Nostalgia in Pictures

Cherai Beach

2013-10-23T01:37:00.000-07:00

This trip was totally unplanned and happened only since my aunt and uncle invited us to join them and their children who had come from abroad. What I loved most was the early morning walk by the seaside with my sister-in-laws. The girly talk and the walk was very refreshing. I managed to continue my walk while in Kerala and since a long walk becomes impossible here, I am climbing stairs! Well, anything is better than a sedentary life style right?

Club Mahindra was formerly Indriya Beach Resort. The resort has been well maintained and the staff is very friendly. I also loved the food. The pool is fiercely maintained by Madhavan :) He ensures you wear the right clothes and there is not even a speck of dirt in it. He also loves to teach swimming. My son automatically became his student and was not spared at all since he never underwent a formal training. Whereas daughter did take a course. If we had spent some more time, I am sure Madhavan would have trained our son very well.

The Lake

The fishing spot from where the kids made a good catch

The reception

Gavi

2013-10-06T04:25:00.000-07:00

The last vacation was memorable due a to a much awaited Gavi trip. Gavi came into prominence after the Malayalam film Ordinary. Though I grew up in Peerumade , I never heard of this place then and it was never a touristic place.

One can either take a day trip or stay at the Kerala Forest department's facility for a day and night. We chose the latter and booked well in advance since entries are limited. We were also lucky since the monsoon did not bother us much. But the monsoon did stop us from taking the picturesque route via Erumeli since the roads were bad. Instead we had to go from Vandiperiyar from where it is only 20 Km.

One of two check posts where you have to show the vehicle/passenger pass: Friendly policemen.

The reception area where you need to register your arrival

The way to the dining area and boating stand

This is from where you take your boat ride

The dining are from where we were served delicious food.

The rest are various scenes taken during our trekking. We did not trek for long and saw elephants and wild buffaloes only from far. But there were plenty of leeches which dampened the spirits of a few :)

Checking for the leech!

The leech is more important!

There is one!

From here you catch the boat to a lovely waterfall

You can have a good bath under this natural shower!

The view from the dining area

The rooms..

The view from your room

Poovar Island Resort

2012-11-18T00:24:00.003-08:00

Poovar was not in our agenda but when my Aunty and Uncle described the boat ride and the resort we were all looking forward to the trip.

Wikipedia does not have much on Poovar.

Poovar is a small coastal village in the Trivandrum district of Kerala state, South India. This village is almost at the southern tip of Trivandrum and there is only one last village Pozhiyoor which mark the end of kerala. This village has a beautiful beach which attracts tourists. There are also some good tourist resorts.

But here is a good website providing you the information on how to reach Poovar.

There are more photos at http://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotos-g297637-d319634-w4-Poovar_Island_Resort-Thiruvananthapuram_Trivandrum_Kerala.html

Tusker Trails - Thekkady

2012-11-06T23:40:00.001-08:00

We had a lovely time at Mahindra owned Tusker Trails at Thekkady. After the stifling heat of the valleys, the cool climate of Thekkady was too good. We did not get out of the place for 3 full days except for a full body massage at a center close to our room.

A nursery in Vandiperiyar

2012-10-14T03:47:00.001-07:00

We stopped to purchase some plants from this governement run nursery at Vandiperiyar. The price was very reasonable.

Raja's seat - Coorg

2012-10-08T00:08:00.002-07:00

The scene from Raja's seat.. no wonder he made a seat here!

Drive through Marayur Teak forest

2012-04-03T03:38:00.002-07:00

Marayur

Marayur or Marayoor is a place in the Idukki District of Kerala state, South India. 42 kilometers north of Munnar through the Udumalppetta route, Marayur is the only place in Kerala that has natural sandalwood forests. Ancient dolmens and rock paintings in Marayur date back to the Stone Age. As of 1991 Marayur had a population of 9,590.

A nursery in Kerala

2012-03-14T05:24:00.000-07:00

Munnar - view from Top Station - 1700 mts above sea level

2009-04-23T05:05:00.000-07:00

Eravikulam....

2008-09-08T03:19:00.000-07:00

Wild Elephants at Mattupatty Dam - Munnar

2008-09-03T04:52:00.000-07:00

Peerumade / Thekkady....

2008-09-01T03:44:00.000-07:00

Peerumade /Thekkady and enroute

2008-09-01T03:28:00.000-07:00

Happy Land

2007-08-19T22:49:00.001-07:00

Fun and frolic at Happy Land

2007-08-14T03:02:00.000-07:00

Caught Cine Artist Geetu Mohandas attending an interview at Mascot Hotel - TVM on our camera..

More GOC

2007-08-14T02:51:00.001-07:00

The first one is a Petrol Bunk submerged in water....

Paddy field

2007-08-14T00:30:00.000-07:00

Paddy field enroute to Shornur

On the way

2007-08-14T00:25:00.001-07:00

A small river on its way to join the Bharathapuzha.... what a lovely sight it was!

Bharathapuzha

2007-08-14T00:20:00.000-07:00

The overflowing Bharathapuzha... it is been many years since this happened...

The midnight bloomer

2007-08-13T03:47:00.000-07:00

This flower blooms only in the night and my mother who loves tending it wanted me to shoot this for her...

The overflowing river

2007-08-13T03:42:00.000-07:00

The view

2007-08-13T03:37:00.000-07:00

The view from our balcony.. isnt it beautiful!

At Parumala/ Mannar

2007-08-09T00:35:00.001-07:00

While waiting for the dentist to do his job on Hubby..

Any traffic rules violated?

Mannar

Windsor Castle-Kottayam

2007-08-09T00:21:00.001-07:00

Had a family gathering at this place.

During the heavy rains the whole hotel was cut off.

The movie fans

2007-08-09T00:05:00.001-07:00

While waiting to get into the theatre to watch the movie "Hello".. missed the part where they were climbing over the gates! nd the air inside was a mixture of all brands of liquor!