Know What I Did This Summer ? Part 4

Friday. April 25, 2008
After breakfast we checked out, drove North in NH 47 to Ernakulam. As is common in Kerala Roads, the end of a village / town signals the start of the next. So there is continuous habitation and hence traffic is normally dense in all the roads. The 150 km drive to Ernakulam thru Kayamkulam, Allapuzha, took us 3 hours. I had again taken driving directions from Yahoo Maps to Taj Residency, in Marine Drive, Ernakulam. Following the instructions, we reached the hotel without any hitch.

Taj Residency, Ernakulam
Taj Residency is situated at an enviable location in Ernakulam, on the Marine Drive, overlooking the Vembanad Lake and the Harbour and very close to all the shopping centres. We were allotted a corner, sea-facing room in the 4th floor. The room was very well appointed and luxurious. The staff who showed us our room reminded us that there was a complimentary 2-hour Sunset cruise in the hotel’s boat and the reporting time was 4.45 p.m. at the lobby.

The lunch spread was terrific with tasty appams & Malabar Parattas as special dishes. Wishing to take advantage of the malls near the hotel, we left right after lunch to Bay Pride Mall, just 2 buildings away from our hotel. This is an upmarket mall, with good collection of branded shops. There was even a small food court. The rear entrance to the mall, opens into the water-front Promenade.

The GCDA shopping centre, right next to this was a disappointment. It is poorly maintained.

It was time to get back to our hotel for a wash and the sun set cruise. Complimentary Tea awaited us in the lobby. Unfortunately for us, the sky was overcast which meant that we would be missing the dramatic, fiery orange sun set. However the sight of dolphins made up for this disappointment. The boat leaves from the pier right behind the hotel, picks up more guests from Taj Malabar in the nearby Wellingdon Island and continues. The on-board guide explained the significance of the various buildings lining the water front.

Returning by 7.30 p.m., we peeped into the poorly maintained Children’s park. This is very close to the hotel. My wife remembered the time spent as child in her grand mother’s home in Alapuzha during vacation, when she visited Ernakulam to drive in the vehicles in the Traffic Park meant for kids. At that time it was a very popular attraction. However both the Traffic Park and the Renewable Energy Park are not in a good condition now. We hurried out of the park and walked over to MG Road thru Hospital Road. But many of the shops were already closing by then and we returned to our hotel without seeing much, after a dinner in the food Court in Bay Pride Mall,

Saturday, April 26, 2008
Taj Residency abuts the Promenade and there is an exit to the Promenade from the hotel. The Promenade is popular with residents and tourists to take a pleasant walk. It is well tiled and is neat. We walked up and down the Promenade for about an hour building up our appetite.

The tourist pier is a little down the Promenade behind the Joy Alukkas office building. Many tourist vans and buses were already arriving to take the morning sightseeing ferry trips. Several highrise residential buildings are coming up behind the Promenade and all of them have an excellent view of the Vembanad Lake and the Cochin Harbour.

Mattancherry
After a good breakfast we took the passenger ferry to Mattancherry. The Govt. Ferry terminal is again very close to the hotel. The ferries to Mattancherry (thru Fort Cochin & Wellingdon Is.) and Vypin Island depart from this terminal. The time table of ferry departure was displayed inside the terminal and the ticket counter opens just a few minutes before the ferry arrives at the pier. It was a kind of pleasant surprise that the ferry departed on the dot. Ironic that something which should be normal surprises us !! The cost of ticket to Mattancherry was Rs. 3.50 !!

The humidity was already building up and it was not yet breezy to be comfortable. The drone of the engine can really lull you to sleep.
We had wanted to visit the Dutch Palace and the Jewish Synagogue (built in 1568 – the oldest in the Commonwealth countries). However it is closed on Saturdays and we had to settle for the Dutch Palace alone.

Mattancherry Palace with its medieval charm was built by the Portuguese and presented to Veera Kerala Varma, Raja of Kochi, in 1555 AD. This is right across the road from the landing pier. The Dutch carried out some extensions and renovations in the palace in 1663, and thereafter it was popularly called Dutch Palace. The rajas also made more improvements to it. Today, it is a portrait gallery of the Cochin Rajas and notable for some of the best mythological murals in India, which are in the best traditions of Hindu temple art. However some of the murals have now faded badly. The palace was built to appease the king after they plundered a temple nearby.

