Meeting the Elephants

Meeting the elephants was the one of those cherished moments.

We got to meet them twice at Thekkady; during the trip with my brother and family we rode them and when we went there again with our friends I was contend to just watch the mighty royals.

Just like how we still look up in the sky in all wonder and eagerness like a child, just to catch a glimpse of the mighty machines flying nimbly, so is watching the mighty elephants at close quarters.

Maddy as usual has given a detailed and informative post on elephants.

In Thekkady, they have many places where the tourist can take the elephant rides. Most of them will have more than 2 elephants and the ride of half an hour will be through spice farms. During the ride one gets to see coffee, cardamom, betel trees entwined with pepper vines and other spices and you can even pluck a few peppers, still green. They also arrange elephant baths where one can bathe the elephants and get drenched in turn, when the beasts shower water upon you with their trunks. We did see one couple opt for it even in the cold weather. Ours friends were also lucky in getting a few elephant hairs.

Quenching the thirst after a ride.....



On our first trip we got to see Akbar whom the Mahout claimed is the third tallest elephant in Kerala. It was a huge one! Unfortunately he had gone for log picking on our second trip. These elephants are normally on heavier duties and these rides I guess are the lighter ones.

Then there was Shantha whom we rode. Upon calling her name during the ride she used to lift her trunk and acknowledge. Son was riding Akbar with my brother and family and was all excited. Then there was Unnikrishanan and Lakshmi who was 21 months pregnant (they carry for 22 months and she should have delivered by now). Lakshmi was exempted from rides and hence one could watch her at ease. She is being taken care of well and I was told that a Vet visits her frequently, although the Mahouts are not that impressed with the Vets. They say one need to work closely with the elephants to know them and take care of them and no “book knowledge” can replace this experience.

These elephants are trained to “bless” the tourists and they in turn can gift them cash. On our second trip our guide Thomas advised Hubby to buy bananas and both of them managed to get a big bunch of it which we happily fed the elephants and the Mahouts. (The Mahouts asked to be fed first!) Though the bananas may have satisfied the Mahouts, for the elephants it was nothing, but the joy of placing the tiny bananas on the trunks of the elephants and watching them deftly shift it to their mouths was great. We even got to place the bananas directly into their mouths. While gazing at their tender eyes one cannot be blamed if one feels their magnanimity directed at the puny humans. But the mahouts do have to be firm with them and admitted that they have to occasionally use their sticks.



We did not have much hope in seeing the wild elephant during the boat rides in Thekkady but we did see them at Munnar near the Mattupatty dam. During the rainy season in Thekkady, wild animals seldom venture out into the open since water will be available inside the forests itself, but we did see a few deer’s, bison’s, boars, tortoises and plenty of birds.

Back to Kuwait

Had a hectic vacation with a whirlwind of activities; 3 weddings included!

I remember boarding Jet Airways and landing in Cochin and then it was all out of my hands until we boarded the same plane back to Kuwait. I guess all holidays are meant to be such.

The kids enjoyed the most added to the fact that I did not have time to bother them! They also got to see a few more places this time including “Kumarakom”, a place very near to us but where we never bothered to visit earlier.

As for Kerala, one needs only to travel from the Cochin Airport to Alapuzha, to realize how complacent the State machinery has been over the years. The roads almost everywhere remain the same. The flyovers intended to reduce the traffic still remain unfinished (a scene which we have been seeing since past years) and added to this was the regular police checking due to the recent terrorist activities. Like every year, we avoided getting into Cochin (Kochi) City and today I read the following news:

Kochi to be spruced up for Volvo race

Staff Reporter

KOCHI: Kochi has been directed to deck up for the Volvo ocean race, which will bring international media attention to the city.
The city needs to be showcased as a vibrant tourist centre as the race is expected to have at least 1.8 billion TV viewers globally, said a circular issued by the State Tourism department to the civic body. The ocean racing teams are expected to be in Kochi from October 3 to 13 as part of the event. It would be from the southern tip of South Africa that the ocean racing teams will be coming to Kochi. From here, they will leave for Singapore.

I think it is time it happened.

Hope next time I will be struck with wonder; like the Chinese Olympics?

Will be posting the pictures of all those beautiful places that we visited in spite of the terrible roads leading to it.

P.S. It is not that I did not want to post photos or a note earlier on my blog but the Reliance Netconnect which we had taken did not work the way it should have. We did get to talk to a lot of fellows sitting in Chennai and also listen to a lot of music while waiting to be connected.

The Reliance franchises are there only to sell their products (to cheat the customers) and after that the customer is on their own.

Monsoon here we come...

Been very busy lately and finally we should soon be preparing to greet the monsoon and the hartals!

For those of us who wait eagerly to board the flight, our main concern should be hartals and nothing else. There are even websites giving schedule of the hartals and until this hour the coast seems clear for us to land.

As for the monsoon, this year it was playing truant with Kerala. It was supposed to drench the thirsty State on May 29th but it showed up briefly and left.. again to reappear mildly. And now it is back in full force. Makes me wonder if it was indeed waiting for us!

But what is Kerala without its monsoon?

This month’s Readers Digest too had an article on the Indian monsoon.

