Another trip to cherish..

We did a lot of travelling this vacation and saw new places in Kerala. I have not travelled much through North Kerala but this time we could touch upon Mahe, Talacherry etc. The roads are good but not the drivers, specially the bus drivers. They just come barging upon you and force you to leave the road even if there is enough room for them. Hubby being accustomed to the Gulf roads got really irritated. But they have nothing to lose hence one need a lot of patience.

Mahe was good to have a tank full of petrol since the price was much less compared to other places but this was offset by the petrol price in B’lore. I think the highest in India?

The road towards Madikeri for a stretch of 25 km was very bad and we were happy to reach our destination. We were booked at Club Mahindra and I enjoyed the ambience. We did not do much of sightseeing but we drove quite a bit to reach the Coffee board and another nursery. We were lucky to get a few coffee & orange saplings and a few rose plants too. Coffee does grow in our area and we wanted to try the Coorg coffee since Coorg is famous for it . Another notable factor is the Coorg girls. They are very good to look at :) 

 

The bit I enjoyed the most at Coorg was waking up in the morning and sipping a hot cup of coffee from the verandah which faced a jungle of sorts. With only trees and bushes and with a climate to soothe you, it was heaven on earth. We did not want to budge out much and the children had their share of activities.

Our next stop was Blore but we also managed to see the largest Tibetan settlement at Bylakuppe in Coorg District, near Kushalnagar.

Read more: http://www.itslife.in/travel/namdroling-monastery#ixzz225ZaAo1i

It was bustling with monks who obliged us with a few snaps too.

A Kannadian fare that we enjoyed..

 

We reached Bangalore around 7 PM, but Bangalore disappointed us terribly. It used to be an elegant city once upon a time and I have some good memories too. But it has lost all its charm and we just wanted to get out of it. The hotel we booked online was also  disappointing and to find this place we hired an auto guy to show the way. It took more than 2 hours through heavy traffic and road blocks. Too many vehicles, construction and nasty drivers have made this city a nightmare for drivers. Bangalore is also facing water woes and as per my cousin the bore well that they dug to 200 feet was later dug to 800 to yield no water. Many are selling water and thus a tank load of water costs 500 IRS. This is being shared by residents. She has to take turns in using this. My aunty stays at a place where there is no water shortage but she fears that the situation might change in the future. Guess it wouldn’t be wrong if one says that B’lore is similar to how Mumbai was a decade or more earlier. Things are expensive too. I found that a curtain that we purchased from Cochin was 100 IRS more in one of the malls.

Guess after the hectic construction work is over B’lore may change. We did not want to venture out much except to visit relations and for this we hired a taxi from the hotel. We did manage to visit the Bannerghatta National Park. A trip that we enjoyed.  The tourists are well protected now. I remember the incident where a girl was snatched away from her father in this same park.

http://www.karnataka.com/bangalore/bannerghata/

Later we shifted from the silly place that we had hired online and took a one closer to the Mysore road..yea we wanted to get out ASAP. 

Our next stop was at Wonderla and it offered the same pleasure as the one in Cochin. Well maintained. We had one more family friend with us who wanted to stop for a day at Mysore but we wanted to reach home and hence left Wonderla at around 3 PM. We wanted to cross the wild life sanctuaries before dark but is was not so. It was solemn faces that viewed the road for elephants, tigers etc. On our previous trip if we had prayed for a sight of wild animals, this time we all prayed fervently to get us out of the park before the animals ventured out.  Though Hubby was forbidden by his mother to drive at night we refrained from telling her and decided not to halt anywhere. The new road from Trichur to Cochin was superb and it took us only 30 minutes. Since there was a traffic block at Nadukani where we lost 1 hour and later another hour at Patambi since we lost our way, we managed to reach home at around 4 AM.  We realized that we were going in circles when we passed the same broken down truck twice! There were no proper sign boards unlike the road to Calicut.

