Planning for honeymoon is usually part of the planning for wedding for most marrying couple. So a couple of months before the wedding me and Susham were discussing about "what about our honeymoon?". A lot of options were discussed and a lot of places were discussed too. Few plans and places were dropped because of various reasons. Finally we arrived at the conclusion that it is going to be Kerala.
Once the location was decided, we started hunting for tour packages for Kerala, a simple google search for kerala honeymoon package gave us pages and pages of options to choose from in milliseconds. We were back to square one, confused about where to go in kerala and which package to choose. Again the process of filtering began, lot of packages were simply out of our budget and one with in budget did not cover all the tourist attractions. So now the question was how to get the best of the both worlds. Hence the idea of honeymoon drive was born.
Planning :
Once we decided that we will be driving for our honeymoon trip, the planning began. Since we did not have to book any packages we took it a bit easy as we had enough time in hand. But the first hurdle was how to make our families buy this idea. We tried, and tried again and again and gave up. We parked this idea aside and started looking for plan B. We made plan B, C , D..... and so on, but nothing looked as exiting as the original plan. So we finally decided that we will stick to plan A and family? , we would just inform then that this is our plan and not look for any approval. We gathered a lot of courage and informed our family about our decision in a way that this can not be changed and there is not going to be any debate about it. And this time it worked with the help of a cousin of mine who thought it was a good honeymoon plan and was first of its kind in our entire town as far as we knew. And we were famous :) .
Now the actual planning of where to go which route to take and all such research started.
Places shortlisted : Guruvayoor
Athirapally
Munnar
Thekady
Kumarakom
Kanyakumari.
Extensive search in google about each place was carried out, route map was planned and all information were documented and printed. No hotel rooms were booked in prior, we planned to take the day as it comes.
So this is how our plan looked like :
A total of 1737 KMs of road trip was planned and the starting date was 8th Feb 2007.
Journey:
Day 1 (8th Feb, 2007) :
We started at around 8:00 Am from our house in Surathkal. It was the first long trip for both of us and it was going to be solo driving. But the excitement of our first long drive masked all the nervousness and all doubts in us and we took off. Our target was to reach Guruvayoor by evening and finish the darshanam in the night.
We reached Muzzappala around 12:00 noon and stopped for our first break. Road was in good condition and we had covered 185 KMs in first 4 hours. Not bad for some one who had never driven more than 100 KMs in a day ever before. Had a coffee and some snacks. here we encountered our first challenge of the tour which would accompany us in the entire journey, language barrier. We had a tough time explaining to the waiter in the hotel, what we wanted to eat. We had to literally use hand signals to make him understand what we wanted to convey.
We left from there and we reached Calicut at around 3:30 PM. We had lost our way in between so the journey took more than estimated time. We only had google map printouts to help us with direction then. So had to fight the language barrier and stop and ask every time we were in doubt.We had some good scenery en-route and sea was our companion most of the time. NH17 (then) almost runs on the sea shore for most part in Kerala. We had our lunch break in Calicut. It was much needed lunch as we were both were pretty tired and hungry and hot weather was not helping the matters one bit.
Drive along the Sea shore
After lunch we started our onward journey again and reached Guruvayoor at 6:45 PM. A total of 375 KMs in 11 hours. Road was very bad in most of the parts and construction work was going on and had to drive carefully. We booked a room in Vismaya Towers lodge right next to the temple. Took a quick shower, freshened up and went for temple visit. Here one thing to be remembered is that there is a dress code for devotees and all men need to wear dhotis and shirts have to be removed and all women should wear saree.
Guruvayoor Temple
After the temple visit we went in search of a restaurant for food. Found a decent enough hotel and also surprisingly found a waiter who was well versed with English and Kannada. So our hands only had to bother about eating the food and not indulge in any sign language. Big relief and a perfect end for the day.