It was sweltering and was close to 11 a.m. already. We had to check out by Noon and leave for Coimbatore and the ferry trip back to Ernakulam would take about 30 minutes. So we hurried out and took a ferry back to Ernakulam for a short walk to our hotel.
After a swift check-out we hit the road by 12.30 p.m. The traffic up to the turn to Nedumbassery Airport (about 30 kms from the city centre) is quite congested and takes almost an hour. Kerala’s highways have not yet graduated to four-lanes and the increased traffic density shows in the slow moving traffic.

Ernakulam - Coimbatore
We wanted to lunch enroute to save time. However there were not decent hotels / restaurants enroute. We did not want to get into Trissur and get bogged down in the traffic either. So we pushed on and fortunately noticed a decent place before Palghat. A light meal of Chappathis and Cauliflower side dish was reasonably well prepared.

The route to Coimbatore is scenic in parts and if only the roads were four-laned, the journey would have been enjoyable.
Reaching the outskirts of Coimbatore by about 3.30 p.m., we called up our friends Anand & Bhuvana for the directions to reach their home.

Coimbatore
Anand and Bhuvana had built a lovely home in Kanuvai, close to the school and College they run.

After hot coffee and light snacks, we watched the tense EPL match between Man U and Chelsea. Anand is an ardent supporter of Man U and yours faithfully, of Chelsea. As it had happened during the last time both of us watched the battle between these fine teams together, Chelsea won this time also to draw level in points with Man U and set up an interesting finish to the EPL season. Anand has now told me that he would no longer watch the future matches between Man U & Chelsea, with me.

We went out to dine at the recently opened Little Italy restaurant in Trichy Road with our friend’s family. The food was good, but the AC was not sufficient for the size of the room. Thankfully we did not take the outdoor seating. We would have definitely been uncomfortable. After a long and leisurely dinner, chatting and catching up on all the news, we returned home late and hit the sack immediately.

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Next morning by 7.00 a.m., we drove off to Chennai. We had packed breakfast and had it at a convenient tree shade. Driving out of Coimbatore was extremely fast. Being a Sunday morning also helped.

We took the Mettur Dam route to avoid Salem. This road is well topped and has less traffic. Maybe after the completion of four-laning of Salem – Coimbatore road, I would switch to that. But for now, this is a nice road to drive. We drove over the dam and took pics from a higher point in the road. There are warning signs on the dam road that photography is banned ! In this age of Satellite pics., they still persist with such archaic rules !

Krishnagiri - Chennai
Krishnagiri to Chennai is my favourite driving road. This toll road is a dream to drive. The lanes are broad, well marked with road dividers for traffic in both directions. Further, there are barricades when the road passes close to villages so that cycles and other traffic cannot enter into the road at all places. Though it cost Rs. 110 to travel in this toll road, it is well worth the price.

Chennai
We reached Kathipara Jn. By 2.40 p.m. and drove straight to Hotel Saravana Bhavan near Kasi Theatre, Jafferkhanpet. After a tasty lunch we reached home by 4.00 p.m.

The total distance of 1821 kms driven over 8 days was a pleasurable experience. In milder weather, we would have enjoyed it much more.

I am looking forward to many more such trips soon.

Know What I Did This Summer ? Part 3

April 22, 2008
After breakfast on Tuesday, we left by 8.30. Our route was NH 7 upto Thirumangalam and then into NH 208 through SriVilliputhur, Rajapalayam, Sengottai, Punalur, Kottarakara and then on to Kollam. The road up to Sengottai was a breeze, smooth and wide.

We were warned about the roads in Kerala earlier. In fact we were told that we need not look for road signs to know if we had entered Kerala – the road condition would inform us !!

After entering Kerala passing Senkottai, we faced, perhaps, the worst roads I have driven through. The Ghat road through Aryankavu, Edapalayam, upto Tenmala was horrendous. It would be an insult to call it a village road, let alone a National Highway. I wonder how the local people tolerate such conditions without protest. It took us almost 2 hours to cover the 35+ kms. After Tenmala, the road condition improved but the narrow width of the road does not give you the luxury of traveling smoothly. Kerala is such a progressive state and depends a lot on tourism. It is a shame that importance of good roads is not realised by the powers-that-be.