We also found time to spend at Thekkady when temperature started rising in the plains. Thekkady has changed much since 3 years. Earlier one had only Spice Village (expensive) and Ambady for your food but now the whole lake road is dotted with restaurants; from exclusive French restaurants to Gujarati Dhabba. New construction is also going on. Since there were no rains the mosquito menace was a bit irritating. As per the Kumali residents, it is perhaps due to their prayers that the rain is sparse this time. They still fear the Mullaperiyar dam and doesn’t want the dam to fill up! I am sure the ones across the border are now praying hard for rains. They better solve this issue fast so that the rain Gods can do their job :)

I also visited my school at Kuttikanam this time. To the embarrassment of our children I was found running around clicking photos. I asked them to wait until they reached my age! My favourite Peerumade is also changing with new projects coming up. I hear that even Amritha has plans to develop something. Wonder what? Hopefully nature shall be preserved?

There is no change..

We are laying  interlock tiles around the house and since the material is being delivered from the factory directly it their own workers who are unloading the same. They include, Bengali's, Tamilians and there is one from Delhi too. He is in Kerala since 4 years and also got married to a Malayali girl. Anyway the owner told us in advance that as long as the union workers dont interfere his workers will unload free of cost. But yesterday the workers somehow came to know about a truck load and came in a bunch and demanded that they be hired for the work. No reasoning would suffice them and in the end we had to allow them to unload. This took much more time than normal.

I thought this menace was under control in Kerala but it looks as though it isn't. We did not want to antagonise them and invite trouble.

We hope to travel to Coorg and B'lore after a couple of days.

Yesterday for the first time I had a new kind of Rasam; made out of the illimban puli. I dont know the English equivalent for the same. But the rasam was very tasty.

Let me jot down the recipe before I forget it.

1. 2 Tbsp of Chilly Powder
2.  1 tspn of Fenugreek Powder
3.  1 tspn of turmeric powder
4. A pinch of Asofetida

Mix the above in 3 glasses of water along with the chopped Puli. Heat it until it just begins to boil. Remove from fire and splutter mustard seeds, brown small onions and curry leaves in Coconut oil.

Tasty rasam is ready for rice.

It is good

The much awaited monsoon is here and it is getting cooler as the days go by. When we landed the climate felt no different from kuwait. But now the nights are cooler.

We have a new member in our family. Jim- he is only 2 months old but very adorable. He is a labrador. Here is a cute picture of him. Hope none puts eyes on him :).  He is already on antibiotics due to change in food. He now travels with us wherever we go and behaves very well when out in the public.

This time I have help around the house. She is very efficient and her appearance has further enhanced my vacation. She has 2 children, a girl and boy but her husband left her and hence she is a single mother. They were in Bombay and during her second delivery he left with the lady who had come to cook for him, while she was in Kerala. She now stays with her parents who are getting old. Her children are now studying in the government school and she says the school is good. Yesterday she went for the PTA and met some good teachers. The uniform and school bag is provided free of cost and they also have lunch; rice gruel with a lentil dish. When the student reaches 7th standard, they will be provided with a bicycle too. Felt very happy hearing this. This arrangement eases much burden off her and she is much hopeful for her two children. The school recently shifted to English medium. I do not know if every other school is similar or if it is because of the teachers who are teaching in this school. And I also wonder how the situation is in the rest of the country.

Kokum

The monsoon is not in full swing yet and hence the kokum fruits have some time under the sun. 


The tree.

The fruit

The final seasoning or smoking

Kokum

The kokum is the main ingredient for the famous red fish curry which is unique to central Kerala.

The recipe....

