Kerala,as we all know has been known as 'God's own country' for several ages on end for I guess,two primary reasons - The endless greenery throughout the state as well as the hospitality of the people the moment you enter.
I hail from Kerala i.e my grandparents came to Bombay from Kerala for job purposes somewhere in the late 1940's and since then,we reside in Bombay.Myself & my parents were born & brought up in Bombay,but have visited Kerala just around 3 times so far(atleast for me).However,a few elements of the state such as the culture,cuisine as well as some of our favourite television shows/movies are Malayali.
We booked a package tour to Kerala via Makemytrip.com from the 16th to 21st of August.The starting flight from Bombay(Indigo Airlines) was at 12.10 AM and the journey to Kochi,Kerala was covered in around 90 minutes or 1.5 hours.Since the company had planned the tour for us,everything i.e right from the flight to the hotels as well as the tour cab was planned by them at quite a reasonable rate for three people.As soon as we landed at Kochi airport,we were greeted by the company manager who had hired a Tata Indica cab for us throughout the trip(which indeed turned out to be quite useful).We were then taken to a resort named SAJ Earth near the airport,a luxurious resort having a typical Kerala theme,especially in terms of the local architecture of cottage roof houses,each adjacent to each other in a row surrounding a long rectangular pool.Each cottage was like a typical hotel room one would expect from a 4 or 5 star hotel.The hospitality and helpfulness of the hotel staff was quite touching and the rooms were well maintained and furnished.Constant efforts were taken by the staff to ensure that the guests were well treated and in maintaining the resort.The food there was typical local cuisine as well as other or Western,mainly suited for the foreign tourists visiting the resort.
After a day's stay at SAJ Earth,on the 17th,we left for a 4 hr journey to a hillstation named Munnar.The roads were akin to ghats as we see mainly in Western India,but being a hillstation,the view & surroundings were absolutely beautiful & the clouds were touching the hilltops,which was spectacular.As said in the beginning,throughout the journey,we found only the presence of nature all around i.e trees,valleys,waterfalls & clouds as well as a large number of Churches.
After arriving,we then stayed in a hotel named Silvertips.What was unique about this hotel was its special filmy theme.Posters of all Indian filmstars i.e from Bollywood as well as South were displayed across all the corridors as well as in each room and the entrance had a huge roll camera imported from the US.We were at the 4th floor,which ensured an equally beautiful view of the city surrounded by hills.
During the stay,we visited traditional dance show i.e Kathakali,known nation wide for conveying expressions without using words as well as the martial arts show, Kalaripayattu.The next day,we visited the local flower garden which had an antequated collection of different flowers.
After staying for 2 days,on the 19th,we then headed off for another 4 hr journey to another place named Thekkadi.On the way,we stopped by for a nature park which had elephant rides,2 tall tree houses as well as a shop selling Ayurvedic products from which we did quite a lot of shopping.Also,there were popular Catholic churches on the way which provided a star attraction.
Upon arrival at Thekkadi,we stayed in a 5 star resort named The Elephant Court decorated in the traditional Kerala style,with the female staff mainly dressed in sarees. The resort was beautifully laid out having a large pool in the center and various stand alone individual bungalow style rooms surrounding it(different from SAJ Earth however).Our room was in the first floor,having all the amaenities one would expect from a typical 5 star.Also,there was a good restaurant following the same theme.
The next day, i.e on the 20th,we left for a town named Alleppey,one of Kerala's larger cities as well as a famous tourist destination known for its picteresque canals and backwaters.It was also described as one of the "Venice of the East".A lot of famous people,such as India's current Defence minister,Mr A.K Antony hails from this place.Upon arrival,we initially bought some of Kerala's famous snacks or delicacies such as Banana Chips & Halwa.We then proceeded to what Alleppey is associated with,its Houseboats.These are long motor boats turned into house style rooms having a television,A.C,bathroom,an attached kitchen and so on.It belonged to the JCT company.The boat began to cruise along the backwaters at around 2:30 pm on the 20th and it sailed for a few hours until 5.30 pm.On the way,it stopped by near a local village,during our lunch time.We had a driver who navigated the boat as well as a cook who provided the meals and snacks.
(Contd in Part 2)
