Idukki - the complete picture - Part 1

Little did we know that, we were in for a visual treat of the picturesque and marvelously engineered Idukki dam and adjacent exquisite locations, when we started the trip to attend one of my colleagues marriage held at Ernakulam.
Just watch this picture and see for yourself nature's charm at Idukki reservoir.



We started off from Trivandrum at 4.45, zoomed past through the NH 47 & reached the venue at 7.45 am. The marriage function was over by 8.30am, so we had ample time for a "small" round trip around. Six of us including me doubling up as the man behind the wheels, were part of this journey

Before we left the venue of marriage - Siva Temple - of Ernakulam, my camera captured some stills of some of the monuments in the temple.

The big bell, which presented a clean look after yesterdays heavy rains.



The "Kodimaram" or the flag pole which seems to touch the clear blue skies.

Paintings carved in the gold platings cladded on the wooden pillars seen on the temple gave it a real traditional look.



Once we alighted the car, we had a discussion on where to go, finally decided to go towards the eastward direction, since that is where the hills are and if time permits we could also visit the house of the colleague who married today, which was located in a picturesque terrain in Idukki district.

Slowly but steadily we moved past the busy Ernakulam traffic, crossed Vyttila, then Tripunithura and reached Kothamangalam when we decided to have a cup of tea. We did not find a suitable hotel until we were nearing the end of the town, when we found a small tea shop. We were about to alight the car, when we saw a board pointing to the right side stating that there is a DTPC Hotel and park.
Turned right and reached the gates of the hotel which wore a deserted look, but it was a pleasant surprise to us, when we saw the surroundings.




Greenery cladded park, with a beautiful building.



There was even a small river on one side.



A neatly maintained aquarium towards one side was an added attraction



The cup of tea we had from that hotel was really unique in that they had used natural tea leaves for the preparation. After a chit chat for about 30 minutes amidst the nice ambience we started our further journey.

So let us start our journey together and I am going to present you almost all the road side scenes and the beautiful and spledid locations where we halted during this single day trip covering almost 650 kms in a single day. Watch out for the rest of the journey with pictures similar to the first picture in the posts to follow.

Click here to read Part 2 - Journey from Kothamangalam to Cheruthoni with pictures of road side scenes .

Kozhikkode beach - Crowded but Colourful

Kozhikkode Beach - Another of the beaches in Kerala flocked by the city dwellers during the evenings of weekends. I never misses a chance to visit this beach whenever I happen to be in Kozhikkode (Calicut) this beach is also very vast, quiet scenic and clean sand.

Just be there a little early in the evening ensures that you can enjoy the beach before the masses flocks in.

It was just about 3pm when we reached this beach. It was a cloudy day, but that does not deter the beauty by any means.



The trees found in the beach adds an additional attraction to the whole scene

Once in the beach sand, just turn back and we can see the beautiful beach hospital, housed in a building which is reminiscent of typical palace building.

This building seems to be recently painted adding to the beauty.

Towards one side of the beach there is a beautifully laid pavement, with nice and colourful interlocking tiles and beautiful light posts.

Unfortunately during the last monsoons a portion of this pavement was washed away by the sea's fury.

The sound of a ringing bell was approaching us. An icecream vendor was pushing along a truly colorful three wheeled vehicle with the bell being sounded for attracting the attention of possible customers. The atomsphere even though cloudy was little humid and hot aiding the vendor to earn more customers

The colorful vehicle in the backdrop of the sea presented a beautiful natural pose for me to capture.

Soon another guy set up his shop near us and we could see that he attracted a lot of customers instantaneously. He had a wide variety of salted pickles made out of different species of mangoes and gooseberries. The saltiness of the preparation makes the preparation quiet additive and hence he has got a good set of returning customers

An old man approached us, and he began to talk to me as if he knew me very well. He told me that something is good to happen in my life soon and if I want to know more about it he will tell everything with the help of his parrot. He was a fortune teller, who uses a trained parrot to pick one among the collection of cards which he has. Based on the selected card he will predict the person's future. Since I was not interested I, he soon left the scene.

