Childrens Park @ Calicut Beach - A quick visit

Calicut Beach is always bustling with activity. Just like the never ending tides, the crowds also seems to be never ending. Eventhough heavily crowded, this beach has some speciality which does not make any visitor uneasy because of the crowds. Don't expect this to be a beach where you can have a sunbath or a bath in swimming costume. Sometime back I had blogged about the life at Calicut Beach.(Click here to see the different colors of Calicut Beach)

Even though I had been to this beach many times, only recently did I see a childrens park adjacent to the beach. It is not a bad set up at all. The evening sun ensured that every single object in the park is looking more beautiful. Surprisingly there was no entry fee for this park.

The entry pole signified that this park has been donated by Lions Club, Calicut.

The beach view was quite good, thanks to the Sun who was playing hide and seek with the clouds.

One more look into the beach and I was amazed by the number of kites flying in the sky. Even now I love to make kites by myself and the sense of achievement when I see those flying high up is something which I can't express in words. 

One of the kites was really standing out because of its novel design.

The kite vendor's business seems to be thriving well as more and more kids were seen demanding their parents to buy one for them. They cannot be blamed as it is quite exciting to fly one.

The park has got some nice, but basic equipment to keep the kids entertained. The equipment in the park seems to be unique because of the creativity associated with the design of each one of them. The slider resting on the jumping fish's tail seems to be creatively designed, eventhough it is not maintained well. 

Here is another rocket cage.

From this angle it seems to be a watch tower kind of a thing. This also is a slider and kids were queuing up for a climb up. 

In this era of amusement parks where there are lot of innovative and exciting rides, these kids are equally satisified and happy in using these traditional equipment and were seen queuing up again and again for a ride, until their parents forcefully take them out of the park underlying the fact that satisfaction is not something which only money can buy.

This park also housed lot of thick vegetation, which helped in hiding the huge crowds inside.

This cactus tree attracted my attention since normal cactus trees which we see in this part of the world don't have this kind of a stem. 

The sun had by now transformed into a red glowing ball and I began to place it near to all kind of objects around and started capturing frames.

Meanwhile my son was enjoying, having a fight with the lion king.

The sponsors of this park had ensured that their logo is everywhere.

There seems to be a dearth of such parks in this part of the state for the crowd present here was enormous. Even though not well maintained, the ambience was quite attractive. The cool soothing breeze from the sea ensured that children are kept cool amongst their busy acitivities. Watching the kids hoping around in joyfull mood is a sight to watch and this alone is sufficient to make our day.

Hope the authorities will take good care such beautiful weekend getaways for the town dwellers, coz some high rise building are fast coming up on the other side of the road. Wonder when these small but useful utilities which serves amusement for the local kids give way for high risers like this.

Other beautiful Locations nearby
 1. Parapally - A rocking beach @ Quilandy
2. NC Gardens & beach resort @ Parappanangadi
3. Gotheswaram @ Beypore
4. Beypore port
5. Mananchira - Kozhikode's Heart is here
6. Thiruvachira Temple - A calming influence

Aakkulam Tourist Village - Quite Picturesque

Aakkulam Tourist Village - A treat for the eyes but not for the nose

The first weekend of 2010 was supposed to be a completely lazy one. But my kiddies had other plans. They wanted to have a visit to the nearby Aakkulam tourist village and the thing to which they were attracted is the childrens park.

This park is near Ulloor (3 kms) and 11 kms from the Trivandrum railway station and boasts of a beautiful lake, children's park, light and sound show, swimming pool, artificial waterfall etc.

Set out to aakkulam in the evening. Took my camera along so that I can have some fun by clicking some pictures and those clicks are being shared here.

Stopped at a point before the tourist village near to the Akkulam lake just for a photoshoot. I liked this spot very much and had stopped over here umpteen times whenever I go through this route.

The tourist village is near to the end of the lake. The parking lot is near the lake. So now I will guide you around this place.

The board which details about the facilities here

Thanks to the stupendous management effort of concerned authorities, some of the items mentioned here have become part of the history. But they deserve kudos too for neatly maintaining many of the facilities in this place.

Here comes three views from the same point in the parking area, but pointing to three different directions starting from South till East

First let us go to the boat club.

This is the entrance to the boat club

Once we enter the boat club, there are some seats near the lake from where we can enjoy the lake. This is the view from one of such sitting point

Yes our eyes will be pleased by these views but thanks to the sewage, some kind of foul smell will emanate from the lake whenever there is a breeze and this will prevent us from staying here for more. But luckily photos don't capture smell, so for the time being we can enjoy the photos.

The ticket counter is housed in this building.

The architect of all the buildings found here is Larry Becker, an architect known for his skills in low cost construction.

The ticket counter is not operational today as boat services are suspended due to the presence of large amount of weeds in the lake.

Let us now tread to the landing pad of the boat. The view from this landing pad is amazing. If we simply look at the lake from this point, we will feel as if we are in a boat's deck.

Just watch the boats tagged here waiting for there turn to sail

These small row boats are happily resting under the comfort of a shade. They must be thanking the weeds for the prolonged vacation they are having.

The lake seems to be quite beautiful.

The view of the setting sun from this point is a photographers delight

Mortal remains of a small bridge for accessing the small pedestal boats. Somehow I like this shot the best. This seemed to give a very colourful frame.

Now we can head to the childrens park which is on the other side of the road.

The childrens park is a sprawling campus, which also houses a small theatre where light and sound show is arranged on demand, but we have to pay the charges for 30 people if no one else is around

A swimming pool also is present which can be used off by those who pay a nominal charge and strictly wear propper swim suites. Separate time is allocated for men and women.

We have now reached the entrance of the children's park

We can tread this way inside. Also seen is the ticket counter and mini restaraurant where the most tasty item is a vegetable cutlet, but kids as usual would love to have there favourite icecreams.

Only afer taking tickets we are allowed to go beyond this point.

There are lot of equipment inside the park, all seemed to be prettly neatly maintained and within no time children were enjoying themselves in the maze, different kinds of sliders, innovative ladders, small tunnels, see saw, swings of different kids etc.

In this era when playgrounds near our homes are fast vanishing, it is a boon to have such places around for the kids to just stretch their muscles rather than wasting their efforts in front of cartoons and computer games.

Well there is a small pond here tooo. Watch these row boats stationed here.

But this was not operational for the last 5 years.

There is an artificial waterfall here. They switch it on only during festival season.

Water is pumped from this small pond upwards, which will then flow through this structure back to the pond.

The top of the structure for artificial waterfall houses some colored lights inside which is also a treat to watch when lit up at night during festive season

This top point can be reached by taking these steps

It gives a forest like ambience when we climb up these steps. Let us not climb up this time, because my kids are not quite interested for this climb.

This sprawling tree in the middle of the park is the best of the lot.

It was getting darker and I could notice a beautiful sun ready to set between these coconut trees.

The park security came and announced that the park will be closed by 7pm. Quite reluctantly the kids agreed to come out and after completing the ritual of having an icecreams we were back in the vehicle. But before I started the vehicle I saw a big white beautiful moon shining above me and could not resist capturing it in the CCD cells again.

A company gettogether or family meetings can be arranged here which is sure to entertain participants of all ages. For that the authorities of this park has to be approached. They will arrange for a boating, a show of light and sound, the swimming poool will be open and the children can play in the park. Food can be arranged from outside and they allow it to be served inside the theatre. So all in all it provides entertainment for all.

Update - 2013 Jan

The Akkulam swimming pool, childrens park and boating are closed down for maintenance.  The employees are not sure on when the work will be complete !!!