1. Fish – 1/2 kg, cut into medium size pieces
2. Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
   Fenugreek (uluva) – 1/4 tsp
   Ginger & garlic – 1 1/2 tbsp, crushed into a fine paste
   Small onion – 6-8
3. Kashmiri chili powder – 1 1/2 – 2 tbsp
   Coriander powder – 1 1/2 – 2 tbsp
   Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp
4. Cocum/kudampuli – 2,3 pieces
5. Curry leaves
   Salt
   Coconut oil

Soak cocum in 3 tbsp water for 10 minutes.Mix the powders (chili,coriander & turmeric) together with coconut oil/water & make a paste. Heat oil in a meenchatti (earthen ware) or a pan & splutter mustard & fenugreek. Add crushed ginger garlic paste & stir for 3,4 minutes. Add small onion & curry leaves & saute till it becomes soft. Add the masala paste & fry till oil starts appearing. Add cocum along with the water & fish pieces. Combine well. Make sure that fish pieces do not get broken in the process, it will be safer to rotate the pan to ensure that fish & masala is mixed well. Add required amount of water & cook till the fish is done & gravy becomes thick, it will take around 20 -25 minutes on low flame. Serve with rice or kappa , dosai or even your good old bread!

http://www.mariasmenu.com/spicy/meen-vevichathu-fish-currykottayam-style

Time to rejuvenate

Yes... it is that time of the year for rejuvenation or vacation.

We shall soon be boarding the plane and this time we have some plans to travel a bit. Last time we were tied up at home and could not move around much.

Out here the temperature is rising and we are also having frequent sandstorms. The monsoon will be a welcome change after all this. I hear the rains have started in a small way.

I started to value the beauty of the places I grew up more, after I left home for my studies. Was able to visit home only during study leaves and long holidays. By then Father was transferred to Coonoor, another beautiful place on earth. This estate was in the Kotagiri district. If one walks a bit one could see the old roads that led to Ooty. We have made many long treks through this place and almost reached this old road that wound up through the Nilgiri mountains.

I remember how I used to drink in the beauty of the place during my return trip. The drive from our place of stay to Coonoor was long and had tea gardens, a bit of forest and small towns in between. I never took off my eyes from outside since I feared each trip would be my last since Father was nearing retirement. I also used to thank God for giving me such happiness but at the same time I never dreamt I would have to travel far away to a desert. But that is how life is.. very unpredictable indeed.

So if net and time permits, I shall be posting; else please do not abandon my blog, but do wait until I get back.

Ente Keralam....

Getting back to blogging did not look easy after the vacation. Though every day the blog beckoned me, I somehow managed to evade this space, but here I am now!

And one should not blame me since as soon as I got back from vacation, it was Anna Hazare who got all my attention. May God bless this man and all who worked with him. He gave our nation a choice and showed that power can still rest with the common man. The battle is not won yet, but it is a good start. And while looking at the rest of the world facing unrest, a small fear did gnaw at me, specially since there were many calling this a undemocratic and foolish way of handling issues (my foot!)  but thankfully peace was maintained. What happened in London was shocking too. A nation that claims to be culturally and democratically much advanced than the rest of world, failed somehow.

This vacation was as hectic as any other and the days flew fast. Except for a brief trip to Kanyakumari, the entire time was spent in Kerala since we had a bit of house renovation going on. It dragged through the entire holiday and more! The rain was one culprit and so also the frequent power failure due to the heavy rains. In between we did manage a trip to Cochin and two trips to Trivandrum and from Trivandrum to Kanyakumari.

If there is one thing that I remember most about this vacation, it would be the food. I think there was no respite given to the stomach anytime. Since we were mostly at home there was always fresh food and lots of fresh fish.

It was on our way to Cochin that we stopped at Avees Puttu House at Onnamkara– Kuttanadu. The Appam and curry was too good! On our way back we tried the tiger prawns and faced the same predicament that Mr. Bean faced. Heard the distinct sound… crunch, crunch.. but there was no other way to enjoy it!

A day at Kanyakumari was the most relaxing of all. The hotel that we booked online and with absolutely no clue turned out to be a good choice. The gentle and cool sea breeze was all that was needed to soothe you. The entire staff and also the food was too good.

A few photos that were clicked.

At Kanyakumari....

The sunrise at Kanyakumari..

At Sparsa....

Spent most of the time looking at this scene.... from the level of the water in the river, one would have an idea of the rain that fell overnight.

