Kanyakumari – The Land of a Goddess

With large number of devotees, Kanyakumari or Kanniyakumari seems like a typical Indian temple town. November and December is said to be the best season to visit Kanyakumari owing to the pleasant climate. The climate worked out well for me but not the huge number of people there (being a typical crowd hater). We arrived at 9am on a Friday morning by bus. The bus dropped us close to our stay and we walked to our destination – TTDC hotel run by Tamilnadu Tourism Dept. Our checkin time was 10am and we were made to wait until our room got free and cleaned which dragged on till 11am owing to the irritating and foolish rule of the hotel of having both checkin and checkout time as 10am. Meanwhile, we had our breakfast at the TTDC restaurant. We finally got our room to find out that it was not to the standard of our expectations, not even close to it. We freshened up and decided to take up the matter with the front desk staff. We were luckily offered another room due to a cancellation and got a super-sized room at an adjacent building within their property also run by TTDC, the Heritage Cape Hotel. We happily decided to bear the extra cost for the room and our accommodation budget got extended to Rs. 2000/day! I later found out that due to some server issue I was allotted a room online that was not there and hence they had to give me a room (any room) since I had already booked it online. With the matter resolved to our satisfaction we set out to explore the town of a virgin Goddess. First stop was the Vivekananda rock memorial for which we had to take a boat. The queue for the boat was so long that it went beyond 3 streets! We decided to eat our lunch and then see if the crowd gets lesser. We found a pure veg restaurant nearby and had our lunch, I must say that it was unexpectedly costly!! We walked back to check out the crowd and saw to our dismay that the crowd/queue had only increased! We abandoned the plan and went to sit on the beach side and observe the crowd. The temple of Kanyakumari was scheduled to open its doors at 4pm and we stood in the queue at 3pm to avoid the rush. We did avoid the rush to a large extent by this move and finished our darshan satisfactorily. In a span of 2 meter walk from the temple entrance to the chappal stand we were jostled by the crowd, I cannot imagine our plight if we had not stood in the queue an hour early. We asked around a few tour operators there for a taxi for sightseeing the next day and booked one. We then roamed around the streets a bit and settled down around the view point area. This was relaxing but owing to a cloudy day we could not catch the sunset. We returned to our hotel once it got dark and I settled down with a book. We ordered dinner from room service and the service was good!

 

Vivekananda Rock Memorial and Thiruvalluvar Statue

Next day brought us clear skies and slightly sunny weather. We checked out and started from our hotel at 10am with a list of places to see! First in the list was the Guganathaswamy Temple, which is about 2 mins from the beach. It’s a small temple and hardly takes 5 mins to visit and get back since there is no crowd here. We set out to the Suchindram town famous for the Thanumalayan temple. The distance is around 10 kms from beach but took us a long time to reach since we had to cross a bridge which allows one-way traffic at a time and there was much traffic. The temple is unique since its deity is a single form (linga) of 3 lords – Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma. It even consists of a huge statue of Hanuman carved out of a single granite rock and a huge statue of Nandi. However, I could not enjoy this temple much due to the huge crowd. I however enjoyed looking at the temple’s kalyani! 

 

Temple entrance

 

Kalyani

 Next stop was the popular Nagercoil’s Nagaraja temple. It was surprisingly less crowded! We then set out to the padmanabhapuram palace in padmanabhpuram, former capital city of Travancore. Located at the foot of Veli hills which form a part of Western Ghats, this palace is an excellent example of Kerala architecture. Even though this palace is in Tamilnadu, it is under the jurisdiction of Kerala. It took us an hour to explore the palace! We were allowed to go into almost every room of the palace and it would take more time to properly explore the palace.  It held some beautiful artifacts and paintings!

 

The 300 year old clock which still keeps time

 

Kuthira Vilakku - horse lamp that remains horizontal and ensures no oil spill

 

Palace entrance

 

Side view

 

Artifact in the palace

 We then visited the Udayagiri fort nearby. This fort seemed to contain forest with not much to explore. There was a pond and some geese around it put there mainly for tourist and not much fun but since it was on the way and we could cover it in 20 mins, we went for a walk here. We had a late lunch and it was time for us to head back. On the way we visited the St.Xavier’s church which was quiet nice. 

 

Inside Udayagiri fort

 

St.Xavier's Church

We made it to our bus just in time and settles down to look at the countryside! I suggest that you watch out for the wind turbines around an hour after you leave Kanyakumari, the Muppandal wind farm. With more than 2000 wind turbines, they are a sight not to be missed!!!

Kodaikanal - The Princess of Hill Stations

We reached at 10am on a Monday morning, mildly irritated with the long journey of 12 hours. Who would have thought that Kodaikanal is so far from Bangalore! We had always heard that people drive to Kodia and had the impression that it would be an easy distance, like say 7 hours, 12 was so much more!! And with the last 3 hours spent climbing up the Palani hill range!
As soon as we stepped down the bus, we felt THE Kodai weather, chilly and sunny! We later learnt that it was a perfect weather day at Kodai!
We reached our hotel Altius Nest in 5 mins by taxi for which we paid 100 rupees!! This seems to be a minimum fare to travel from anywhere to anywhere in Kodai n the duration of the ride is almost always 5 mins! Hundred is too much money for 5 mins but since tourism is a major economy driver there, we just had to grin and bear it!
Our room was a honeymoon suite booked more for the great discount I got on goibibo and the reviews I had read rather than the rate of the suite! It was clean and decent, wooden sloping roof, wooden floor, a TV, an electric water kettle, a black tiled bathroom and a picture window overlooking the green hills. No disappointments here! Hunger led us to the cafe downstairs which had a beautiful view. We ate pongal and eggs as this was the only available breakfast available, pongal came with big bowls of red and green chutneys along with sambar, all of which were great! 

