My visit to Kerela-God’s Own country
The natural beauty of
Kerela still calls me back to visit it again and again the wildlife reserves, mountain spice plantations and a maze of
soothing backwaters,houseboats,beaches ,coconut plants,the people etc. all are
so amazing and warming.The memories are still fresh in my mind.
Visit to Kerela was my best decision to escape from the chaos , hustle & bustle of
Mumbai city.
I with my 2 sweet friends Sonam & Nirma took a flight at 4:10pm and reached there within 2
hrs.The airport was bit unorganized compared to other Indian airports but as Every
place has a distinct aroma. Entering Thiruvanthapuram a heady scent of jasmine
and coconut oil enveloped me – a combination designed to keep one cool headed
in weather that can drive you crazy.
We stayed in a hotel which had a good sight view and
hospitality and food was also good.
Next morning, we three got ready for the “thiruvanthapuram”
(I take time to pronounce it neways) tour.Kerala's scenery is the lush, verdant
stuff of Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things,
with plentiful food (paddy fields, spice plantations, coconut groves) and rain.
We all three were quite
unknown to kerela and haven’t been here before so for our provision we took
help of internet a lot. In google playstore I found a Tourism 
I visited this place during the monsoon period and it was
awesome.The
Kerela is the first state to receive monsoon every year. Even though God’s Own
Country remains carpeted in green, monsoon brings an unmatched vibrance to the state.
1st day
Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple
I was curious to see the mandir which was in news 1 year back & has
draw world’s
attention for the discovery of estimated Rs.100,000
crores worth of gold underneath the temple.An ancient temple dedicated to Lord
Vishnu built in 1733.I am not much fond of taking pics but do like to click
when I think its worth keeping memory of it.I want to keep some pics of this
temple but I was not allowed & I was asked to photograph it from the
outside; it is strictly forbidden to take photos inside. It is very sacred and
I love the rituals followed here. The dress code one has to
follow to enter the temple is interesting. It is an amazing experience to be
here.
Napier Museum
Then
headed to napier museum & natural history museum . In this museum there
were houses
a rare collection of archaeological and historic artefacts, bronze idols,
ancient ornaments, a temple chariot and ivory carvings.I felt the houses
resembles to the ancient India architecture or japenese houses.So,that’s the
end for the day.
2nd dayVarkala Beach Travel Guide
Next day morning we Rent
car and headed to World famous Varkala beach . It took us about 1:15mins to
reach there.
The
setting of the beach though I wont say it breath taking but it was quite
beautiful with a long winding stretch of cliff and views that extend over the
Arabian Sea.
There’s no beeping
horns, smoke-belching exhausts or lunatic driving.
Indians don’t really holiday in this part of Varkala and you generally only see
‘foreign’ faces – mostly backpackers. Lost a bit of momentum here. I enjoyed every minute of it. I often find
that in a really chilled out place like Varkala where there is little to do but
relax and watch the world go by that I find myself contemplating my life, my
plans for the future and the ‘what’s life all about.After enjoying the beautiful
sunset we came back to our friend’s place.
3rd Day
Car ride to Kochi
Next morning we traveled to Kochi from Trivandrum via a
taxi which took me around 5.5 hrs to reach. I started at 9:30 and reached Kochi
at around 2:45 pm. It is always preferable to start early in the morning when
the weather is pleasant.
We stayed in a hotel that was breath taking.It was beach
facing and there were lots of coconut trees in the gardens and we were often
given fresh coconuts and could drink the water out of them,.
After taking some rest,in the intention to see the sunset
we went to the waterfront
where the Chinese fishing nets line the shore, bought some
seafood from one of the fishmongers
there, got it cooked at a nearby shack, and enjoy eating it as the sun sets. The Chinese Fishing Nets. These huge nets must be really fetching
the fishermen good returns in terms of efforts and the amount of fish.
After the long day we want to go back to hotel have some
delicious food and get some good sleep.
4th Day
We woke up early and
again walked around the same streets admiring them again. We saw the Santa
Cruz Basilica
and were surprised to see that it dates back to 1505. That goes to show that Cochin has
quite an old history.
Vypeen Island
We
headed for vyeen island as we feel like going for a boat ride, took the ferry
from Fort Kochi, around four kilometers off the coast. The main attraction
there is Cherai beach, on
the northern tip,it was awesome. We also went on a tour rather than travel by
yourself, Cochin Magic
which offered us this Kerala
Seafood Trail.
St.Francis/Dutch Palace/Jewish Synagogue
Then we again travel back for for our afternoon sightseeing. Fort
Kochi has numerous homestays.we saw St.Francis Church and the Dutch
Palace.
The wooden flooring and ceilings of the Dutch Palace are amazing. Above this,
the wall paintings in a couple of rooms which depict some stories from Hindu
mythology are said to have been painted using only natural colors. It really
represents the genius of previous generations of Indian Artists.From the Palace it is a very short walk
to the Jewish
Synagogue. The street is
called Jew Street. This street is vibrantly colourful with shops selling artefacts, handworks, masks, clothes.
Almost all the restaurants on this street have a small collection of old statues and antiques
for its patrons to buy/see. As a
lot of European tourists visit the synagogue (more than Indians ), so Jew
Street looks more like an European alley.
We three were just roaming and enjoying but with us there
was one more friend Profilebaker’s tourism App which was guiding us all along.It was like four friends enjoying and travelling kerela.www.profilebaker.com
Princess’s Street
After sight seeing I felt the need of
shopping a bit as I am a bit shopaholic.So we went to Princess street.It is one
of the happening place.There were all around people hanging
out,cafes,restaurants,bookstores,
tea shops, art galleries, and souvenirs. It's one of the oldest streets in Fort
Kochi and has become the main tourist strip. You'll
also find grocery stores there. It's a great destination for an evening walk.I
bought some unique and antique show pieces which will be kept as my memory
pieces at my home and also collected some to be given as gifts.
Now
this became my last place to visit for this short holiday as we shall be
catching our flight tomorrow at 11:45am from Kochi itself.Alot left to
see in Kerela but next ime And thanks
to the technology Profilebaker(www.profilebaker.com/profilebaker@gmail.com) which
created the Tourism App and made our trip like Cherry on the Cake.I
still use it whenever I need some tourism information .Awesome holiday. The
memories will be fresh forever.Seriuosly I suggest anyone who would want a
peaceful pleasant trip
should visit Kerela for sure.