 

It is time...

It is time for another...




 VACATION .....




nd from the net world too, unless net and time permits me.....

Time to return..

Think I have neglected this blog enough! Was much shocked and sad to read about IHM’s daughter and I had no idea about it until I returned from vacation. This life is indeed strange and nothing seems to be constant. One needs to try hard to stay unruffled and it is not easy.


Had a restful vacation this time. Restful only since I was forced to take rest owing to a surgery to remove a part of me or as per my son – his first home.

It was at the end of my last vacation and during a routine check up that I discovered that I had fibroids growing in and out of my uterous. It was a rude shock since I never had any other medical problems and no physical symptoms normally associated with fibroids. Did search low and wide but knew it was a lost cause since the stuff had already grown much. It was getting too comfortable inside me specially since I never knew of it’s existence. Thought of leaving it there but it was not easy to brush away my own fears as well as that of my loved ones. The doctor who discovered it first asked me to take it out immediately while others asked me to wait and watch. Hence I waited and watched for a year. I was also searching for a doctor who could do the operation in a non-invasive way and this seemed an impossible task since the size of the fibroids were too big. Finally it was done at Paul’s hospital – Ernakulam. A wonderful doctor is all I can say and an operation which should normally take only 1 hour or less went on to four hours leaving everyone [except me :) who was blissfully lost to the world] anxious and worried. But except for the first few days of minor pain, I felt perfectly fine and so far so good. Hats off to technology and to our wonderful doctors.

I hope to return to blogging or rather grumbling more often now.

It is time for the rains and more...

Soon it will be time for the rains and another Onam.


After many long years, Onam would be in Kerala this time.

Hubby has told the kids that we shall see the Nehru boat race too, especially since it is held not very far from home. Promises are seldom kept but one can always dream of things to come. I am told that the river right in front of the house is brimming and may soon breach it’s banks.

We would have landed in the new airport terminal at Trivandrum if the inauguration was not postponed. I hear that the user's fee would be retained but am hoping that it would be put to good use and that the impressive terminal would be maintained. I am also looking forward to the drive through the MC road instead of the NH. The road has now been repaired and is supposed to be good. This used to be the road frequented before the advent of the NH 47 and is a scenic route.

So, it is time for a vacation and maybe also a blog break?

Recovering India's money

This is the first time I have deleted a post and it was something that landed in my inbox about recovering the money in the Swiss bank.. when I checked on the people behind the initiative, I did not like what I read about most of them...

Mysore

Enchanting Mysore beckoned us with it’s beautiful palaces, temples and gardens.

We had been talking about Mysore since some years and the children were looking forward to see their school textbooks come alive and the much talked about Mysore Zoo. We had meant to halt at Mysore for a day and then proceed to Bangalore. It was more than 15 years since my last visit to Mysore and for Hubby even more.

Mysore has changed. We could see construction going on everywhere and even the stately roads have not been spared. For Hubby who was driving, it was utter confusion as to where to turn so as to reach the hotel which we had booked online. There was instruction on the website but with the heavy traffic and impatient drivers there was no way we could find it. And it is for such tourists that the guides keep a look out for. We were relieved to find this guy on a motorbike who guided us to our hotel. We had decided on Ginger, Tata’s chain of smart hotels as they are called.



“The Ginger hotels are built around a unique concept that provides facilities to meet the key needs of today's traveller, at surprisingly affordable rates”

Yes, the hotel is good, though the rooms are small and it is located at a very convenient place too. Initially there was a confusion since out of the 2 rooms that we had booked, one was not free. It was sorted out after a while.

We did not want to lose much time in the hotel and hence we freshened up and joined the guide who was waiting for us. We took him in our car and proceeded to Brindavan gardens. It was a long drive and we reached quite late. The parking lot was a new sight for me and it was getting filled in time for the musical fountain. With disappointment I realized that the royal garden had lost some of its charm.



