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General information
Duration: 11-Aug-06 to 16-Aug-06
With my best buddies Devendra and Advait, I went on a trip to Kerala for a short duration. We got cheap air tickets 3 months in advance and also the holidays were conveniently placed: weekend followed by Independence day and Janmashtami. Tourist season in Kerala is between September and March, so this was off-season. With an unplanned itinerary, we set upon this short trip to God’s own country.
Places visited: Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum), Kovalam, Kanyakumari, Thekkady, Periyar and Munnar
Warning: Long article [2800 words, 103 photos].
Don’t forget to comment!!
11 August
The bomb and the flight
I reached Mumbai airport directly from office and was relaxing in the waiting area comforted by air conditioner while it rained outside. Suddenly a battery of police officers and airport authorities appeared and started evacuating passengers from inside the terminal. Apparently someone had placed a call warning about a bomb and one unidentified bag was spotted near the entrance gate. Bomb disposal squads were called to inspect the baggage
Trivandrum Central Station at midnight while we waited outside the cordoned area. It turned out to be hoax, but during those ten minutes, the crowd was tense and I’m sure many were praying. There were some large cameras pointing at the glass windows trying to capture whatever they could. Media, sigh! I was imagining the news channels screaming ‘Breaking news‘ (they do this even if a cat is stuck on a tree).
Consequently our flight was delayed. Add to that the overcrowding at the security terminals. We managed to somehow scrape through and probably were the last ones to board the aircraft!
Welcome to Kerala
We landed at Trivandrum airport after a brief halt at Cochin (Kochi). The ground was damp, the sky was cloudy and the midnight air was fresh 
Welcome to Kerala!
A friendly pre-paid taxi took us to the town center where the railway station and bus station are situated. He did not ask for any extra money (!). We made some general enquiries about buses and chatted with the locals trying find a place to stay. It was well past midnight and the city was sleeping peacefully. We got into a lodge on MG road, negotiated the rent and finally booked the room to stay.
12 August
Suprabhatam
While Advait and Devendra were sleeping (ok, I wont say snoring) peacefully, I went out for a little early morning walk. The streets were just waking up on this lazy Saturday morning. My first taste of coffee in Kerala was at the main junction, standing along with many lungi-clad people who were giving me strange look. These are pictures of M.G. Road, the central road of Trivandrum
We were intrigued by the design of the buses. They have no glass windows. Instead there is a thick sheet of cloth that is wrapped and fastened at the top. Simply pulling the lever will unwrap the sheet, so the window is either fully open or fully shut (0 or 1). The bus conductors have electronic machines, which produce electronic tickets. Hmmm.. certainly something that would ease the life of Mumbai’s BEST bus conductors!
We were skeptical about the monsoon, since it supposedly rains continuously during this time in Kerala. Fortunately, today the weather today was bright and after everyone awoke, we promptly decided to see the Kovallam and Kanyakumari beaches.
Breakfast and remote darshan of the Padmanabhaswamy temple lifted our spirits. A note for the tourists: the city bus station at Trivandrum is a kilometer away from the central bus station, but the walk is pleasurable anyway.
Instructions at Kovalam in English, Malayalam, Hindi and.. German!
The crescent beaches
Kovalam has 3 main beaches - Hawa, Lighthouse and Ashoka beach. We landed at Hawa (or Eve’s) beach, which is crescent shaped and very beautiful. One can walk along the shore and the rocks to the adjoining Lighthouse beach. The beach is arguably Kerala’s most famous beach and charming place to see the sun dip into Arabian sea.
Fishermen weaving their nets
Abu from Mazgaon
We met this guy Abu, who was waiting for a bus to Kanyakumari at the Kovallam bus stand. He was from Mumbai, traveling alone for the first time to Kerala. He gladly joined our gang for the next day.
Delicious Keralite food
We had some lovely traditional Kerala lunch at Trivandrum. They served so many delicacies and rice that we were overwhelmed! Sambar, rasam, curd, daal, vegetables, Payasam, papadam, and many more items we didn’t know the names of. It was tempting to taste fish curry too, but since it was rainy season, we restricted ourselves to vegetarian food.