The beautiful parrot, who has to lead its entire life in an area not more than one square feet seems quiet content with its life and helps to earn its master bread for the day.

We could see a lot of such fortune tellers. Some of them seems to be from Tamil nadu, our neighbouring state, which shows that there is a good market for this business in this beach. This lady with another colorful parrot in her custody was roaming around.

These forture tellers marketing technique seems to be to keep on telling prospective customers about their impending fortune.

The pan wallah also set up his shop under a very colourful umbrella, the picturesque object aiding him to attract business.

We saw a big kite slowly climbing its way up the sky.

Soon it gained enough height amidst the increased crowd and it caught the attention of my kids, who promptly made a request to have one in their possession.

This big kite was being send to the sky by the Kite vendor and it attracted almost all the kids present there and his business too was flourishing.

Soon we had a neat looking kite with many tails and my son had the feeling of having achieved something when his kite was flying high up in the air. To be frank even me felt satisfied when we saw our kite gain more and more height, thanks to the sea breeze.

The number of kites on air increased and it presented another visual treat.


My kids also had a good time here

They were enjoying the sand, running around without the fear of falling, making sand castles while we had a good evening chat amidst the cool sea breeze, the prospering businesses around us and above all the sound of waves who never gets tired and again and again vigorously comes back.

Scootering for the first time

Many a times when I have seen my friends travelling in scooter behind their father to school, had I dreamt of going to school sitting in a scooter. One of classmates who was staying near my home had the previlege of riding to school on many days whenever his father goes to office in scooter. I wished, if had asked me to tag along when I was standing in the bus stop waiting for my bus. But he simply smiles and go. I will return a smile, but in my mind I will curse him for not giving me lift, though I never asked him. At school when my friends talk about scooter ride and the speed at which their father rides, I too imagines lot of things and boast heavily that I have an uncle who rides an yamaha RX 100 and I love to ride with him at very high speed. Eventhough it was an imagination, I had always thought that I ride with my imaginery uncle on bikes and these rides takes place when I am at bed trying to get a sleep. Just to dream about this, I wished to go to bed immediately after finishing my studies.

Most of the days I start running from home to catch the bus after it starts the journey and runs to the next stop. On such day, I failed to get the bus and was thinking about the horrible journey in the next bus which takes a longer path to school and will be very crowded. But lucky me, my friends father appeared in the scene and voila he saw me running behind the bus and missing it. He stopped near me and soon my dream came true. He asked me to get into his scooter. His son did not come as he had fever. I thanked god for making me miss the bus.
The ride which I was dreaming was starting, and this day ought to remain in my mind for ever. Once I was in the backseat, I was quite confused on where to hold my hands and where to put my legs. I grabbed the stepney at the back with both hands, but my feet was not reaching the footrest in front, and I could not ask uncle where to keep my foot, coz if my friend know about this question, he will think that I am doing this for the first time.

The scooter came to life, I could feel a pull backward when it started. I felt like I will fall. Soon my ordeal started. The world was moving backwards. Even if eyes are closed the bumbiness and movement forward was being feeled. Was feeling like crying out aloud. But voice was not coming out. Also my ego was at stake for I had bosted to many a friends that I have done this many number of times. The road had so many slopes, many curves, each time the scooter swayed to one side for taking a curve, I was trying to go the opposite way, whenever it was going down a slope, I felt a kind of weightlessness there was special feeling in my stomach, when it was going upward a slope, I felt like, I will fall backward. I was clinging to my dear life, felt like this ordeal will never end, thought how good my parents are eventhough they scolded me, thought how good my school is even though I never found anything interesting there rather than just doing whatever being ordered to do.