Many heroes and heroines have danced in this garden and every State has at least one movie showing the beautiful Brindavan garden. I did see some renovations going on since some of the paths were closed to the visitors. I hope these renovations will restore the beauty of this garden. I remembered the last time that I had been there with my parents and siblings and how we had enjoyed sitting on the turf. It is not the lack of funds since the parking lot was almost full and so was the garden. It is the same neglect that we found the next day when we visited the famous fort of Tipu Sultan. Why are our historical sites maintained in such a shoddy manner? We were told by the guide that people have encroached upon these sites and that the government is not doing much. And it was while waiting for the Musical fountain to start that we heard a commotion and saw an almost nude person making his entry. While the tourists were clamoring for seats and even sitting on the ground, this fellow was royally escorted and allowed to be seated on a chair very near the fountain. There was much snickering from the crowd. The fellow looked young and did not spot the usual long hair and beard of a religious person. Maybe he made a vow to come thus in front of an unsuspecting crowd?

We returned to the hotel and stopped by St. Philomena’s church which was not far from Ginger. We opted to try Ginger’s buffet that night and it was good.

The next day with much enthusiasm we looked forward to see the zoo and only then did our guide tell us that it was closed on Tuesdays. He took us instead to Srirangapattana. I guess we did not do our homework well and did not know that on Tuesday’s some of the sights are closed. Not seeing the zoo was too much of a disappointment for us. We did see, Ranganathaswamy temple,






Tipu’s fort and his summer palace - Daria Daulat.



Since the summer palace housed much paintings, writings and articles depicting Tipu’s life it did get the interest of all of us. We also visited Tipu’s mausoleum.

We had to curtail our trip and forgo Bangalore since FIL and MIL who chose not accompany us but stay at their elder son’s place at Calicut was getting fidgety and wanted to return to Tiruvella. Moreover our trips are always a concern for the seniors and they are happy only when we have reached home safely! Bangalore would have needed more than a day and yet again we postponed the trip even when it was only a few hours’ drive.

On our way back we stopped once more at Café Day at Gundalpet and had a bite.


I am told that in Bangalore these Café’s serve only coffee and pastries while in Gundalpet they had a choice of sandwiches, Biriyani and even Paratta and chicken chilly. They also had a good choice of ground coffee.

Soojipara Omelettes

I think one of the best memory that I have of Soojipara waterfalls near Wayanad are the Omelette’s that we had from a makeshift shack (thattukada) run by a Father and her daughter. After the almost 4 km trek ( to and fro) and the bath that we had in the falls we were hungry enough to eat anything on sight and we had already forgotten the heavy Kerala style lunch that we had at Wayanad a few hours earlier. The men stopped to have a hot cup of black coffee (kattankappee) and that is when the youngsters discovered that even omelettes were available. There was no stopping afterwards. The omelettes kept disappearing as soon as it appeared and all eyes were on the next one as it got cooked on the thava! We literally finished their stock of eggs and even made the girl cook us magi noodles.

She had the onions and green chillies cut the usual way and whisked 2 eggs per omelette. After spreading this on the “thava” she placed 2 slices of bread on them. This was later flipped so that the bread was toasted on one side. She finished it with a liberal shower of pepper powder which enhanced the taste and thus was born the Soojipara Omelettes. I am sure these omelettes are available in other such places but let me call them Soojipara Omelettes since that is where I first had them. They did pack up and leave after we finished and we did finish all that they had stocked! I hope their day’s business was profitable.

The omelette was indeed tasty and I could not replicate the same taste this morning. I guess the ambience was missing! Talking of ambience, the scene from the place is breath taking! One can see miles and miles of mountains and tea gardens too.

This place is yet to be developed by the Tourism Board and hence even the ticket is collected from a crude shack. (They can build nice hedges and quaint ways to sit around and enjoy nature.)






But we were told that a big plot has already been bought nearby by some private players to construct a hotel and if this continues then gone will be the aura of this place.

When we started the trip it was raining but none of us wanted to turn back and that is when we discovered that a family run small shop had a stock of everything needed for such moments.