Palace of wood
Our next stop was the Padmanabhapuram palace in Tamil Nadu, on our way to Kanyakumari. Built in 1601, this palace was the seat of the Travancore rulers. Kerala and Tamil Nadu
You will notice some difference in the cultures of the two states. People, dressing, language, courtesy and even the cleanliness levels of the cities vary. Don’t be surprised to see 50% of seats in the front portion of the buses in Tamil Nadu reserved for ladies. Women in Tamil Nadu travel a lot - sometimes they outnumber the men! Noticed this trend twice: On the Trivandrum-Kanyakumari route and again on Thekkady-Munnar route. Disclaimer: I have barely traveled into Tamil Nadu and not in a position to form an opinion yet.
This is the largest wooden palace in India and is constructed with teak and granite. Guides at various places in the palace give details about various rooms and areas.
Southernmost tip of Indian peninsula!
We hopped from Trivandrum to Thuckalay to Nagercoil and arrived at Kanyakumari (Cape Comorin), which was in neighboring state. The landscape was very pleasant!.
Ubiquitous sight! (I call it ‘Zip temple’).
It was evident that we would not be able to witness the sunset from the southernmost point of India. Too cloudy. We had no plans for overnight stay, hence could not see other places of tourist interest in the area. Nevertheless, the experience of being at the extreme point was a memorable enough.
Say cheese! Left: photo of me and Advait clicked by Debu. Right: Debu with his new powerful Canon Powershot S2IS
Journey from the deserted Kanya kumari bus terminal to Trivandrum took over 3 hours. We ate dinner at Trivandrum, quit the room and immediately boarded the next bus to Kottayam, which was a journey of another 3 hours.
In past 24 hours, we had flown from Mumbai (Maharashtra) over the Arabian sea, landed in Trivandrum (Kerala) and saw the sunset at Kanyakumari (Tamil Nadu). Pretty cool, isn’t it?
13 August
Night journey
The bus reached Kottayam at 03:30 when the conductor woke us up from deep sleep.Tourist destination Kerala
At
every moment you will note how tourism has influenced the state. It appears that people are convinced of the equation between tourism and prosperity. At all the places, the common man is extremely helpful and polite. At times people will talk amongst themselves before giving you directions. Even the government staff (Bus, KTDC etc) was courteous enough with information to help us plan. Yes, the language problem exists, but broken english will surely work. Infact, the townspeople take pride in conversing in Hindi too! The people are genuinely warm and hospitable. No wonder it is one of India’s most famous destinations. Hoping to get refreshed we ordered tea from the tea stall, but it tasted bland.. damn!
It was raining a little and formed small puddles all over the bus terminal. There was nobody in a position to tell us about the bus.. aargh! Finally found one bus driver sitting in his idly parked bus:
Me: Excuse me, Do you know when the next bus for Thekkady leaves?
Driver: Makes a clueless face. I realize that speaking complete English sentences is not required
Me: Sir, Thekkady bus. When? (with gestures)
Driver: Rattles something in incomprehensible Malayalam, speaks to a passenger. I think he is consulting
Me: No Malayalam. Please English
Driver: 5 o clock
Me: Thanks. Thekkady reach when?
Driver: 8 o clock
Me: Bus start Kottayam?
Driver: No, Kochi going.
Ok I quit. Next person
Me: Sir, Thekkady bus when? (Yatin, my office mate instructed me to address everyone by ’sir’)
Person: Bus go, 4 o’ clock, go fast. And points to a bus for Kumbli. lafda.
Me: Kumbli no, Thekkady bus where?
Person: Kumbli, Thekkady neighbour. Indicates with gestures that these are adjoining towns.
Damnit Priyank! you have not done any homework. I curse myself.
Breakfast, aka tiffin
Piping hot dosas, steaming idlis, spicy sambar and coconut chutney. Foods such as these formed a part of our daily breakfast, which is referred here as ‘tiffin’. Note that tiffin is not available after 10 or 11 am, after which the lunchtime begins. A cup of hot coffee or tea in the typical large white china clay cups is a must after this.
You’ll also find ‘red’ ayurvedic water being served in the mornings.
From the beach to the forest
Grrr.. There was no driver, and it was dark inside that bus! But, after a while, that bus did leave for Kumbli, the bus terminal 4 km away from Thekkady. It started getting cold and windy in the morning as the bus breezed through the hilly roads passing through dense forest. We rented a room near the Thekkady forest entrance.
In the afternoon we ventured inside the forest to Periyar lake formed due to the dam on river Periyar. KTDC (Kerala Tourism
Development Corporation) arranges a 90 minutes boat excursion inside the lake, which offers a breathtaking view of the entire region. During non-monsoon season, they say, it is possible to spot wild animals too. We were not very lucky in that respect.
