[laluks]

Summer is still around, so are the summer holidays.

It's just been three weeks since we came back from Masinagudi. But we were still itching for more. What's more excuse than Summer for a drive

This time around we decided to drive to Kerala, to the backwaters of Kumarakom.

Kumarakom, Vembanad Lake, House Boats, Backwaters, Karimeen (Pearl spot), Poovalan Chemmeen (Prawns), Kuttanad, Birdies...the list of must do's was endless.



Impulsive travel, Impressive experience.






Kumarakom, here we come

[laluks]

The Plan

Day 01 : 1st May 2013 : Bangalore - Salem - Dindigul - Theni - Cumbum - Kumily - Kottayam - Kumarakom (650KMs)
Day 02 : 2nd May 2013 : Kumarakom - Thannermukkom - Alleppey - Kumarakom
Day 03 : 3rd May 2013 : Kumarakom - Kuttanadu - Pathiramanal (by Boat)
Day 04 : 4th May 2013 : Kumarakom
Day 05 : 5th May 2013 : Kumarakom - Vaikom - Muvattupuzha - Kothamangalam - Adimali - Munnar - Chinnar - Udumalpettu - Pollachi - Coimbatore - Avinashi -Salem - Bangalore (700KMs)


A total of 1635KM, great drive and loads of joy.


Kumarakom

Kumarakom is around 15 Kilometers from Kottayam or 80 Kilometers from Cochin.

The place is famous for its backwaters and houseboats. The largest freshwater lake of Kerala, Vembanadu Lake is here.

Kumarakom has a bird sanctuary too. Kumarakom is known for its fresh water fish Kari meen (Pearlspot) and Poovalan Chemmeen (Prawns).

[laluks]

We wondered where were driving to! Certainly it was not Kodai.


We stayed in a nice cottage


We enjoyed the silence and the backwaters


Civvy enjoys the shade


We strolled on the endless lawn


Took time to enjoy a few flowers


I was overwhelmed by Chethipoo (Ixora)


How can I forget growing up drinking its nectar


But for now I enjoyed him drinking all the nectar


Which one is this?


Mosantha - Long time no see!


We took some time out for Pottery


Not Bad eh, I like it!

[laluks]

I took some time out for my feathered friends!

Ready for take off


Look at that beak!


Peeping Tom?


Ramp Walk?


Standing tall


Camouflaged


Curious Cranes!!


He was busy building a nest


But he sang for me


He was quite friendly too


Three King Fishers!


Two Doves!


A Swan - one with a mask


Wow! Long time no see!


That wicked look


Crow -Its ages since I saw one


Let me dry up a bit!


Peek a boo


Camouflaged

[laluks]

I visited the bird sanctuary


Walked a total of 5 kilometers along the intriguing paths, not a bird in sight!


No birds in sight, so went in search of other beauties.

I was amazed by the architectural beauty


What an amazing Mosque!


Thazhathangadi Juma Masjid, over a 1000 years old Mosque


This Church was established in 1579, Kottayam Cheriyapally


This Church has some history too! Me and my Sr. PPG was baptized here. I also got married here

[laluks]

We spend a day on Vembanadu Lake


Saw a few boatmen


Saw a lot of house boats


Various types


Various features


But we sailed on to the island far away


Pathiramanal Island welcomed us


We walked along the path in the island! It was great to have the island only for us!


We enjoyed the views


Jr. PPG showed us her dancing skills too

[laluks]

We visited Kuttanad (the rice granary of Kerala) too


Beautiful


Rice Harvest was going on


That's a lot of rice!


We visited a Family Toddy Parlour


Yummy Karimmeen (Pearl Spot) Pollichathu


Varaal (Snake head) Fry


Muyal (Rabbit) Olathiyathu


Njandu (Crab) Masala and Kappa (Tapioca)!


Kada (Quail) Fry


Kappa (Tapioca)


Beef Fry


Fish Curry Rice


I can't show you any more. The urge to rush back is getting stronger....

