Greenery Redefined @ Kuttanad - A road trip through Rice bowl of Kerala

  

Kuttanad - The rice bowl of Kerala is best to be enjoyed from the backwaters, the reason being most of the places is better connected by water than by roads. But a drive through the mesmerising landscape covered by greenery and wetlands is nothing short of awesome. If one wants to know what greenery means then just take a visit to Kuttanad, one of the two places in the whole earth which lies below the sea level.

The primary aim of the trip was to attend a marriage function. But as usual a small detour was all that was needed to capture the beauty of the green paradise.

The route taken was, take the East side road from Alappuzha, which leads to Changanacherry. This road takes you through the heart of Kuttanad. (This route is now notorious because of the gangster murder of a heir of one of the business tycoons of Kerala).

The moment we are in this route, we can feel the difference. Dead straight roads, prestinely maintained, with greenery all around.

  

The first bridge in this route is the Pallathuruthy bridge, under which is the boarding station for those house boat journeys. If one wants to have a cheap deal, just come here, negotiate with the house boat drivers directly and get dead cheap deals, rather than booking through a hotel.

  

After travelling eastward for some distance, found out a small road which pointed towards Kainagiri(northward direction). The road was narrow, but only if we take a tour of such village roads will we be able to get a real feel of things here.

  

The green terrain on both sides ensured that the drive was real slow enjoying the soothness of the eye provided by lush greenery.

Soon it was time for the first photo stop.

Don't know whether any picture can capture the real beauty of this place.

  

Wonder why the state of Kerala has to import rice when we seem to have this in plenty here.

If it is lush greenery on one side of the road, the other side was a wetland

  

  

Stepped down to one of the paddy fields, just to get a close feel.

  

The wave like formations of the paddy field, when wind blows across makes one feel like he is in the midst of a green sea.

The cranes enjoying their breakfast presented a beautiful picture and I did waste time in shooting them down using my camera.

 

 

Time to move on and explore further, eventhough we did not know any of the routes/places here, it is fun to just roam around. Dried paddy heaps could be found on road sides.

  

Again ventured into another untarred village road and the drive through the sandy road was enough to qwench my appetite. My steed resting in the country side. Even it seems to cherish such an ambience.

  

We were again back in the main route, travelling eastward, speeding ahead in the straight roads, but one has to watch out for small bridges which are slightly in a raised position, approaching which we will not be able to see the oncoming traffic for a while.

  

This beautiful road continued to provide us a good visual treat

  

Earlier we took a northward turn, so now it was time to take a southward turn, a route which will lead to Chambakkulam famous for the long snake boat. This route also did not disappoint as we soon found a point where we spent almost an hour enjoying just roaming around and shooting down the lush greenery, and some flora !!

  

The typical kuttanad shot with coconut trees lined up on the sides of a paddy field presented a beautiful picture.

  

  

This guy was resting peacefully on a small wooden trunk.

  

The sound of click was enough to scare it away.

  

Another attraction was a beautiful lotus flower. Spend some good time enjoying the colors of its petals, the way water droplets lies on its leaves. Oh I am not able to express its beauty in words. Let the picture of this beautiful flower do the talking.

  

  

There were lot of coconut trees around, some were small, some were big, some were fatty and some were slim. In one look it may feel like all of them are similar, but the more time you spend with them, you can find that each one of them is having its own uniqueness. One of my friends want to fullfill his long cherished dream of climbing on one.

  

No, he was not an expert in climbing, but photography do can misguide others too, just a little bit of imagination in directing the shot is enough.

Again we returned to main stretch and we decided to proceed further eastward for another 15 minutes and then return since we had to attend a time bound function.

Travelling further up, we found these sets of beautiful flowers on the road side itself.

  

Felt like we are in the midst of a garden. These were a particular kind of weeds. I didn't knew that weeds bear such kind of beautiful flowers.

The flower was having a beautiful, multicolored feather like pattern on one of its petals

  

This guy was wondering why I was shooting these weeds which are aplenty here.

  

Same about this fellow tooo

  

This lotus bud gave a chance to shot my favourite pic of the day

  

Now time to go back, but we couldn't resist stopping at Pallathuruthi for some quality time near the backwaters.

That is a boat stop.

  

State government owned boat service ferry between Kollam and alappuzha through this stretch. This travel is something which one should not miss, if he/she wants to enjoy the backwaters paying almost nothing (Rs.20 (less than half a dollar) for a travel of 3 hours through the beautiful backwaters. The boat is not a luxurious one though. Seen here is one such boat

 

A house boat soon was floating past elegantly and royally.