Day 2 (9th Feb, 2007) :
Mosquitoes woke us up early at 6 :00 AM. We freshened up and checked out at 7:15 AM. We were exited about the new day and our batteries were charged after the night sleep. we had breakfast in the same hotel where we had our dinner the previous night. Coffee was refreshing there. We filled our bellies with Appam and Puttu and drove towards Elephant Fort. Fort opens at 8:00 AM and we were there at 8:10 AM. This is the place were elephants get trained. There were a total of 63 elephants. Though it was exiting to watch these gentle giants from close quarters , i would still prefer them in jungles.
We started our journey towards our next destination Athirapally . We drove through Chalakkudi and reached Athirapalli at 11:40 AM, a 96 KMs drive . We had to walk about half a KM to reach water falls.
Veiw of Athirapalli water falls from the road side
Once we reached the bottom we had a wonderful view of the water falls. We were wondering how this falls would be in the middle of monsoon season.
Closer view of the falls
We took a longer route on our way back and went to the top from where the water falls.
It was green all around and sound made by the falling water was deafening.
Refreshed by this beauty of nature we walked back to the road had a biggest tender coconut i have ever seen and started our journey towards Munnar. It was 1:20 PM, we did not feel the necessity of a lunch after that tender coconut, so we drove back to Chalakkudi and drove towards Angamali. Took a coffee break at 3:00 PM at Kuruppampady. Road condition was excellent, but weather was hot. Once we were close to Munnar weather dramatically changed and the setting sun cooled the temperature and made the nature around us even more mesmerizing.
Munnar and surroundings
Munnar and surroundings
Munnar and surroundings
We reached Munnar at 6:45 PM after stopping almost at every turn for a photo. Total journey of 261 KMs on the 2nd day. We booked "In Cottage" on the top of a small hill away from the town. Road to the cottage was non existent. But the cottage was nice and being away from town and on top of a hill weather was even better around it.
In Cottage
There was no network for mobiles here, so we drove back to town to make daily phone call to our families and update them about our progress in journey. we also did some shopping here. Ordered dinner after returning back and filled our stomach with some hot rotis.
Day 3 (10th Feb, 2007) :
We woke up around 7:00 AM and stepped out of the room to realize that the temperature is in single digits and we were wondering if we are indeed in Kerala. One of the worker in the cottage informed that the temperature had dropped to -4 C the previous week. We sat down on the steps to soak in early morning sun and had a coffee. We got our car washed, in the mean time we too got freshened up and had our breakfast. We left Munnar towards Thekadi at 9:00 AM. We used Munnar as a pit stop in this tour. Since this was more of a drive tour than an explore tour, exploring Munnar was kept aside for another trip.
Munnar town
We drove on enjoying the twisting and turning roads through the tea estates of Munnar.
Tea estates in Munnar
Going was slow as the roads were narrow and curvy. And nature at its best was too tempting to just drive on with out enjoying it to the fullest and capturing it in our cameras for the memory.
Munnar and surroundings
Beautiful Munnar
Tea estates, curvy roads and hills followed us all the way till Thekady.
En-route Thekady
We reached Thekady at 1:30 PM. 114 KMs of drive full of scenic beauty completed in 4:30 hrs after countless number of stops for photos. Last 30 odd KMs had a lot of pot holes which slowed us down even more. We had our lunch at "Marwadi Gujrathi Rastaurant" and booked a hut at White House for stay. We went to the Thekady lake for the boat ride but there was huge group of tourists who had arrived in 3 buses and had booked the boat for the entire afternoon. We came back disappointed and took an afternoon nap in the hut.
White House Hut
In the evening we went on a walk to explore Thekady town and do some shopping.
We came across this procession in the town.
Had a good evening walk, did a bag full of shopping and had an early dinner at the same restaurant where we had our lunch.We had to get up early in the morning as we had planned for early morning boat ride at 6:30 AM.
Day 4 (11th Feb, 2007) :
As planned we woke up early at 5:30 AM. Freshened up and left our room at 6:15 AM. We reached the boating area at 6:30 Am and there were already lot of people waiting there. We got the tickets and got into boat at 7:10 AM. Sun was just rising and mist was settling down on the lake. It was a wonderful scene to watch. Weather was chill and there was a strong breeze across the lake.
