August 11 to 16, 2006. 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
Travelogue
Day One: Arriving in Thiruvananthpuram
Day Two: Thiruvananthapuram, Kovalam, Padmanabhapuram, Kanyakumari
Day Three: Periyar and Thekkady
Day Four: Periyar to Munnar by Bus
Day Five: Munnar and surrounding tea estates
Day Six: Munnar to Kochi and back to Mumbai
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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
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
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……
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.
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.
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.
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:)
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.
Hi Priyank, thanks for the comments. Yes, thats right lot of the places near big cities are undiscovered. Tomorrow I will be visiting Wayanad, I will post the blog next week. Do check in, I hope you will like it. I liked your Kerala photos….Kerala is truly God’s own country…
-Maneesh.
AdmirableIndia.com
Dear Priyank,
If you plan any more trips to Kerala (particularly Thekkady/Munnar) please contact WIA-Anakkara. They are running some home stays. Reasonable. More over Anakkara is a beautiful place which is less known to tourists. 12 KMs from Kumily on the way to Munnar.
You may get all details in
http://www.spicetourism.com
beautiful
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