Debu could capture some animals with with his powerful 12x optical zoom camera. Here are some of the pictures he clicked
Sorry state of affairs
KTDC and Forest department arrange the boat ride inside the Periyar lake. These boats are ill maintained and one can see oil slick at different parts on the lake. Also the roof is ineffective as it leaks from unexpected points, so be careful with the camera. There are neither any dustbins nor any rescue floats on the boat Finally, the boat is filled beyond capacity, which clearly means that if there are no legal tickets, there is still a way in..
In the evening, we went to the Kumbli market for light food but ended up having a heavy lunch. The town is just a tiny mesh of roads around the main bus stand. There is a lot of Tamil influence as the border is only 5 km away from here.
Kerala is really an educated state. There was some communist political leader speaking at the bus stand and a decent crowd gathered to hear him. His speech made no sense to us due to our inability to understand Malayalam. However, we did distinctly hear words like ‘US’, ‘crude oil’ and stuff. Incredible it may sound, these politicians were talking about world topics and people were listening! Imagine such a thing happening in Maharashtra!!
The village has narrow roads dotted with a number of cottages and residences that proclaim ‘home stay’. These places offer good rooms (at high prices, aimed at the foreign tourist) for long durations. There are a number of shops selling spices and other overpriced stuff (again aimed at the foreign tourist) It started getting colder after sunset. Rains accompanied with cold winds made it quite exciting to go out for a stroll at night.
All three of us being (smart, talented, etc..) Engineers, that night we had lenghty discussion over some topic and tried to model some equations to solve the problem we were facing. After lot of mental masturbation, the issue was settled!
14 August
Mumbai experience?
After breakfast, the trio left for Munnar. The bus was packed to its full capacity, yet the conductor was squeezing people in. We were sitting oAt the border.
I cannot easily distinguish between Tamil and Malayalam languages unless I pay careful attention to the speech. From the behavior and accents, one can feel a dominating Tamil influence in this border town. Many shops have texts written in both languages and plenty of buses and private vehicles ply with Tamil Nadu number plates.n front seats that unfortunately fell in the ‘reserved for ladies’ area. The conductor asked us to remain seated amidst the group of ladies surrounding us (oh god, they talk so much!). This scene reminded me of the crowds in Mumbai local trains. These guys can definitely cope up with the crowds in suburban trains of Mumbai. Strangely enough, in the initial part of the journey, large number of ladies were traveling, each one with some warm utensils in their bags.
Spiraling roads
The route from Thekkady to Munnar travels through some of the highest ranges in Western Ghats. The road takes continuous twists and turns alternating between valleys, forests, streams and peaks. As Munnar draws closer, one can see extensive tea plantations covering hills completely. 
Munnar town.
Temple and Mosque as seen from the ChurchJust before Devikulam, the road passes through some breathtaking views!
Confluence at Munnar
Munnar (mooon aar), in Tamil, literally means ‘3 rivers’. The town is situated around the confluence of these rivers. Typifying India’s secular culture, a church, a temple and a mosque are prominently located on three hillocks overlooking the town. In the evening, we went for a walk to the old Munnar town, about 2 kilometers away. Munnar is full of picturesque
CSI Church from the colonial times located outside the town. surroundings, with more than 12,000 hectares of lush tea fields, eucalyptus plantations and ofcourse hill ranges, streams and very pure air. At night, draped in plastic sheets, we went out again for a walk in heavy rains and chilly winds for a cup of coffee.
Comparitively though I liked Thekkady more. It is a silent and isolated place compared to Munnar which is relatively crowded (umm.. compare Matheran and Mahabaleshwar).
15 August (Independence day)
Munnar sightseeing
Icons of Christianity are quite prominent
Vegetable and fruit markets
Night vegetable vendor. Convenient!
Tea flower.
DTDC (District Tourism Development Corporation) Idukki arranges a sightseeing tour of places around Munnar. Our bus had 3 couples and 2 tourists from Belguim besides the three of us. The excursion is resonably priced at Rs. 250, however we were unable to visit onedestination due to bad road conditions. Also the Eravikulam National Park was overcrowded, so the authorities closed it by the time we reached. There are 23 gigantic tea estates in Munnar and one can see tea farms at various stages - fresh plantations, tender leaves and plucked stumps. The day was very wet in the morning, dry during the afternoon and it started raining heavily in the evening again!