Fog filled Thekady lake
We sailed on looking for animals in Thekady wild life sanctuary which is spread across the bank of this lake. We were hoping to sight some animals which might have come for a drink early morning. We could not find any, some co passengers claimed they saw a herd of elephants far on the hills. I envy their eye sight :) .
Thekady lake
I was busy clicking pictures and soaking the nature's beauty. Susham was shivering and enjoying the chill wind. This lake is also famous with the film industry, umpteen number of songs have been shot in this lake for almost all south indian movies. Also hindi film industry has used this lake in their films, most notably "Dil Se" .
Thekady lake at its best
We finished our boat ride at 9:15 AM. 2 hours of mesmerizing boat ride finally comes to an end. By then the mist had settled down, sun was up and we had a clear view of the mountains and crystal clear water. What a beginning for the day.
Thekady lake bathing in sun shine
We recommend this boat ride early in the mornings for people visiting there as you get to see this lake at its best then. We left from the lake side and had our break fast on our way back. We came back to the hut, freshened up and checked out 11:10 AM.
We started our journey towards our next destination Kumarakom. Road condition was excellent, mostly curvy but much wider than the Munnar - Thekady stretch. It was comparatively hotter outside and less greener, so we did not bother much about photo shoot stops here. We reached Kumarakom at 2:20 PM. A 132 KM drive completed in 3 hours.
Kumarakom
We were planning to book a boat house, but the ridiculous price coated made us think otherwise. We had our lunch in "Paddy Field" in Kumarakonm and out of curiosity asked them about the accommodation and boating package. They quoted a price of 2000 Rs for the cottage and 1600 Rs for boat ride till sunset in Kumarakom back waters. We took our chances by asking the entire package for 2000 Rs and it was declined. We drove out of their exit gate looking for an option for over night stay and boat ride and their manager was standing right in front of the car when we were about to cross their entry gate. Our gamble worked. :) .
We started our boat ride at 4:00 PM. Evening breeze had brought the temperature down and we were enjoying the boat ride. We came across a lot of housing boats floating across the back water.
Boat ride in Kumarakom back waters
Kumarakom back waters
We were told by the boatman that this is the largest backwaters in the world, with Kumarakom on one side and Allepey on the other side.
There were lots of boats around
Sun was setting and weather was cooling down and we were enjoying the boat ride. We were told that there are lot of migratory birds around, but we could not spot any. And we rode on.
Boat ride in the back waters
We went to an island called "Pathiramanal" and had a nice walk. Island was deserted with no habitat, only who take a boat ride go there for a walk. Nothing spectacular about this island, justa piece of land in between the back waters with some trees and a lot of garbage all around.
Pathiramanal Island
We started our journey back to Kumarakom from here and watched the sun go down from the boat. A wonderful experience to say the least.
sun set
Kumarakom back waters
watched the setting sun from the boat
Our boat ride ended at 7:00 PM, worth every penny. We went back to our cottage and took a nice bath as the moist wind had made us all sticky. Had our dinner and retired for the day.
A day started with a boat ride in Thekady lake and ended with a boat ride in Kumarakom, what a day.
Day 5 (12th Feb, 2007) :
We woke up by 7:00 AM, got refreshed and had our breakfast. We checked out at 8:00 AM. Plan was to reach Kanyakumari by evening, a total drive of 285 KMs. We drove via Alleppey and headed towards Trivendrum. There were protests happening in 3 or 4 places and traffic was diverted to go through by lanes. Not knowing local language did not help our cause one bit to find right direction. We lost almost an hour in this mess. We were about to reach Trivendrum, on the Kazakuttom our car's front left tyre went burst and i lost control of the car and hit a mile stone on the left hand side of the road. And all our plans for the went out of the window. Our car's front bumper, windshield, left head lamp were completely broken. Susham had a small bruise in her arm and nothing else happened to us, thanks to seat belts. A basic car with no high tech safety equipment saved us in the crash just with the help of seat belts.
Car was towed to "Indus Motor" which was not too far away from this spot. Locals and the patrolling police team helped us a great deal here. And for the first time we came across a police team who were not looking for money and wanted to genuinely help us. Service center guys realized that we were travelers and promised us the deliver the car next day morning.