[laluks]

We visited a beach too


Had loads of fun at Alleppey Beach


We visited Vembanad Lake too


The setting sun made her more beautiful


The Setting sun and the clouds gave an intriguing feel


The lone chapel gave amazing aura to the place


We visited the other end of Vembanad Lake christened as Punnamada Lake


We enjoyed the banks of Meenachil River


Yes, the very same Meenachil river mentioned in "God of Small Things"

[laluks]

We had loads of fun

Enjoying wetting your legs in Vembanadu Lake on a lazy boat ride


Splashing cool water on a tired face and limbs!


Trying our might with the teeth


Aiming for a wild fruit


Selling Ice creams on the beach


Cycling along the beautiful paths


Selling more ice creams


Hey, we got tons of Jack fruit too

[laluks]

We drove via Munnar to Bangalore


We stopped to enjoy a game of Cricket too


Magical Munnar


Civvy amidst the beautiful tea gardens


We passed by the beautiful tea gardens of Munnar


We enjoyed the Golden Hills of Munnar


Hey, We got vegetables for the breakfast too from Munnar

[laluks]

Kumarakom was absolutely amazing, and we forgot that it was humid and hot. We were always on the look out for food , and that made our small trip even more lovely.

For us it was another fun drive, and for me time to hit the thread mill soon

I will post the day accounts soon.

[Rudra Sen]

Mod note: Thread moved from Assembly Line to Travelogues. Thanks for sharing.

[hvkumar]

This is one TL one has been looking forward to - Lalu's impressions of Kerala's lovely backwater county of Kuttanad!

Foodies & Birdies have lots to rejoice for, discovering some new stuff here!

How did you snag that lovely cottage on the banks of the backwaters? How much does it cost? Any contact details?

How did you boat around - did you hire your own boat - how much did it cost? Did you have flexibility to decide your own route plan?

Possible to indicate some of the places you visited - the cottage, mosque, church, Pathiarmanal, etc in G Maps?

Is that the Marari Beach?

[sj_koova]

Lalu, I was in Kuttanad/Alleppey/Kumarakom last week. We hired a houseboat for one day. Why didn't we cross each other!!

This place is just 50km from hometown, but I must confess that this is the first time I visited Vembanad/Punnamada lake. "marvelous" is the best word to describe this place.

Good food, courteous people and floating in still water, what else you want to relax one day in life.

[laluks]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

How did you snag that lovely cottage on the banks of the backwaters? How much does it cost? Any contact details?

How did you boat around - did you hire your own boat - how much did it cost? Did you have flexibility to decide your own route plan?

Possible to indicate some of the places you visited - the cottage, mosque, church, Pathiarmanal, etc in G Maps?

Is that the Marari Beach?

Thank You HVK

That cottage was from Club Mahindra, don't know how much to rent it out.

We took a boat from Pathiramanal, he charged by the hour and we just have to decide where all we wanted to go. We wanted to see the blocks made for rice cultivation on the lake at Kuttanad, get into some canals, see mussels being taken, see Karimeen being caught and visit Pathiramanal Island

We started at 09:00AM and was in the lake all the way till 14:00 when we touched the shores for lunch, and after lunch spent the day at Pathiramanal Island till late evening. The entire deal costed us 2000Rs.

I liked this chap, and will recommend him to others. I'll share the contact details soon.

I'll mark and share the details in Google maps soon.


The Beach was Alleppey Beach, not Marari.

Originally Posted by sj_koova

Lalu, I was in Kuttanad/Alleppey/Kumarakom last week. We hired a houseboat for one day. Why didn't we cross each other!!

This place is just 50km from hometown, but I must confess that this is the first time I visited Vembanad/Punnamada lake. "marvelous" is the best word to describe this place.

Good food, courteous people and floating in still water, what else you want to relax one day in life.

Hi SJ,

I was mostly on shore, enjoying the food at the family toddy shop. Hence we could not have crossed paths

Food is an absolute delight, and the choices - you are spoilt for sure.

Considering the entry tax to Goa, and the crowd, I am now actively considering to make this place our holiday destination for some time.