Madupatty Dam: 160ft high with a vast reservior.
View from Top station, 34km from Munnar on the Kerala - Tamil Nadu border. The other side is a plateau.
Munnar and surrounding areas
Belgian friends
We met Sofie and Grete, tourists from Belguim on this DTDC trip. They are on a 2-month holiday in India since July 02. Traveling all over south India, they are totally comfortable with south Indian food, the travel. In the last leg of their journey, they will be in Mumbai. It was a pleasant experience to meet them, and incidentally, we discovered that they were staying in the room bang opposite to ours!
16 August
Journey back home
Such flag posts can be seen at all village centres. Curious to know the purpose!We had breakfast with the visitors and wished them a good journey ahead.
It was time to leave this beautiful place. There was a bus to Aluva waiting for the three of us at the bus stand. The ride was long and down hill for the initial part and on flat land after Kothamangalam. We traveled significantly in the plains but noticed that roads in Kerala are full of turns and bends and straight patches occur seldom.
At Aluva we purchased some packets of fresh banana chips fried in coconut oil, a signature snack of Kerala. The Cochin airport is now located at Nedumbassery, about 13 km from Aluva, but few people in the town seem to know about it.
Security
checks at Cochin airport was extra tight and my rucksack was scanned and re scanned. I had to leave my deospray behind and explain many
Obscure indicator!
Ardrent movie lovers!
other things. The scheduled arrival of the flight was 17:20 and till 17:15 they were announcing that the flight is on time. However the flight landed at 17:45. I cannot understand why the authorities give such faulty information till last moment. Again, we were the last ones to board the aircraft. Not because we were late, but because we found it very uninteresting to stand in the queue!
L>R:
Priyank and Advait deliberating over the menu, The three hungry men, Where have they hidden the mint?, Corn corn baby, Last day in Kerala.
Epilogue
Advait, Devendra, me at the Cochin AirportMany people had declared that this trip would be very hectic and it was sinful to travel to Kerala for such a short duration.
Never mind all that. We had a blast and I can’t wait to go back to Kerala once again. It is a state of genuinely hospitable people, delicious foods, and endowed with infinite natural beauty.
If you liked this travelogue, do comment. If you didn’t like it, let me know the problem areas. Do express your opinion for all other shades of grey!
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Hi Priyank
Once again fantastic trip! What is next plan now???
cheers
Swat
GOOD. HOW DO YOU GET HOLIDAYS?
-KRISH
Hi Priyank
Saw your post on the Kerala forum.
I have never been outside Kerala, and reading your writeup is giving me a feel of what outsiders think about this place. I can understand why everyone is so fascinated, but all these thinbgs are very common for us - maybe thats why we dont realise their value
But your story gave me a totally different point of view of looking at Kerala.
Nice really, but next time spend more days here. Kerala is so large and wide that even I have not seen it completely.
keep it up
namaskaram
Nice travellogue. Guess you guys had one hell of an adventure. your travellogue’s excellent!!
Well missing out on this!!!
I wished i would have managed to get along with you guys!
well will see next time,
right now its very nice to see you all guys touch coutryside on the state
and caught actual mood!! of
Actaully said “Kerala: God’s own country”
Keep it going.
Hey Dude!
Amazing pics and gr8 travelogue…..why dodnt u publish a samall book of your treks and trips….i will surely buy it..
My memories about the kerala visit i had 10 yrs back were revived….u should plan to go to wayanad, allepy and kochi next time…very good places esp wayanad…..cheers
Thanks everyone for the comments.
Swati: Next plan? hmm.. Lers see. Sikkim, or Andaman or Rajasthan!
Krish: This time there we had weekend followed by independence day and janmashtami. I used these
Sujeeth: Hey thanks a lot. I know exactly what you mean. Outsiders have a different way of looking at things we see daily.!
Lakshya: Thanks:) It was a nice trip
Sushant: If it made you say that, then that’s an achievement:)
Heman: A book? comeon thats taking it too far! I have to travel so much before even thinking abt it:) I agree with you, next trip should be more elaborate.
Cool pics Dude. Deva looked like never before.
Hello Priyank it was really nice visit to Kerala, I also like such type of visit whenever i plan to go definitely i will contact u & ask to u byeeeee tc
toooooooo good priyank…amazing photos, full with informations. So when are u planning to take us all….
but must say, you are a good photographer……i think u are in wrong field:-)
Priyank,
Your narration is really cool. All you photos are beautiful, except a few lazy ones.