Never did I expect that this ride which I was longing for a long time is so scary and was starting to think of the gentlemen sitting in front of me as a super hero. Somehow reached the school gate. When the scooter stopped, eventhough I was happy, I was finding it difficult to get out of it. My legs were shivering and in a shivering voice I said something which sounded like a Thank you and got inside the school. All my dreamings stopped from that day onwards and I began to think how bold these people are to travel at such high speeds with that terrible feeling of world moving back wards.

My first scooter ride is something which I will never ever forget in my life. An impression which has a clear picture in my mind, a proof of which is evident from the picture shown above drawn by instinct and not by talent.

A Weekend Ride to Punalur & Small hilly roads

A normal lazy sunday was turned into a refreshing one - thanks to a ride through the really picturesque MC road and some small pocket roads which depicts typical Kerala roads through the rubber estates. The destination was my cousins home near Pathanapuram.

Let me lead you to my riding experience of this small but picturesque ride.

Started the ride pretty early at 7 in the morning. Decided to take the Kazhakkottam - MC road bypass which was partly under construction. Being a bike means, bad roads does not pose a problem. The ride till Kazhakkoottam was uneventful. Once I turned to the bypass, suddenly I felt as if the visibility was reduced. I thought of it as due to some smoke or may be the it is a cloudy day.

Never did it stuck my mind that it is fog, coz fogs of this magnitude are pretty a rarity in this part of the country. Just see what I saw.


Well the foggy ambience was creating a new look to surroundings and I enjoyed snapping up my bull in the fog.


Spend some good time in this road which was hardly some 10kms away from where I started. But the presence of fog took me by surprise and I could not resist being there for a longer period of time.

After about 30 minutes the thump began to ring my ears, and I was swinging and swaying through the beautiful MC Road which has been neatly relaid. Was so absorbed in the ride that I reached Ayoor soon and turned eastwards towards Anchal. Reached Anchal in about 10minutes and then turned towards Punalur, the place renowned for the historical hanging bridge.

The roads towards Punalur was also very scenic with the presence of trees on both sides adding to the greenery.
Soon a photostop happened.



A royal stature amidst the woods


Just tried out a small idea for an innovative picture. Apart from its excellent riding comfort, this two wheeled wonder is quite photogenic too.

What I see in the rear view mirror is also worth a snap


My main object for todays photo session seemed to be my bullet with the greenery providing an excellent background. Here comes one more which shows of the curves and the chrome.


Turned towards one of the pocket roads from the Punalur - Pathanamthitta route. This pocket road eventhough narrow was something of a dream.

It was well maintained

Thick flora and fauna on both sides.

The kallada river is flowing by it side.

The sound of the flow of river + the sweet thump of bull was with no other disturbances was something very enjoyable.

Watch the roads and the thick greenery on both sides


The river can be seen on one side. Ain't it beautiful


Soon I found that my cousins home is in sight. The place is called Kamukuncherry. A beautiful little place by the side of this hilly road which I was riding through. A distance of 80 kms from home was covered and the time taken seemed to much less than actuals, just like when we watch our favourite movie.

A rest for my bull afer this small workout


Had lunch and tender coconuts & after exchanging pleasentries, hit the road again. The narrow but beautiful roads was once again on display in my windshield.

The famous Punalur paper mills which is now non functional is visible in this stretch.


The remains of this erstwhile highly profitable establishment is a sorry sight.


A windshield view of the road ahead. I cannot explain the feeling of riding through such locations in words.


After thoroughly enjoying the ride through the narrow road through the hills, reached Punalur, and then quickly to Anchal and Ayoor. From Ayoor, it was a butter smooth ride through the butter smooth MC road.

Did not stop much since by this time afternoon sun was shining in full swing. Still I couldn't resist snapping a shot of the "Jadayu Rock" visible from the MC road. There is a small temple on top and one can reach the top by trekking through the rocky path.


In another 30 minutes reached back home after another round of really refreshing ride through some of the picturesque roads around. I am amazed by the fact that, even though the roads which I took was not new to me, each time I travel through these roads in two wheels, it presence a new experience and a new feel.