  

If a more luxurious travel is needed, house boat is an option.

We made a walk through the small road on the lake side shooting down the beautiful ambience.

  

  

  

Being in such august company means we lost account of our time and we had to rush our journey for attending the function which was our aim for the day. But as is the usual case a little bit of detour provided us with an oppurtunity to understand our own God's own country better. "Kuttanad" is sure going to be visited again by this travelling soul hell bound at Rediscovering Kerala !!

If you love backwaters take a look at this post too. 
Click here to watch Alappuzha's backwater scenery

Allappuzha- A day out @ Punnamada resort

Onam the festival of flowers, the festival which each and every malayalee celebrates, is an occasion to enjoy, an occasion for a family gettogether, an occasion to have some fun together, an occasion to take some time off from the daily corporate chores. This year also it was no different.
We were badly in need of a family trip together with maximum participation. As is usually the case a very futuristic planning for such a trip won't work out owing to the problem in getting a convenient date from all the members.

Finally it was decided to have atleast a one day outing and we needed a place which should be calm,
which should be scenic,
which should make us feel as if we are in close contact with the nature,
which should keep our interest for the whole day,
which should cater for the needs of all age groups and
last but not the least: not very heavy on our pockets.

Based on my wife's previous team outing feedback, decided to visit Punnamada resort @ Alleppey.

The reservation process was quite good, and the marketing manager was quite clear on what to offer. The email feature really helped us in clearly knowing about all the facilities on offer and all communication by email was promptly responded. This itself showed that these people means business and we eagerly awaited for this trip. The package name was "Day out at Punnamada".

There were 12 members in the team ranging from 1.5yrs old to 60yr old. We travelled in two vehicles. 7 in one and 5 in another. Started at 7.30am. Reached alleppey at 11.00am.
The route from Alleppey is When coming from Trivandrum, don't deviate from NH 47 until we reach a dead end. Turn right at this point, go straight, the alleppey boat jetty is in this route. From this point onwards there are clear sign boards showing where to turn.

Reached the resort at 11.30 am. Parked our vehicle in the lush green parking lot, close to the Punnamada lake. This lot itself was quite a scenic location and the lake in the background added to the ambience. Already some visitors are here as is evident from the vehicles parked here.



The resort presents itself as a traditional kerala home with the typical wood work reminiscent of palaces and temples of Kerala.


There is a courtyard near the reception area, and its centre is adorned by an idol of lord Krishna





After check in, went straight to activity room.

Without wasting any time we started with a game of Table tennis, elders started a game of carrom board




Billiards soon followed suit.
Luckily Pankaj advani was not around, otherwise he would have learned a new way of playing this game.




After this game ventured out of the activity room towards the lake side, this door and ambience was really eye catching



As soon as we got out could see this house boat in the beautiful lake, the clouds, the coconut trees, the lake and the beautiful houseboat is a treat to watch.




Just watch the vastness of this lake. The cloudy sky lit up by sun adding more colour to this portrait.


There was this small man made pond in the lawn of the hotel.


Could not stop clicking snaps of the beautiful scenary around. Kerala is truly God's own country. These pics are a testimony to that.







Pictures are not doing justice to the actual beauty of the place. In a way itz good, otherwise no one will visit any of the tourist destinations, rather will be satisfied by seeing pictures of such places.

It seems that some people go crazy on seeing such beautiful locations. Just watch this guy, who happens to be my brother.



Seems like he is teaching my baby some flying lessons.


But it seems that baby has got something more interesting to explore.


Soon a game of disc throwing started by the lakeside.



The cool wind blowing across, was enough to keep us cool amidst all these activities

It was time for lunch and we all soon moved towards restaurant.

The buffet lunch was neatly arranged.


But what followed suite was something which should have been avoided by the staff. Most of the plates were empty.


It took a hell lot of time to fill up these and when enquired about this the restaurant staff were not quiet cordial either, something which we never expected from such a place. One of them even tried to pick up an argument with us. Soon we had to make a call to the marketing guy who had initially coordinated with us for the booking and he assured that he will call the restaurant manager and everything will be back to normal soon.

One guy came and introduced himself as assistant manager and apologized for what happened. But words and deeds are something which once said or done cannot be taken back. But we were happy that atleast someone was there to listen to our complaint and we soon forgot this episode and got back to the thick of things, otherwise the whole purpose of this visit will be lost.

Got out of the restaurant and went straight to a house boat parked near the lakeside.


House boat trip was not included in this package as such a trip is not something which small kids will enjoy. But it is something which will relax both your mind and your body. A 2 bedroom houseboat with kitchen will cost around 10k to 15k for 12 hours.