It seems that you missed many scenic places in Trivandrum. Trivandrum district offers you the whole package of a Kerala Tour, including Beaches, Hill stations, Back waters, and ofcourse Ayurveda.
Try to explore the not-so-popular spots in Kerala, which will be really stunning for you !
-Rajith
Nice snaps!…….. Tell me how to get cheap Air Tickets in advance!
And finally how do u get so many Holidays…………….:-P
Priyank,
Nice travelogue. Came here from the Kerala forum on orkut - thanks a ton for posting there. You’ve some excellent pictures, and interesting little details. I grew up in Kerala, so all this is familiar. At the same time, I haven’t lived there in a while (making me no longer an insider, but not quite an outsider either) and it is interesting for me to read your take on Kerala. Great job.
- Nisha.
Hi there
The art of photographry and the details added are really admirable. Useful as well as enjoyable for the visitors.
Thanks
s2b
Amazing.. as always..
Interesting to see that Munnar and adjacent places are very similar to the mountain ranges in Sri Lanka - The Kandy and Nuwara Eliya region.. The tea gardens, hills etc.. I will write a travelogue later..
Hi Priyank,
The photoes with the flags itself indicates what it intends.You can read letters like INTUC,BMS,CITU on the flag mast just if you are colour blind and not to distinguish the trade unions fromt the colours of the flags.Next time try northern part of Kerala and you will find more intersting things other than flag posts just to make their presence felt “I am here!”. I am a Keralite and this is the first time we are let to know these also can attract tourists.Akhi
Vijesh: Sure lets plan a trip together. btw, where is your Europe trip travelog??
I guess it will be worthwhile to hire a car and penetrate into relatively unexplored areas.
Soniya: nah re, I enjoy planning engineer’s job. mereko naukri se nikaal mat! As for photography, its just a hobby and I’m only a beginer.
Rajith: I’m sure I’ve missed a LOT of things as the duration of the trip was short. Next one will be much more elaborate
Ketan: I booked these tickets in June, thats why it was so cheap. And holidays? well you know the secret!
Nisha: I can understand how you feel being out of home! Glad to know that you liked the site:)
Sandeep: Hey man, thanks again!
Ashutosh Deo: Yep, time to digitilize your travelog lest you forget the intricate details. Looking forward to reading your stories in Sri Lanka.
Akhil: I found the flags really interesting. While others may never notice it, I did because I like flags in general. Next trip will be better spreadout and for a longer duration.
hi priyank .first of all i want to congradulate u.all ur photos are great.in one word “woooooooooooooooooooow!’.me from kerala.ur photos catches the full beauty of my sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet kerala.thank u for that.
Gr8 travelogue.. by the way did u conscioulsy avoided mentioning the issue that required u ppl to do some braistorming to get over?
Next time take some time off to experience the House Boat.. have a stroll in the backwaters and some ayurvedic treatment…
Hii Priyank. Good to see you enjoying as always !!
Hi Priyank,
Great travelogue. I like your eye for detail -esp. the description of the bus.
My native place is Kerala & had been down there this July.
Kerala gets truly intriguing & enigmatic in the rural heart-lands, away from the “urban” areas.
Where to next ?
Venkatesh
(21 Aug 06)
hi priyank….. man i always imagine how u find so much of time to go allover india… man i am jelous of u….. dude the pics are great… love the part where u were asking the guy for the bus timings to go to Thekkady. keep up the good work and keep traveling
Priyank u have just hit bang on target once again man.It’s truly God’s own country with such mesmerizing beauty.
Keep exploring dude & if time & God permits will surely catch up with u in the near future.
hello Priyank,
Nice to see your trip glimpse on this website……..whats ur next plan and place……..
Vijay Jagtap
9969041647
Hi Priyank
nice reading ur article. next time do make it a point to visit north and central kerala bcos that`s where the unexploited beauty is…(not bcos i belong to central kerala!!!!!)
Kudos dude…. good observations… nice choice of words….. absolute joy ride ur travelogue is……
Thats a long streak of comments !!
Abhaya: I’m really glad that you liked the photos
Haq: Explaining the issue would have taken lot of time and it was irrelevant anyway. (hmm.. wonder why did I post it then) And I’ll definitely implement your suggestion next time !
Mihir: Thanks:) How about your writeup? Lots of visits to foreign countries! isnt it?