Nilambur - A teak paradise

Nilambur which is approximately 80 kms distant from the nearest towns - Calicut, Thrissur and Palghat is known for its teak plantations. It is situated in the Perinthalmanna - Gudalloor route. Even though many times we have passed through the beautiful roads of this section either on a trip to Bangalore or on a trip to Ooty, we had never explored this place.

After hearing much appreciation about this place, decided to visit this place exclusively and scheduled a one day trip. We started from Calicut, drove through Ramanattukara and Manjeri to Nilambur. The roads even though filled with twisties was neatly maintained. The rashly driven private buses pose a major threat while driving through these roads. The SUV which we were travelling was swaying like a boat, hence the drive was pretty slow so that the passengers will not feel any discomfort.

Even after driving at slow speeds, we reached Nilambur approximately 2.5 hours after we started. Had a breakfast from Nilambur town and headed straight to Aadiyan Para. Once we turned away from the main road towards this place, suddenly we felt a change in landscape and could not resist stopping for a photo shoot. But alas! my camera's battery has been drained out. So that means I have to be content with the photographs taken using Nokia N70.

This is a typical road side view in this part of the country.

Felt like being at a picnic spot, with lush greenery, tall trees, sound of birds, untarred roads and absolutely free of any tourists. The joy of being here was being converted in the form of energy as can be evident from this pic

We spent about 1 hour at this place, enjoying the beauty of the nature. An unplanned stopover but no regrets as we don't have any target of covering the entire picnic spots of Nilambur in this trip. Went straight to Aadiyan para. As the target approached, there were some steep climbs and the drive through these roads was fun.

We parked our vehicle at a point where some 2 other vehicles were parked.

From this point we were wondering on what is this aadiyan para all about since we could not see anything special here.

A small climb up and my goodness it was a fantastic place. The rock was very vast. There was a gradual slope down and at the end we could see a stream of water gushing through. The dark colored rocks, with a milky white stream and greenery behind was giving us a unique ambience.
The vastness of the place is something which cannot be explained nor be captured on a camera.

A shot taken from way up the rock.

Wherever water has to cross a rock, a mini water fall ensued and the bubbles formed were creating a milky white ambiance along with that natural sound of water flow.

There was a relatively big water fall towards one side.

We could even venture into the forest through these rocks, but extreme caution has to be adopted since the rock will be very slippery, wherever it is in contact with the water. During rainy season it will be difficult to even climb down to the place where we reached. Spend some quality time in this ambiance and only when we heard the call of our stomach did we decide to leave this place and that too at 2pm. By this time we were sure that we had to come once again to visit other picnic spots because we will be able cover only one more spot before sun sets.

Had lunch and then proceeded straight to teak museum, which is on the highway to Gudualloor. Purchased entry tickets, parked our vehicle at the parking lot and stepped in.
There is a small approach road towards the museum. But this road is so beautiful with the big bamboo trees welcoming us.

The building housing the teak museum was in sight.



This big root of a teak was on display at the entrance of the museum

Once we started to walk around seeing the displays and the notes associated with it, we were lead into another world, a world where we traveled back in time. The important landmarks in history which occurred in and around the area where the teak tree was standing, were inscribed in the teak tree itself.

Works of art created using teak wood was another attraction.

The method of planting teak trees was on display with all the facts like distance between them, natural fertilizers needed etc


Then there is a rich collection of alternate wood which can be used instead of teak.



It was almost 5.30pm, when we bid goodbye to the world of teak and its history.

We went straight to a place where Asia's largest Teak is present. We had to pass a river to reach this spot. On reaching the banks of this river, found out that the boat service has ended for the day. So that means we have to end our trip here. Just spend sometime on this river bed.

Enjoyed the beautiful scenery around. Soon we could see that the color of water as well as the flora and fauna were fading, indicating that sun is bidding goodbye for the day.



Soon we hit the road,driving back, with a rejuvenated body and mind.