We ended up buying plastic wraps, slippers, a few towels and the lady even wrapped some salt for us to ward of the leeches. Talking of the leeches. .it is a long time since I had a visit from them. This tiny but smart pest is common in the high ranges and one may never know one is lodging it until the fellow finishes sucking blood, bloats up and falls off, fully fed. This is when it starts itching and you find that you are bleeding. For the first timers a leech can be a horrific experience but not for me who will not let a tiny leech spoil a walk much dreamt of. Besides leeches are made to suck blood for some treatments.

We donned on the plastic wraps, looking good enough to join the tea pluckers and off we went on the long trek.

With the rain beating on us, we still managed the steep walk down to the falls. It was one step at a time since the path was slippery. Because of the rain we did not take our cameras and thus we missed capturing the lovely moments. We did see a black monkey which I think was the Lion Tailed Macaque. (simhavalan korange) It was not very happy to see us but did pose enough for us to see it.

The water fall is beautiful and the government has posted a few guards to caution the adventurous ones. A few guards are also posted at the start of the descent. The place was open only until 5 PM and the guards leave the place after this time. We were also lucky to have the whole place to ourselves except for the guards who were stationed up on the rocks. We did wonder where the couple who were behind us when we started the walk disappear. Guess the walk in the rain was too much for them. The rain did reduce halfway through. We had a wonderful time in the water and in the rain( the plastic wraps were discarded much earlier to enjoy the rain). It was with much reluctance that we climbed out of the water, with the kids pleading for more time.

We saw Wayand on our way to Mysore and later when we made the trip to Soojipara waterfalls. The place is beautiful and still untouched but time was not sufficient to explore Wayanad fully. Watched on TV how the recent rains washed away a part of the ghat road or the Wayand Churam.




On our way back from Mysore we took a different route through Gudalur and saw even more lovely places. Gudalur – Vazhikadavu-Edakkara-Palunda-Chungathara-Nilambur –Vadapunna -Edavanna-Pannipara-Vadaseri-Vakalur-Pathanapuram-Karusseri-Mukkam-Manasseri-Pazhour are the places that we drove through to reach Calicut. The roads are well kept and Hubby had a lovely time driving through them. This ghat road is called the “nadukani churum” (an important road connecting Kerala and Tamilnadu states) and even this road suffered from mud slides during the recent rains.
Nilambur is yet another beautiful place enroute to Calicut. There are many places to see around Nilambut too. The teak museum being one of them. But we were already late and wanted to get back to Calicut before nightfall.




We also passed Bandipur and Mudumalai wild life sanctuaries on our way back from Mysore and had half a mind to visit Ooty too. A part of the road is terrible while the rest is too good. We couldn’t see any elephants this time and was told that there were enough on the roads earlier in the morning.



I recalled another trip that I had many years back with my parents when we were lucky enough to see many elephants. And it was during this trip that my Father stopped the jeep to take a shot of a herd of elephants who were feeding just off the road. Mother, myself and my elder sister’s daughter who was barely 2 years old were scared and were urging Father to continue driving. Suddenly this male tusker charged onto us and for a minute even my Father was dumbstruck. It needed a not- a-very-gentle tap from my screaming mother to get my Father back into action. Luckily the elephant had to stop by the side of the jeep since there was an embankment separating the road. And by then Father had already started moving the jeep too. But we did have the fright of our lives. When there is a baby elephant among the herd, it is usual for the tusker to be over protective. I guess we were silly to have stopped! I do relate this story to my children and they continue to disbelieve me!

This time we almost travelled the length and breadth of Kerala - i.e Trivandrum to Calicut and Hubby has recorded 4,000 Kilometers of driving. He likes to drive while I like to sit next to him and enjoy the roads and the various scenes that unfold on the way.

Days fly too fast..

It has been blissful days without the urge to check on the emails or blogs... The days are flying too fast and we have been on the road mostly. The rains also seems to have gathered strength finally.