Venky: Hmm sometimes I pay extra attention to details, which is not required. But anyway. And yeah, next time the trip will be longer and wider:)
Saugata: hehehe, cheers!!
Jobu: Your homestate was very enchanting man!
Vijay: Thanks. Next plan undecided, but lets see there are so many options in India
Shivakumar: I’m glad that you liked the writeup. Next time North and central kerala:)
Hi Priyank,
Nice trip you had there!! That was south Kerala !! I can recommend to cover North Kerala too some time.
There are lovely places like Vythiri ( resorts with or without tree houses) on the Wynad route . Visit Calicut and a stay at the breath taking backwater resort Kaddavu ( Close to Calicut airport), visit the virgin beaches of Kappadu (the place where Vasco da Gama first set foot on Indian soil) and many more.
The pictures are good, but considering the season ( rainy & cloudy ) the colors of the Sun is missing. Nevertheless you made good worth of the holiday cum weekend.
Dear Priyank
Can you reply to this email ? We are coming to India in November and would like to talk to you in this regards
Thanking you
Chris, UK
Hi Priyank!,
Thanks for sending the link to me. I would sound repetitive but you’re excellent with your narration. You already have got many positive reviews and many curious readers to know about your next expedition. If you plan to visit try to explore the temples also. They will give you a good insight of the Kerala traditions and of course dont forget to ask how they make idols from the black granite. I think if you can also add few information on nearby good hotels, the tariffs, the local conveyance fare and some others tips, your site will surely be veery much informative to potential tourisnt like Christopher & Angeline.
You’re one of the enviest person for mw who’s enjoying life to the fullest.Thanks a lot and keep exporing.
Sreenu Peethambaran
Hi Priyank,
You know the art or writing man, this is a fantastic travelogue. My home town is Kannur in Kerala and each vacation our family traveled to other places in India. Now I realize that we missed to see some places in Kerala like Munnar and Tekkady.
It is always better to have some one who can speak Malayalam (like me ) with you next time. In the remote villages you can use Hindi instead of English since people are used to see Hindi movies and Hindi channels.
If you get a chance to visit any village-home, try eating fish from there. Fish is always fresh and safe to eat in Kerala. If you have any plans to visit northern part of Kerala, please let me know so that I can help you out.
September 5th is Onam , the festival of flowers in Kerala is the best time to visit.
You made me nostalgic, Priyank,, I feel like standing in middle of all the anthurium plants we have there at home,,
All the best and thanks for your wonderful photos
Cheers
Sujeesh
Not many possess the gift of narrating so nicely your very short expedition to Kerala with the other 2. Although you had cautioned in the Prologue part that the Article is lenghty, your prsentation took me thru sans that feeling.
Bonvoyage in advance for you next expedition
V GANESAN
Hi Priyank,
Kerala is Nature’s gift. You enjoyed long weekend at very nice place. You are a good writer & artist. I visited all the places of Kerala in Dec, 2004 ( Tsunami ) Like you we also liked Munnar & Periyar more. Wonderful photographs reminds my tour. Like your other friends, I am curious about next trip. My Best Wishes to you and your team for your future trip plans.
Cheers
Sunil Gokhale
Hi Priyank,
How come you wrote such good things about Kerala, the god’s own country with wonder FOOOL people?
You have seen only the ephemeral face of Kerala. If u see the real face, you will never venture to write this!!
please do reconcile ur opinion.
see ya
Very good information indeed. If you mention details such as costs, places to stay, distances etc, this will be as good as a guidebook.
We are planning to go to kerala with family actualy next year because this year we went to Mysore & Bangalore during August. I want to see some of the photographs of kerala so i asked from colleague Nita, Wow worderful adventure definitely we will have to see all those thank you for your useful information.
Thanks lot
May God bless you
wazzup man!!
saw ur snaps man. awesome snaps dude. zimplee mind bloywin. hyats off to ya.
hi,,
sahii aahe…tu kharach pustak lihi
amod
Amazing!!!!
very nice post. made me miss kerala.
Amazing !!!!
) which I had loved so much that for 15 days I had enjoyed Rice/Rassam/Sambhar for lunch as well as dinner ……… and my family surviving on Bread/Butter/Sandwiches 
:) 
………..