Ashtamudi Backwater Retreat
Club Mahindra’s Ashtamudi Backwater Retreat is about 16 kms from Kollam Town, off NH 47, enroute Ernakulam. We crossed the Neendakara Bridge, missed the right turn at Vettuthara Junction and drove on for almost 12 kms before we realized that we had made a mistake. We had asked for driving directions from the resort earlier and they had mentioned the various landmarks on the way. But they left out an important point that we had to take a turn at Vettuthara Jn. After a call to the resort, we turned back, took the correct turn and drove past the Dalavapuram Bridge and reached the resort at 3.30 p.m., almost 2 hours later than planned. Result, we missed the lunch at the resort. The resort did not give us much choice in snacks and we had to compromise with sandwiches and Pakoras.

The Resort was cosy, rooms comfortable, though a tad small. The resort is on the banks of Ashtamudi Kaayal, named so because of its eight arms. It is the second largest backwater lake only after Vembanad. The boat journey from Kollam to Alapuzha is the longest inland water route in Kerala.

The rooms are set 4 to a Chalet and had AC with coffee maker, Fridge and Plasma TV. We were members of Club Mahindra and were offered their Fun-Dining Package, wherein we have a choice of meal packages, all attractively priced. After exploring the resort and chatting with the staff to know more about it, we had an early dinner and skipped the entertainment program organized by the resort. The resort had an Ayurvedic Treatment centre and a room called Gym, having a solitary treadmill and 2 exercycles.

April 23, 2008

Next morning after a half-an hour work out on the Exercycles and burning calories we compensated the loss by gorging on the breakfast !

The room had a patio with a day bed facing the lake, ideal to laze during the day, reading a book. However there was no fan and it was too hot and humid to stay there. So we retreated into our cool room and literally chilled it out.

Getting out of our room only to lunch, we left for a quick shopping visit to Kollam. We had noticed the huge JoyAlukkas Wedding Centre during our drive thru the city earlier. The shop is spread over 4 floors and had a large variety of garments and a floor of jewellery. We spent close to 2 hours in the Ac shop, not having the energy to venture out into the hot sun !

Crossing the road we walked to Bishop Jerome Nagar Shopping Centre, which we were told is large and had a number of shops. Of course for a town like Kollam it is big. But there was nothing much to see there and we returned to our resort, this time taking the correct turns.

Thursday. April 24, 2008

Next morning after the workout we took a 2-hour boat ride in the resort’s house boat (Kettuvallam), venturing into the vast Ashtamudi Lake. We saw many Chinese fishing Nets (Cheena Valaa) in operation. These nets operate by a system of Cantilever. The Net is lowered into water and a Light is placed at the pinnacle. During Night, the fishes get attracted to the light and come only to get trapped into the net. At periodic intervals, the Net raises and gets lowered into the water. The Lake is lined with the ubiquitous Coconut trees. Small islands (thittus) were scattered in the lake, many of them with small wooden shacks. The whole setting was idyllic, a cool breeze wafting into the boat, fisher folk paddling, ducks swimming into the lake from the houses lining the bank and the drone of the Kettuvallam’s motor, the only sound, lulling us into a stupor.

We landed back at the resort by 9.30 after a peaceful boat ride, ready to tackle the breakfast. The official breakfast time is till 10.00 a.m. But when we walked into the Restaurant The Ripples, we found to our dismay many of the items missing and the vessels not replenished. Only after some of the other guests who had also decided on a late breakfast raised their voices, the staff swung into operation to refill the buffet.

Varkala
After a light lunch we drove to Varkala, a popular beach about 55 kms south of the resort. The road was decent and we made it to Varkala in good time. During peak season, foreign tourists flock the beach and the hotels are mostly full. But this was lean time and there were more locals. The Papansam beach at Varkala is visited by locals to perform rites for their departed relatives and there are always pundits around to help them in that. There are many good hotels near the beach including Taj.