So here I go in great anticipation, to capture some beautiful memories once again….

I am tagged

Roop tagged me so here I go.. but before that..

My leave is approved. I was bit apprehensive since I joined this company only recently.

So monsoon.. here I come.. let me also contribute my bit towards the Indian Economy.

As usual there are many plans.. a round trip Blore-Mysore-Ooty.. some friends expected to join us etc...for the time being let me dream kingsize of good times....

Eight things I am passionate about:
1. My family
2. My blog
3. Unchaahi
4. Eating
5. Cooking
6. Finding new friends
7. Knowing about people who makes a difference in this world
8. Knowing about technology (sophisticated or simple) that makes life easier for the common man

Eight things I want to do before I die:
1. Be a better wife and mother
2. Travel to at least a few places that I want to
3. Read the 100 must read books
4. Sit by a big library at home with lots of books
5. Settle down to a life with at least one dog and a few cats
6. Get my Husband stop smoking :-
7. Get my mother back to her good old self
8. Have a long chat with my school mate Elsy

Eight things I say often:
1. Amme (mother in Mallu language)
2. Our children’s names
3. My hubby’s name
4. Wake up
5. Didnt you finish yet? (if the kids are at the dining table or in the bathroom)
6. Go and study (to the kids) LOL
7. Inshallah
8. Stop that.. (to my ever romantic hubby)


Eight books I have read recently:
1. The Kite Runner
2. God’s Debris
3. World Without End - Pillars of the Earth
4. Not a penny more not a penny less
5. The rest will have to wait.....



Eight songs I could listen to over and over:
1. Phil Collins – She walked down...
2. Sean Kingston – Beautiful girl
3. Abba – almost all
4. Air Supply – Almost all
5. Kris Kristoffersen
6. Adnan Sami (Dil Kya kare)
7. There are plenty more


I was tagged earlier by chitchat but could never complete it due to lack of time....

Now I would like to tag Kallu, chitchat, and also Indrani and Maddy, if the ycan take up one more tag!

Karalkada

Took time to visit "Karalkada" - a shop in vogue since the nineteenth century and still retains the trust and quality. Ended up buying more than what we planned.. but no regrets at all. They have a separate shop for the kids too.

The new building came up 2 years ago while the old one still houses odd items. Their website will not give you an idea of their wide selection.. sarees, Churidhars, pants, shirts, pant tops etc. etc.

When you have finished your shopping and yearns for something to refresh your minds.. pop into their small cafe which serves coffee, tea, juice and snacks for free.

This shop has been in the capital for years and many brides have worn their exquisite sarees on their special days. Right now the shop is run by the fourth generation!

Trivandrum - The Capital City

Veryyyyyyyy busy these days...enjoying the last few days of our holidays..

Was at "Happy Land" a small water theme park. Not as big as Veega land which we could not make it due to lack of time. The kids had fun and it was difficult to pull them away from the water. Hope to put in more pictures soon... of the monsoon.

Rain

The day that I mentioned that there is no rain.. it started with a bang.. started late at night with thunder and lightening.. nd then crash... heavy rain with mighty winds....
Can smell the rain drenched air at night and it is so cooling.. needs no A/C and no fan.. talking about fan.. the current leaves us as soon as the rain starts... nd the inverter too is not upto the mark.. but still we are enjoying.. tomorrow hope to visit a few relatives..

until then... adieu...

From GOC

Enjoying our holidays.. without rain......yes.. after waiting eagerly the rain has not paid a visit yet..

So we r just finising a bit of shopping without rain.....

Count Down

Only 2 more days left to go.. and the rain is lashing heavily, disrupting, Air, Train and road traffic. The river next to our house is almost spilling over. If the rains continue in the same manner, I doubt a comfortable trip home since we have to travel almost 2 and half hours from the Airport. But come what may we have to go!

And there is no current since 3 days.. so if I am not online that means there is no electricity, hence no internet connection and no blogging!

Guess we should take our Bangalore trip earlier than planned. Wonder how the rains are treating Bangalore.

Happy Landing..

The kids flew by AI this morning. Since they were travelling as unaccompanied minors they were handed over to the AI official. They were cool. Luckily the flight was in time.
Normally one is allowed 40 to 50 Kg, but suddenly they declared 35 Kg and most were unaware. They had to remove things or pay for the extra. Since many were taking the amnesity offered for 3 months they had much to carry with them. Poor folks!

IL's will be collecting the kids and they are eagerly waiting to see the bunnies. 20 days without the supervision of their parents should be heaven for them.. but we are going to miss them.

VeegaLand

This year also we wish to visit this Water Theme Park "VeegaLand". We have already visited it twice and enjoyed the rides each time. The place is well kept and very neat. It spreads over a hill and hence is most suitable for the water rides and the rest. Maybe this time they have added more amusements. Actually I am too scared to try all the rides so I become the official photographer!

One needs to spend a whole day if one should enjoy the full park. The water based rides were functioning only in the afternoon when we went there.

The locker rooms and the bathrooms were all neatly maintained. In fact we visited a water park here and found that it was nothing compared to Veegaland. One had to pay even for the plastic slides and the there was nothing called locker rooms.