U have enjoyed a loads ……… Got mesmerized and remembered my tour to Kerala ………
U made me remember the food I had there ……. The rice (some what red in color …dunno whts it called
So many how leaches did u come across ??? ……. Just cant forget them !!! Had a bad experience when I was at Periyaar …..
The snaps are truly maginificent ……. !!!!!
just WONDERFUL…….
NO OTHER WORD TO DESCIBE IT….
hey Priyank! Sorry to comment so late (kind of super busy
with work)
But hey, I see you had fun in Kerala! I am truly amazed, how you remembered everything (names of places/ bus stands, etc) to write in the travelogue. i wonder, were you armed with a notepad all the time?
Sahi hai yaar. And surprises of surprises, it pleased me a lot to see that Deva was also there with ya! Sahi hai Deva bhai. Hope you enjoyed the trip too…
Happy trotting…
~nitin
Once again Best from you Priyank.
hi guyz
great work,great narration.
some more information for you about kerala
itz truly gods own bcos
RELIGION
1.state where all major religions coexist from their beginning till date
christianity is there from AD:52 when one of the 12 deciples of jesus came on this land and established 7 churches (all still exists).
christian population(19% of total kerala people)
2.islam came here soon after itz formation in the arab land.
muslim population(23% of total kerala people)
3.hinduism with its history of 5000 years. hindu population (rest of the people excluding jews,others)
4.jews r here from centuries back and were a major inflow of jews at the tme of holocaust.now their number is few, all went Israel after itz formation in 1948.
jew synagouge at the jew street at mattancheri,cochin is a major tourist spot
5.budhism and jainism is here with very minor presence
all live in harmony with the fact that all r orthodox in their beliefs whoever b it,hindu muslim or christian.–
contradaction is that the present ruling party is communists with no god!!
REGION AND TRADITIONS
kerala consists of 14 districts and each district has itzown highlights in culture and tradions and even in the malayalam accent.a trivandrum mallu may not find easly what a north kerala mallu says!! and viceversa.
MALLU INCOME
every home has atleast a non resident keralite.ITZ A “MONEY ORDER ECONOMY”
1.about 50% of indian people going to ‘gelf’ (arabian gulf) are keralaites
2.a place called thiruvalla in kerela boasts of highest percapita income in india with RS 1,64,000.(do not confuse with state per capita income)
3.you can spot a mallu in any countries of the world.
AGRICULTURE
it is the only land where u can find tea,coffee,rice,coco,rubber(92% total indian rubber production),ginger,cardamom,tapioca,aracnut,vanilla,pepper,COCONUT and ++.
LANGUAGES
1.a good percent of mallus can read write and talk hindi since it is the second language in curriculam whereever it b rural or urben.
2.mallus r not good at english though they can manage
MOVIES
1.all keralites see malyalam hindi tamil and english movies with no parity
2.it has great directors as well as actors
POLITICS
1.major parties are communist block on one side and congress at other side
2.in every election both parties get approx above 40% of votes.
3.BJP has a number of seats in local elections but they havent started thier account in state assembly and parliament with one exception last time NDA got one seat in kerala for parliament.it was P C THOMAS from muvattupuzha.now he is not in NDA
OTHERS
1.highest literacy rate in india
2.lowest infant mortality rate
DEMERITS
1.you can expect hartals and strikes at any time
2.highest suicide rate in india
3.suudeny disappearing natural beauty due to build up of buildings and flats rember population density is 2nd or third in india (if u plan to come ,come as soon as possible,its beauty is dieing out)
its all for now
bye
noble john thayyil
Nice writeup, as usual. But no bicycle anytinme?
Well Priyank,
I am from Kerala but the kind of beauty you have conjured up in your travelogue leaves me speechless. I am picking up some of the pics from ur travelogue for my personal use. Hope u don’t mind. Reading ur travelogue it seemed that I was back in Kerala…… The plantains, Temples, Churches (I have never seen a mosque) all came back to me. Thanx for the experience. Also next time please do try to visit THRISSUR (THRI SHIVA PERUR) the city of temples and if you happen to go during April/May you can witness THRISSUR POORAM, one of the most beautiful spectacles in Kerala. I have not seen it myself so if possible I wud like to join you ppl…. But tell me how did you convince your BOSS to get LEAVE……
Bye and looking forward to your next travelogue….
Abi
Good going pal. Missing kerala.
tadam tidam
i have to still read this one.
its tooooooooooo long
Kerala looks great Priyank, Glad we are going next March/April, we are also staying in cape kanniyakumari for the April full moon.