The one thing I miss are the online newspapers. Only when you are at the mercy of one or two printed editions do you realize how much one is addicted to the online news.

Spent 2 days in Cochin and had good fun at Veega land. Yes.. Cochin is a shopper's paradise if you can forget the cramped roads.

Went uptill Mysore too and the place has changed a lot. Could not decide if the city is moving uphill or downhill. Hopefully uphill but Brindavan garden has lost all its charm though it is still filled with tourists.

Had a wonderful time at Wayanad and the place is heaven. Hopefully we will leave it thus!

Will be on the road again before we board the plane.

Another Monsoon

Another monsoon awaits us and I hear that the final “venal mazha” or the Summer rains are now pouring down. This time they have predicted the monsoon to arrive earlier. The monsoon seems to have turned out to be a like a choosy lady these days! Anyway, as long as she continues her much awaited visits, it is fine.

Finished shopping and we only need to cram the bags as usual.

The other day we visited “Platform”, a shop for hardware. Somehow I liked the concept, else who would want to spend shopping time in a hardware shop!

I am not sure if they have this kind of a showroom in India. (The Platform concept was launched by Saint Gobain (SG), Europe’s leading manufacturer and distributor of building materials, in 1998. It has since then become the fastest growing business within SG’s €20 Billion-Distribution Division with a network of more than 70 stores in 10 European and South American markets.)

At “Platform” those who are building a house will get to see every item that will go into it. There are also all kinds of tools; to buy and also for hire. The foldable ladder looked very handy. We went there since the almost 20 year old Union door lock back home is showing signs of ageing and Hubby wanted to shift it from the front door (demoted I guess!). The penchant for Union Lock is still there but we found that the price has moved up too high. We settled for another lock and found that there are many good locks from India too. Since we may find no time to go lock searching in India, we settled for UK locks. No point in buying an Indian product for India from Kuwait.

We also ended up buying a few knick knacks for the bathrooms and also some handy tools. The bathroom fittings are good and those who want to spend more money can wander into a separate show room of “Aquamondo” where they have displayed a few beautifully fitted bathrooms. I clicked a few photographs outside the shop.




We wound up that day’s shopping with a sumptuous Arabic meal from a local restaurant.

Happy Vishu!

Happy Vishu to all!

Soon after Vishu celebrations will come the Lok Sabha elections and let us hope that the best candidates are selected.

Meanwhile, it is time to think about our vacation since we already purchased our tickets!

This time we are going a little early since there is a marriage in the family.

Hubby is busy checking the roads that he would like to cover this time and I as usual cannot resist reminding him that we make plans every time while only some of them materializes. He has found new roads to reach Calicut through places that we both have never seen. I also keep reminding him that it is a shame that we have never seen Fort Cochin! It is also some years since we visited Ooty and I would like to take the trip to Mudumalai once again and visit Wayanad too.

Last year we could drive down Munnar,




through Chinnar wildlife sanctuary, Marayur Sandal Wood forest, Malakkapara, Sholayar forest ranges to reach Athirampally and Vazhachal.






The drive through the Sholayar forest was a treat!

Although the roads were bad, the thrill of going through deserted roads through the middle of thick forest was a treat. We did see a few wild animals but since we were advised to get out of the road before 6 PM we did not stop much on the way.




Besides we saw fresh elephant dung on the roads and our imaginations ran wild. Hubby who was behind the steering wheels was having a time of his life. The scenes were picturesque and we saw only 2 vehicles during our almost 4 hours drive.

We had a glimpse of the Peringalkuthu & Sholayar Dams and was actually relieved to reach Athirapally; only to find that the waterfall was closed to visitors after 5 PM.



We watched the beautiful falls from afar before driving to Calicut.




Sure nothing is definite these days ( remembering Lehman brothers is enough to drive this point home!)

If all our plans do not materialize the way we dream, the visit to Kumarakom (which is the nearest tourist destination for us) to have another glimpse and taste of the following scene (for which there are takers from the above 70 year category too) cannot be missed at any cost!