - a great scuba diving destination in Kerala

Asia » India » Kerala » Kovalam February 2nd 2017

Incredible India - 3 of 3 Southern India Karnataka, TamilNadu and Kerala It took most of the day to cover the 275km from the rolling hills and fertile fields of Ooty to the arid plains of Kochi (Cochin) by car, careering past brightly painted lorries, cars and motorbikes on narrow winding roads. There are signs of better things on the horizon as earth-movers and workmen plough their way through the countryside in an attempt to dual the road and hasten prosperity to the masses. We have finally entered Kerala, the name on the lips of the many visitors who have come before us, the green and fertile land they call, God’s Own Country. Between bustling villages vibrant with colour and clamour, vast rice paddies stretch to the horizon, bordered by narrow water-courses and whispering coconut palms. ... read more
Kathakali Culture Show
Kochi
Maria's Cookery Course

Asia » India » Kerala » Kovalam March 10th 2016

The fishermen at Hawaa beach were busy pushing their country-crafts into the sea on a bright sunny morning, when we set out for Poovar. This southernmost paradise lies little before Pozhiyoor, which marks the end of Kerala. The distance from Hawaa Beach was about 18 km and the estimated travel time was 30 minutes. Since we had started immediately after the sumptuous breakfast at the hotel, the density of traffic on the highway was low. We could cover the distance much earlier, than expected. Our chauffeur, who had self-assumed the role of our guide, continued to churn-out valuable inputs about our destination. We encouraged him to continue so as to upgrade our database with bare minimal efforts. In the early 18th century, the Maharaja of Travancore, Marthanda Varma, was in exile in Pokkumoosapuram, the place later ... read more
Mangroves
Birds
Serene

Asia » India » Kerala » Kovalam March 6th 2016

U-Turn at the southernmost end of Indian Peninsula brought us back on the NH-47, Kanyakumari–Kochi Highway …. the road we had taken on the previous day. Some of the vistas we missed during the short intermittent naps could be revisited., with eyes wide open. The day was warming up and the sun was on the ascent. Our today’s night halt was scheduled at Kovalam and the destination was about 90 km. The density of traffic was quite high till we crossed Nagercoil. To beat the insufferable ambient heat, there were lot of vendors selling, Nungu, the local palm fruit. This deep blackish purple fruit is grown in dry tropical regions of southern India and the trees are ubiquitous throughout the coast. It is difficult to open and cut this hard-shelled fruit for us. The vendors have ... read more
Nungu
Morning Glow at Hawaa Beach
Rockscape

Asia » India » Kerala » Kovalam July 22nd 2014

If you are a beach lover, this is the place to go. It is not as well known as Goa, but is far less crowded and certainly much cleaner. To get to this pleasant beach resort in Kovalam, one has to fly in to Trivandrum a city in southwest India. However, if you are already in India you can also take the train to Trivandrum from the major cities, and then hire a taxi to go to Kovalam. As our departure point was Colombo in Sri Lanka, we took Sri Lankan Airlines from Colombo to Trivandrum. We had already arranged for our hotel in Kovalam to pick us up at Trivandrum airport, but when we arrived we didn't see any sign of the hotel taxi. So we called up the hotel, and they said it would ... read more
Kovalam 1
Kovalam 2
Kovalam 3

Asia » India » Kerala » Kovalam November 6th 2013

Glimpses of Kerala-1 : Kovalam We are from Gujarat and vegetarians. Some of my remarks may reflect these. It was our third attempt at planning a trip to Kerala. We could manage only 7N8D trip which I know, is not enough to enjoy Kerala thoroughly. Our plan included 2N in Kovalam (to accommodate Kanniyakumari), 1N in Kumarkom houseboat, 2N in Thekkady and 2N in Munnar. Due to last minute changes in flight schedules, we lost two precious hours. We reached Trivandrum at 3 pm instead of 1 pm. 2 hours seems a small loss but for us, it meant cancelling visit to Padmanabhan temple in Trivandrum. We had planned only this one place in Trivandrum and it had to be dropped thanks to SpiceJet. So, we went straight to hotel on Kovalam beach. Kovalam beaches are ... read more
Kovalam-03
Kovalam-04
Kovalam-05

Asia » India » Kerala » Kovalam May 1st 2013

On Jen's last day we decided to head back to Ark, we spend most of our time walking the dogs there as the staff are so busy looking after the sick dogs and preparing them for their medication etc. The dogs are very friendly and grateful for any fuss they can get. They also love - love - love the walks! It can be quite a crazy experience, we took out 14 dogs in total today... Some, a few escape artists 'sneaking' out with us. These escape artists made us a little apprehensive at first, worrying that they'd run off... But, as mentioned previously, the pack mentality is very strong here (probably due to being less domesticated) - so fortunately we've had no problems and are able to walk the dogs relatively hassle free. The only ... read more
Land's End
Goodbye :-(

Asia » India » Kerala » Kovalam April 30th 2013

On our first morning we got up at 3.30am (getting used to these early starts now!) in order to travel the two hour journey to Land's End (India's most southerly point) to watch the sunrise. After a sleepy (and bumpy) ride we finally made it at 6.00am - just in time to catch the sun rising over the sea. It was surprisingly busy with people from the local villages, again a really lovely 'community' feel here. We spent a very tranquil, peaceful hour sat on a rock watching the sun rise over the sea and listening to the sounds of the waves combined with people singing from the temple behind us in their early morning prayer. ... read more
Kerala's Backwaters
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IMGP0510

Asia » India » Kerala » Kovalam April 27th 2013

We've arrived safe and sound in Kerala and my god is it humid here! We're very grateful for the sea breeze! We are staying literally on the seafront and have stunning views! It's clear that this place is a little more used to tourists as we haven't had any stares despite wandering around in strappy tops! Still probably won't be wearing any shorts though- we don't want to offend! Already we can see there are fewer dogs (and animals in general) stray and wandering around and those we have seen are clearly in good condition. No small part due to the work done by ARK (which we are off to visit after this update!) We'll update you further on our time here later on but for now see our previous entry for our time in Jodhpur! ... read more
IMG_2182

Asia » India » Kerala » Kovalam April 3rd 2013

Last days in India and going home Breakfast as usual and then we collected towels, our two new friends Joan and Dave, and headed for the calm beach but no umbrellas there meant we couldn't stay. We headed off to Kovalam again and found a spot to sit whilst Steve went surfing, so wish I could have joined him but don't feel my arm is quite up for that yet. We walked along the edge of the waves and the breeze was so welcome.We were pestered quite a bit but didn't buy anything. We stopped for lunch, grilled fish and vegetables, nice to have a change from curry, then made our way back. Joan and Dave are a really down to earth fun couple.Once back at the hotel we both went for a swim and chilled ... read more
Mumbai
Gateway of India
Colonial British Building




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