Your writings are very enjoyable, and once again, great pics, good luck to you and your friends,
martin.
It is very nice and organized
just visit this one
http://kerala-photoes.blogspot.com/
This is a fasinating book or short story it make’s me want to viset and travil kerala I am from South Africa and never traveled out of SA.
rdgmy dear
i see in your writing the uncarecte term of arabin gelf in contraste with the historical facte.I order for you the mor study about of the texte about of the pertion gelfe.
with best regard
Priyank,
Give me your mail id. Will send you some snaps. I need to know the place details in case if you are aware of that. It’s really a nice place. Me & my friends are planning to visit but don’t have full information.
Nataraj
Hey…
Nice post! I am going to write one on the same. I had been to Kerala recently - 15th April till 27th April n u know what, its heaven!! Yess, its GOD’s Own Country! I would have read this post earlier, the tips would have had helped me…
Never mind, I am planning to go to Kerala in 2019 - in the Kulunji season ( which comes each after 12 years). Till then if we happen to be in touch, we will go together!! Be in touch!!
Alpana
I am a native of trivandrum, Kerala. Your travelouge about kerala is quite interesting
regards
Once upon a lifetime in kerala
Hi Priyank,
Great post about kerala from urban indian perspective . but there was a small mistake . The town near to thekkady is not “Kumbli” . Its Kumily . I am pointing it out as it may misguide others who are planning to visit kerala.
WoW…this is an amazing post with a wonderful description and some simply Awesome shots. It was lovely going through Kerala through your post.
Dear Priyank,
Wow!!! Grant writeup…
Some mistakes in spelling like “Kumbli” near Thekkady is Kumily (or Kumely). It is not a mistake for u, Any way it is a wonderfull writing…
Actually, I am from cochin and visited more than 100 times in thekkady and munnar and all places in kerala. BBut when I read your writing, I need to visit these places once again…Good photos. Thank you very much…
Any of your further visit to kerala, if you want any help, you are welcome to contact me……
please tell me a nice lodge in kerala and its cost also.
you have penned down an exhaustive post!!..but since I have been to kerala..i could relate to it…well..i found the KTDC boat trip to be very boring….i mean views are wonderful…but that’s about it…no animals can be sighted in any season..we had gone in peak season but could only spot the animals u guys have captured…munnar was very interesting though..like your pics and found that u have taken some pics at the same spot as I have taken!!…..but the thing you have missed out on is the backwaters..kumarakom and allepy offer wonderful houseboats in which one can rent….the views of the backwaters are absolutely ethereal!!!!…
Also…it is a better idea to hire a car than travel by buses……we hired a car for 3 days….and it was much more convienient…..
hello priyank,
I read the whole travaloge..I am very happy to know u r experiances in kerala..I am a person who is intersted in knowing more about kerala,its people,its economy,food,tourisam etc.Actually i am a person fom kerala who is working outside indelhi..
After coming to delhi i realised that kerala is the place with most hospitable people,climate and food..My opinion is that it is the best place to settle dwn .One should experiance kerala once in his life time….
TGIF!!! Finally, some moments without having to think on things to do tomorrow and with time to come and enjoy your posts! This is a wonderful post, but 2800 words and more than 100 pictures is a lot of work for your readers…
Thanks for your comments at Blogtrotter where I’m now strolling around Bilbao!
Have a great weekend!
Hi all!
This is my first visit to this blog. I landed via a link provided by Priyank on Nita’s post. Terrific to know there are so many people who avoid the package tour mode and travel on their own.
Is there is anyone here who plans to travel to China for the Total Solar Eclipse of 22 July 2009 — the longest in the present century, and approaching the theoretical limit of duration of totality south of Japan. But even in Shanghai it will be close to six minutes.
It actually starts in India off Surat, but mid-July is hardly the time to bet on viewing consditions. Even China is a gamble, but less so than India.
Hi
A very nice and well organized post. I’m from Kerala and its so nice to hear people saying such nice things about and the people!
I’m from Kottayam, where that English problem with bus driver happened..So
” thankU. I go today, come next day.”
One more tip about Kerala, As pointed out by Noble John you can expect a harthal any day any time. Y’day (5th May ‘08) was a hartal sponsored by the left in protest of fuel price rise and the news of harthal was flashed in the channels even before the price rise was announced .
Kerala might be the only place in the WORLD there was a hartal when Saddam Huessian was hanged.