Traveling is good
The southern state of Kerala is a land truly blessed by nature. Kerala has enchanting mountains, pristine rainforests, golden sun-sand beaches and unique backwaters that hold their own even in the face of fast developing towns and cities. The coconut palms (that give the state its name) are everywhere, waving a welcome to the place proudly being hailed as God’s Own Country.
Thiruvananthapuram is the state capital and the home of heritage sites such as the Padmanabhaswamy Temple. The port city of Kochi and its twin city Ernakulam pulsate with commercial activity, while Thrisshur wears the cultural crown with the temple festival Trisshur Pooram. The richly decorated elephant, as seen during this festival is globally recognised for its association with Kerala.
Kerala has a good network of roads (though crowded) and the Indian Railways connect major towns and cities. There are international airports in Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode. Malayalam is the local language and Hindi would be understood in major cities.
The state gets a generous share of the eagerly awaited Indian Monsoon and it rains heavily from June to September. Summers are hot and humid while winters are mild. Apart from the monsoon months, Kerala is a paradise for beach holidays. It also provides numerous opportunities for trekking, camping and wildlife sanctuary experiences. Along with these, rejuvenating Ayurvedic spa and Eco tourism vacations make Kerala one of the most popular places on the International Tourism map.
Cochin is about 50 kms from Alleppey. After visiting Maritime Navy Museum, we headed for Fort Cochin area. Fort Cochin area consists of Churches, Dutch Palace and Jewish Synagogue. For history enthusiasts its a place for going back in the past and know about Jews, Portuguese and dutch reign in Cochin.
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The top of the mountain was a visual treat to the beauty-starved eyes. Rather plain compared to the slope that we came up, it was covered with neatly trimmed tea and coffee plantation for miles.
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I was getting nostalgic and remembering my goa days. The hotel manager was very nice, I did speak to him to seek further guidance, he advised us to take car to the light house from other side and not to walk in the sun to take the stairs. He offered to stay for 1 night there. Indeed a good idea to spend one night in kovalam. However, we had our luggage in Kanyakumari so we cannot stay there. We had to move on.
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Yet another known place in Tiruvalla is the Vallabha swamy temple. This apparently is a well-known one among the hindu devotees. If you are looking for directions to this place, you need to ask for “Tiruvalla Ambalam” to any auto driver.
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As we moved on towards Idukki, the rain got heavier and the drive became difficult. Our driver Rajesh, informed us that though he was a resident of Kottayam, this was the first time he was driving from Kottayam to Thekkady via Idukki. Hearing this made me more anxious, and I began to worry whether I had chosen the right time to visit the wettest district in Kerala.
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The emphasis is on the ‘paying’ tourist and not on the spot. Well some of us definitely enjoy this ‘tourism’ but some of us want to run away from it. Having access to mineral water on a hill top is good, but more important is access to written material about the place, the history, the geography.
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