We booked an auto, took our luggage and went in search of accommodation for the day. Trivendrum was still far enough and we did not want to go too far from the service center. We found a small lodge near KIMS hospital and stayed there.
Taking the positives out of it, it could have been even worse if there was no mile stone to which car hit. More over nothing happened to us. And 10 days into the wedding knowing that you have a brave wife as your life partner who can handle any situation is a biggest plus.
Day 6 (13th Feb, 2007) :
We woke up and had breakfast in KIMS hospital canteen as there were no other options available around because of the protests happening. We got freshened up and a call to service center to check the status threw up a new challenge for us. Service center did not have a swiping machine to swipe the card to settle the bills, so had to look for a ATM counter. Went in search of one and returned back with the money almost after an hour. Went to service center and got the car by afternoon. Checked out of the lodge and left at around 1:00 PM. We continued our onward journey and reached Kanyakumari by 4:35 PM. On our way we bought a new tyre as service center guys had fitted the spare tyre to the car. We booked a lodge facing sea near Vivekanada Statue. Finally i was at one of my dream destinations. I wanted to be here for 2 reasons, 1 to see India 0 KMs mile stone and to watch sun set and sun rise from same point.
Kanyakumari
We saw some nice corals on the beach, had a horse ride, did some shopping on the beach. Had a mouth watering malasa in one of the many eateries on the beach side. Dosas and idlies here ae amazing, a must try for all the food lovers.
coral patterns in the water on the beach
Kanyakumari beach
We played in the water on the beach, watch the sun go down at Arabian sea and went back to the room.
sunset at Kanyakumari
We had dinner and slept early as we wanted to watch sun rise and also take ferry ride to Vivekananda rock before the crowd starts to build up.
Day 7 (14th Feb, 2007) :
Woke up at 5:30 AM, wished each other a Happy valentine's day, freshened up and went to watch the sun rise from Bay of Bengal side.
Vevekanada Rock
sun rise at Kanyakumari
We took ferry tickets to go to Vivekanada rock, though it was early morning there were already enough tourists gathered to visit this monument.
Vivekananda statue ( photography is prohibited inside)
view of Vivekananda rock from the ferry
Finished our visit to the rock and came back and had our breakfast.
around Vivekananda rock
It was time to go back home. We checked out and left at 10:30 AM. We took a coffee break on our way at around 3:30 PM, skipped lunch as we had heavy breakfast. We reached Ernakulam at 6:00 PM. We went in search of accommodation and booked a room in "Cylon Bake House" . In the mean time i did a blunder, left the key inside the car and locked the door. Some one in the kitchen used his skills and a ruler to open the door lock and helped us to get the key back. We got freshened up and went to explore the city. Did some shopping and went to coffee day to celebrate our first Valentine's Day together. Came back to the room, took an early dinner and retired to bed.
Day 8 (15th Feb, 2007) :
We woke up by 6:00 AM, got ready, had breakfast and checked out at 7:20 AM. Reached Kannur by afternoon and our car broke down here, connecting rod of the steering came loose. Thankfully there was a mechanic shop right in front of it and he knew how to fix it. he said it will take long time to fix it as he had get it welded, time was running out. He informed that, it happened because of negligence by the mechanics when they fixed our car during accident. Time was running out, we asked him to fix it temporarily and we went for lunch. Finished our lunch, got the car fixed and left by 4:20 PM.
We drove carefully as we had only a temporary fix for our car, road was narrow for a NH. But we had a lot of water bodies on our way to make our trip pleasant.
One of the many small rivers we came across on our way
We finally reached home at 9:45 PM completing a 420 KM journey. We had dinner and went to sleep by 11:00 PM.
This completes a total 2007 KMs honeymoon trip spanned across 8 eventful days. Lots of memories to cherish entire life. It cost us a total of 26619 Rs inclusive of close to 10000 Rs for car repair. Better than any package tour in every sense. we are glad we planned it this way.
one for the album