The other attraction in Varkala is the Janardhanaswamy Temple, a very old temple dedicated to Vishnu. It is on a small hillock and the main deity is very beautiful. You look at the fairly large deity through a small, narrow opening. Typical of Kerala Temples males remove their upper garment when inside the temple. The temple is maintained very well and was clean. The sound of blast was reverberating around. We then came to know that blasting the local cracker (Vedi) was a way of offering to the Lord. The drive back to the resort was uneventful.

Know What I Did This Summer ? Part 2

April 21, 2008
Monday, after a hearty breakfast at Sangam, we drove to Madurai. Normally I take the Dindukkal route. But I read in the Net that the Trichy - Viralimalai – Melur – Madurai road was upgraded to a National Highway (NH 45B) and four-laning was in progress. This was also a shorter route. Moreover we wanted to visit Azhagarkovil, near Madurai for which NH 45B was the most convenient route. Traffic was light in this road and the road was decent. We stopped at some of the Sunflower gardens that line this road for photo ops. The majestic, tall, sunflower stalks never cease to amaze me. The intricate geometrical patterns in the flower makes you wonder about Nature’s play.

We went up to Madurai and turned to the Azhagarkovil road and drove down, only to realize that we could have taken the diversion at Melur or Nattam itself to this place and saved a lot of time. However we did not see any signpost at Melur or Nattam indicating a route to Azhagarkovil.

Azhagarkovil
Azhagar was in Vandiyur, Madurai, having entered the Vaigai river at Madurai on Sunday. But the temple was open and we had an excellent darshan of Sundararaja Perumal. True to the name, the Lord was extremely beautiful and we lost ourselves in His divine presence.

It was close to temple closing time and we could not make it to Pazhamudir Cholai, one of the six sacred abodes of Murugan. Azhagar Kovil is at the foot hills of Pazhamudir Cholai. We have read that the road up the hill is extremely scenic and green. Perhaps we would make it the next time.

We re-entered Madurai. I had taken driving directions and road map from Yahoo Maps for the route to Taj Garden Retreat. But I did not take into account the frequently volatile atmosphere in Madurai. Just that morning some miscreants had allegedly insulted the statue of Devar and the situation was tense everywhere with police creating road blocks and diverting traffic. So I had to throw away the map and revert to the time-tested method of asking for directions from Auto-rickshaw drivers. Driving through several narrow streets we emerged near the railway station road from where I was familiar with the road to Thiruparankundram Road.

Taj Garden Retreat
Taj Garden Retreat is on Pasumalai Hill, just before the Welcome Arch to Madurai City from South. Taj Group bought the property in 1987 and converted it into a luxury hotel in 1989. It was the former residence of the owner of Madura Coats. The founders of the company, Britishers, obviously had a taste for fine living and had built a lovely mansion. The easy 1.4 km drive from the Highway up the hill is lined with trees.

The sounds of Peacock calls welcomed us at the top.  Check-in was very somooth and after a welcome cold-coffee at the lounge, we trooped to our room set in the Madura Block, near the Swimming Pool.

There were scores of Peacocks and Pen Hens through out the property and Mr. Rajoo of Taj mentioned that there were more than 100 Peacocks at the resort. They were quite tame and are least bothered by the presence of humans. We saw dancing, preening peacocks with fully stretched feathers – a grand sight indeed.

One of the peacocks appeared fascinated by its reflection in my car and was exploring it for a while. I was watching with bated breath, hoping that the peacock liked its face and decided not to fight its reflection, like the Lion jumping into the well to fight its reflection in the story we have heard so many times during our childhood. In the story, the lion died, but here, it would be my car that would get the pokes and I would have to spend a pile in getting a paint job done. Luckily the peacock approved of its reflection and walked away.

The view of Madurai from the hotel is sweeping. The imposing towers of the Meenakshi Amman Temple, the hill in the shape of an elephant lying down, the dense, congested buildings of Madurai city, all give you an idea of the constant activity of this "city that never sleeps."

