Last month I got a break from my hectic office schedule and decided to take my wife to a holiday as she had been nagging about the fact that we had not got on any vacations since our honeymoon. After her initial glee we settled down on choosing our place. Finally we decided to go for the place which was described as one of the "ten paradises of the world" by the reputed National Geographic's Traveler magazine – Kerala.
Once we had zeroed in on Kerala and a weeklong trip we decided to pre book our travel and hotel stays through a travel agency. A quick check on my alumni forum led us to Antilog Vacations and Holidays to be one of the most popular and favoured agencies for South Indian trips. The site had an easy interface and led us to many resorts in the state along with a host of favourable customer reviews. The representative got in touch with us and even planned our itinerary to the tee, picking the places to visit, the intermittent cab travels and the flights from and to our native in Delhi. Thus we booked their package for 8 days and 7 nights and were all packed to go.
We reached the Cochin International Airport on a fine Saturday morning. Given the sleepy nature of the town of Kochi the airport surely appeared to be quite busy. As we left the airport we came to know that this airport was the first Indian airport to be integrated as a public limited company. Our first stop was the town of Kochi itself and Antilog Vacations had booked the 4 star property in the airport’s vicinity. Bala was waiting with a cab at the airport and he was our designated cabbie for the trip. As we were reaching the resort the verdant greenery was very pleasing to the eyes and it seemed that it had rained slightly before our arrival. This made the climate moderate too and my wife really enjoyed the onset of the trip.
The resort was a posh place and seemed newly built. The swimming pool was very nicely maintained and the Jacuzzi bordering the pool almost lured us to dive into it straightaway. But we resisted our temptation and decided to check out our room first. The room was quite big and very spacious for a couple. We had our lunch which was an elaborate buffet at the restaurant itself. The dining area was an extension of the reception but had a differently pleasurable lighting arrangement. Bala then took us to the Mattancherry Palace. The heritage palace was built by the Dutch. The nearby lanes of the Mattancherry Palace were stocked with spice shops and Bala doubled up as our guide and negotiator.
Kerala being the queen of spices and my wife being an avid cook, we ended up buying different varieties of rare spices at reasonable prices. The Chinese fishing nets were a popular sightseeing spot because of its ancient tradition. The fish markets bordering the nets are quite developed and sell an unbelievable range of seafood. If the array of squids, baby octopus, lobsters, and crabs were not enough, a guy was even selling sharks.
The popular hill station of Munnar second on our list and Antilog Vacations had selected an awesome resort – Devonshire Greens there too. As we arrived there through the meandering roads we crossed quite a few waterfalls which were perfect for snaps. One major waterfall too fell on the way (sorry forgot the name) and it had a large crowd and buses gathering there with people eager for a shower amidst the gushing water.
Devonshire Greens Resort was located behind a host of misty hills and the climate was pleasantly chilly. After our Munnar sojourn we visited Thekkady. The place was popular for its Ayurvedic massages and the Periyar Tiger Reserve, both of which were excellent experiences. My wife even got to ride an elephant with a majestic pair of ivories which she still recalls fondly. The last place on our trip was Alleppey where Antilog Vacations had booked a houseboat for a day replete with dinner and stay. The houseboat ride was the perfect way to cap off our trip to ‘God’s Own Country’ and we enjoyed the same immensely.
No comments:
Post a Comment