We had a nice time relaxing in the lounge of the house boat


Soon we got out of the house boat for other activities. Still these guys were not finishing posing themselves in the backdrop of the houseboat.


Before we could start another round of outdoor games, the rain came pouring down and we ran for cover.


We were lucky that the rain gods soon cancelled the heavy downpour and sky became clear again.

Onam and swings (oonjal in malayalam) has a close relationship. But what about a swing near the lakeside and that too a huge one. Each one of us had a swing in the swing keeping aside all the age bar and we were delighted to see the smiles in the faces of our mothers,sisters etc.

My sis in law and my son in the swing.



After the swinging times we went for a bicycle ride. This ride reminded me of my school days when I used to go to school in a cycle and the satisfaction which I used to gain when I reached different destinations using my own effort. Bicycle was the first vehicle which I could ride through the roads and I used to enjoy riding it a lot.

Riding it through the lawns by the lakeside is a different experience alltogether.


After some riding when confidence level increased people began to show of their biking skills.



After warming up by cycling, we set off to the outdoor playing area with arms and ammunition for cricket and basketball. The playing area was near the parking lot. Other vehicles were gone by now and only our carriers were taking rest here enjoying the lakeside view and the cool breeze.


First we tried our hands in cricket with the hard tennis ball. But lack of play in the recent years made our arms and shoulders pain after bowling few overs.

So we soon switched to basket ball.




Wonder why these guys didn't opt for professional basketball. All that looks good in foto may not be so in reality.
Soon the women folk tooo joined the game.


But these guys never shed the limelight.


The disadvantage of carrying the camera is that the cameraman won't get a chance to be in the thick of the main activity. So let me not be left behind.
Atleast one in basket


Enough of basketball, how about a game of football. The sprawling lawn means no worries on falling down the lawn will protect from bruises. So the game was to kick the ball in different styles and that too when in air. These people seems to have done a good job.




Now time to kick both ball and player simultaneously


Goal keeping practise with the Volleyball net doubling up as the goal posts.



Time to play volleyball, the smash and the block


Time was running fast and it was 4.00pm by now. The boating through the backwaters was scheduled from 4 to 6pm. Rushed back to the resort, and found that my babies were completely enjoying their stint with the swimming pool. Decided to let them enjoy the pool as the activity manager came and told that boating will start only after 30 minutes.


The boat arrived at 4.30pm. Climbed up on top floor of the boat. Again some confusion prevailed over the dropping of another family who were also present at the resort and boat journey got delayed by another 30minutes. Finally we started off at 5.00pm through one of the most beautiful and scenic backwater cruise. All of us were dead tired and the boat journey at this point of time helped us to relax as well as to enjoy the scenary around.

we were sailing amidst the house boats.




The resort also offers pedal boat which can be used to cruise through these backwaters, a truly romantic ride, sure to bring out the romantic spirits. This foreign couple enjoying such a moment.


There was this small island in the lake



This house by the lakeside shows how aggressive Vodafone's marketing strategy is


The boat was stopped by a lakeside shop for quenching our thirst. They served tender coconuts and soon we were energized. This beautiful eagle was found near the shop.


We formed two teams and played "anthakshari" and later "dumpsharads" and the spirit of competition made all our tiredness vanish away soon.
1.5 hours passed away just like that and we were back at the resort by 6.30 pm. Coffee/ Tea was ready and we had it right at the lakeside with the moon and moonlight in company. The scene was something which we could never forget in our life time.




No wonder why a lot of poets has made this a theme of their poetic creations. We are sure to switch to a different kind of mood when presented with such an ambience and each one of us were just trying to describe the feeling they were having.

A view of the resorts restaurant, all lit up at night


Settled our bills, thanked the resort staff who once again apologised for what happened in the afternoon. To be frank, we had forgotten the episode, thanks to the ambience and the avenues for entertainment provided by the resort.

We were in our vehicles by 7.15 pm and the steeds started treading back to our home back in thiruvananthapuram. After searching for a hotel right from Kayamkulam, we could find one open only between chathannoor and Paripally. By the time we were in, it was 10. Still the staff who attended us was very courteous. Finished our dinner by 11pm and by 12pm we were back in our huts after a day full of enjoyment for all the participants which included my parents, my brother, sister in law and her parents and uncle, my wife's sisters family and my family.


Overall it was a nice pacakage. The location and the activities are sure to help us forget all our other official chores, pressures and ill health. The greenery and the blue shaded vast lake is really soothing to ones eyes. Food is certainly not one of their highlights and so is the service of the restaurant staff. Barring this everything else is superb.