7 Highlights of my Kerala trip

I am guilty of not posting about our Kerala trip during 15th - 20th August. It was actually a very short holiday and no planning was involved (as compared to the extensive scheduling done for our Kashmir vacation), as my cousin brother lives in Kochi and he generously welcomed us to his abode and made our trip a very memorable one!

So when the Write Tribe Festival of Words presented itself with the wonderful theme of 'Seven', I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to highlight SEVEN wondrous things about the trip. :)

Here goes, the seven on my list - 1. Food, 2. Backwaters, 3. Beach, 4. Kalaripayattu & Kathakali, 5. Boat safari at Periyar, 6. Breathing in the Munnar Air and last but certainly not the least 7. precious moments with my Cousin.

Lets start with the food, as both hubby and me are are huge foodies and we love to try out the local cuisine of any place we go. We feasted on the traditional Keralite cuisine on Day 1. Simple and Sumptuous, we were welcomed to the land of coconuts, spices and aromas!

        

That evening after a short walk in the dreamy streets of Kochi Fort area and gorging on a plate of grilled Tiger Prawns, we headed to a very classy Japanese restaurant, Tokyo Bay. A first of its kind in Cochin, this was truly an unique experience...Well, at least for my bro and hubby, I didn't have the stomach to indulge in this after a 4 hour long flight and then a heavy meal....But it looked and smelled delicious, and by the look on their faces you can tell...can't you? :)

The entire BBQ non veg items were ordered & devoured

Day 2 we drove down to Kumarakom and enjoyed a peaceful ride in the backwaters. We tried fresh river water tiger prawns...huge aren't they? They were cooked to perfection and had the zing of all the south spices.

In Thekkady, the town of green forest belt and home to herds of elephants, tigers, bisons and lots of birds mostly Snake birds, Kingfishers and Cormorants, we happened to find a petite rooftop restaurant serving the most delicious Italian food. While sitting there, looking at the coffee and banana plantations beside us and reading our respective novels, it started raining adding to the charm of the setting.

Spinach & mushroom pasta

They have a intensive 3 page menu. The preparations take time but it's worth waiting for!

Cute isn't it?

Lovely view

Banana 

Tuna Pizza

I am so sorry, this post is going to be longer than I thought! Till now I've only covered food :) :)

The next best thing was our relaxing boat ride in the backwaters. Excellent weather and calmness all around, what else do you want on a vacation?

The third highlight of my trip was this Beach...Andharkaranazhi Beach is an hour's drive from Kochi, commercialization has still not reached here. Pristine, serene and oh so beautiful. I had a fabulous time playing with the waves, trying to make a sand castle and just being in that moment!

The Third most enjoyable experience was the Kalaripayattu and Kathakali performances.

Kalaripayattu is an Indian Martial Arts form, it has got some intense weaponry actions and requires agile flexibility. There were moments when I went Ooooo & Aaaahh :)
These guys were just too good. Later I got talking to them and they were basically from Calicut. They had never been to Delhi, although they have performed in cities like Pune and Mumbai at the request of
certain institutes. I really want their Art to be showcased in Delhi, I'm working on how to go about it. Let's see :) Fingers crossed!

Sorry, couldn't get many pictures....I was just watching them open-mouthed!

Just after this, we went to watch the Kathakali performance. We were given a brief introduction about the dance form, the different mudras and facial expressions and the story that they were going to portray. It is basically a Dance-Drama where the stories from our Hindu scriptures is depicted through the artists' expressions. I'll just let the photos do the talking.... :D

It takes about 3-4 hours for the male character to get ready

Mostly the female character in the Dance is also played by a Male due to the heaviness of the costumes.

Anger

Scorn

The story in short - Female demon changes form to a beautiful girl to woo King. King rejects her. Angry she comes in her original form to destroy the King, but he eventually kills the demon

The next highlight would be our morning Boat Safari at Periyar Tiger Reserve. It was a lovely experience, we were not going with any high expectations of spotting Tigers...(The best time to spot Tigers is April-May, the peak of summers), we just enjoyed the cool breeze against our faces and the lovely sights. The boat ride is of 90 minutes and you can book the tickets on the spot, just keep sufficient time on hands in case there is a long que. The Bamboo Rafting was highly recommended by one of the officials, in this you can cover some area by foot too. on Bamboo rafts in the middle of the lake surrounded by dense forests, the thought is just thrilling. We couldn't do this as this requires a full day and we were short of time!

Kingfisher

Cormorant

Bison

Kingfisher

Short of time, we were unable to stay in Munnar. However we spent a day riding amonst the tea estates and breathing in the heavenly air.

And finally, some precious moments spent with my cousin bro. He is a year and a half elder to me and I love him dearly. How time flies no?? There we were just few decade years ago...the Orange Bar ice-cream, running around in the Nehru park, the endless games of Court piece and Teen-Do-Paanch, gorging on Nani ke haath ka bana khaana....and here we are today...all grown up...he's soon to be a Daddy... :) :) Thank you Bhaiya...you made our trip possible!!

After years we were together on Rakhi!! Some moments as they say are 'Priceless' :)

I'm taking part in the Write Tribe Festival of Words 1st – 7th September 2013.