The weather was so hot that we did not feel like moving out of the hotel after lunch. Moreover the simmering tension in Madurai made us decide against going into the city again to visit Meenakshi Amman Temple. Instead we decided to go to Thiruparankundram Murugan Temple, which was just 3 kms from the hotel. This is an awesome temple, carved out of the hill, where Lord Murugan married Deivanai, his consort. There was very light crowd and the chief priest took special care of us and explained in detail the various aspects of the temple.

We dined at the Aarthi Drive-in Restaurant which also had AC dining rooms. This is on the Highway, very close to the Arch and provided very decent, tasty, inexpensive food.

Know What I Did This Summer ? Part 1

I enjoy driving long distances and like to take holidays involving driving. But my kids resist traveling long distances in car and so my driving holiday was getting postponed. Summer of 2008 presented me an opportunity. My kids went off to Gurgaon to be with their cousins and I grabbed the chance to take off with my wife.
I had read about Ashtamudi Backwater Retreat of Club Mahindra and that sounded fun. All reservations for stay in Ashtamudi and enroute were firmed up.

April 20, 2008
A bright Sunday morning saw us taking off in my car.
First stop Trichy. My wife is from Trichy and it was almost 6 years since she had visited the town where she grew up. This was an opportunity to make a few visits.
Driving to Trichy in NH45 is becoming more chaotic, with the four-laning of the highway progressing at a snail’s pace. Roads have been completed in patches and the constant diversions restrict your progress. The increased traffic does not help, either. It took me close to Five-and-half hours to reach Samayapuram, on the outskirts of Trichy.

Samayapuram
Samayapuram is a popular village with a bustling Amman Temple. Devotees throng this temple through the year. It happened to be Chitra Pournami day (Full Moon Day in the tamil month of Chittirai – April / May in English Calendar). That is one big day in the annals of the temple and I got struck in the traffic snarl inside the village. The road is narrow and vehicles on both sides were vying to get the right of way. Result – half an hour of waiting in the hot day. We managed to park our car and waded through the sea of humanity to reach the entrance of the temple only to realize that it would take us a few hours to have a darshan of the goddess. We closed our eyes, prayed in silence and walked back to our car to continue our journey to Trichy.
Taking a right turn into Pudukkottai – Trichy Road towards Trichy, we passed the place where my father-in-law had his business before retiring. One part had been converted into a bank and a library, gym and a Christian Missionary Prayer House had occupied the rest.  It was a Sunday morning and the sounds of singing wafted down from the Prayer house. It was too hot for us to spend much time on the road and after a few clicks of the place to email to my in-laws, we started off.

St. Josephs School, Trichy
Next halt was in St. Joseph’s Anglo Indian Girls School, the pre-eminent convent in Trichy. The school had changed a lot with new wings added. We chatted with the watchman of the school only to know that many of my wife’s teachers had retired. Since the school was in vacation, she could not meet the few who were still in service. We walked through the grounds and my wife reminisced on her school days.
After a few more clicks of the school, we drove thru the familiar roads of Trichy to know the developments there. Some of the buildings had become modern with glass facades and the vehicular traffic had increased a great deal.

Hotel Sangam, Trichy provided us the much needed comfortable, pleasant welcome, after the hot Trichy day. The late founder of Hotel Sangam was a close family friend of my in-laws and my wife had spent a lot of her young days in Sangam. Our wedding had also taken place in Hotel Sangam and we have very pleasant memories of the homely hotel. Some of the older staff still remembered her and enquired about her family.
After a tasty lunch at the and a nap, we chose to have a look at her erstwhile homes. We did not know the new owners and so only an exterior visit.

Rockfort area is always crowded and the streets narrow. So we parked our car in Thillai Nagar and took an auto to Main Guard Gate. Walking through the narrow, bustling, lively streets, we drank in the atmosphere. The cornucopia of sounds and smells of Chinnakadai Veedhi, Malai Vaasal, Clive Hostel area and Vaanapattarai Temple was overpowering. The Teppakulam Tank was full and we wondered if there were crocodiles in the tank still.
Ayyappan Temple in Cantonment is a pleasant place to visit, any time of the day. The calm, serene, green surroundings give a divine feeling. We find some new development every time we visit the temple. We caught up with Mr. Kanakasabapathy, an old family friend, the trustee of who manages the temple and returned to the hotel for a dinner in Cascade, the coffee shop.