 

Hotel Altius Nest

We freshened up and decided to explore Kodai city on foot. Meanwhile we inquired for our next day’s itinerary of visiting the pine forest and the dolphin's nose at our hotel; they helped us book a taxi for it. Taking directions from the supervisor at Altius, we set out! First and the most anticipated stop was the Kodai lake, the beautiful misty Kodai Lake. We bought some peanuts mixed with grated cabbage and carrot and set out in a row boat for a round around the lake. The boatman to our luck was a wonderful photographer and was taking over my camera at the drop of a hat! But he took some great shots so I have no regrets there! We actually went into the mists on the lake and it was quite n heady feeling! The boatman cued into our excitement and offered to extend our ride for 100 rupees ( no surprises with the charge huh?) We quickly agreed but later realized that he hardly extended our round; he just made another stop for photos which was not so bad either! The boat ride in total cost us 220 rupees. We next went looking for cycles n found horses!! Majestic and beautiful horses! We rode them for 1 km, and very soon had to part with them! 1 horse ride per km costed, no doubt, 100 rupees!!! Our next stop was the Coaker’s walk which was about 15 mins walk from the lake. We had some corn on the cob and hiked to our destination. Kodai roads are in inclines and declines and rarely will one find a levelled road! The only levelled road seemed to be around the Lake. It was fun walking the streets, so different from Bangalore!

 

Kodaikanal Lake

 

The misty side of the lake

Coaker’s walk offered us wonderful view points which were mostly obscured with fog which was also a great sight to see.
We walked back towards the lake where there was a tea room serving Italian! The Credis tea room had a great outdoor ambience and good food! We finished our food to find that the time was 4:30 and decided to walk back to our hotel. Since the hotel did not offer any entertainment in the evening, we decided to get facials done at the Prana spa. We initially saw the pamphlets in our room and thought that it was a part of our hotel but later found that it is part of another inn which was a few minutes away. The spa person picked us and dropped us back to the hotel after a relaxing facial. We relaxed in out room with a bottle of non-alcoholic wine, some plum cake and slept soundly by a heater and an extra quilt, for which we had to request in the hotel.

 

Boiled peanuts bhel

The next day started with a bright sun. We basked for a while in the sunshine and set out in a taxi for our day’s adventure. We started from our hotel at 10 am in the morning on a promising day of sunshine, but soon the weather turned foggy as we ascended into the forest area. The plan was to start with the valley tour to continue to the dolphin nose tour. We saw a 500 year old jamun tree which is said to bear fruit even to this day! Unfortunately it was fenced since people started carving their names into its trunk :-( We continued to pine tree forest, the pine trees here as so close to each other that the trees completely fill the sky! Muted sunlight is allowed between the branches! Pine trees due to their proximity to each other produce oxygen during the day and the combined carbon dioxide produced during the night can render a person/animal unconscious, this is also the reason that there are no other plants or even grass amidst the trees.

 

We then stopped at many view points such as, upper lake view, moier point, pillar rocks and guna caves. 

 

Upper lake view

 

Moier point

 

on the way to Guna cave

 

Fairy falls

By now the weather had gone foggy rendering a mystic screen to the forests. We stopped for just a minute in fairy falls and quickly continued to Pambar falls. Pambar falls was lovely! We followed the course of the water downstream to reach the lion cave. The path was slippery and we experienced many slips, but it was manageable since we had our guide with us. Many people who came without a guide were often confused and appeared a little apprehensive. We got back after a 20 min trek (to and fro) to visit the much anticipated dolphin nose. Unfortunately, by the time we got to dolphin nose, the weather had turned extremely foggy, visibility was bad and we had to forgo this trek. We visited a beautiful church La Saleth and came to the city area around the lake. We had lunch at Astoria which I totally recommend. We ended our adventure with a walk in Bryant park. We bought some dry flowers to take back home and returned to the hotel.

 

Pambar falls

 

La Saleth from the side

 

La Saleth entrance

Kodaikanal is one of the few places where one can comfortably walk and explore. However, before buying anything, enquire the price in 3 different shops to be sure of the correct prices. Kodai is a place for you to go for the wonderful weather and if you like exploring a place on foot!

 

The beautiful misty Lake

Mauritius – A land of Struggle, Colors, Sea and Sand

First thing that hit me was the colors, the colors of the green belt and the vividness of it all. But maybe it was because I was stuck in a plane for around 8 hours! Landed in Mauritius in the afternoon and it took more than an hour to reach the north beach side where our resort was located, the Trou Aux Biches. Trou Aux Biches appeared to be a quaint town with a beach line, some resorts, a small community and pine trees! Had a stroll along the shore on my first day there and found that the blue water had lots of surfers, some beach sports, paddle boats n sails, pretty as a picture!

My second day there took me to the South Island. Mauritius is mainly segregated as north island n south island. South Island - took us more than an hour to reach our destination...the volcanic crater at Curepipe. Hidden within a deep gorge, this crater has been dormant since 6000 years and is filled with water which is usual for dormant volcanoes. We also got to visit the Chamarel village, where there is a waterfall and a sand dune of seven colors! We learnt about ship making too, at a ship making factory!

 

Volcanic crater at Curepipe

 

Chamarel waterfall

 

7 colored earth

Some facts of Mauritius I learnt during the day:

Mauritius, officially known as the Republic of Mauritius, is an island of volcanic origin, which explains the interesting elevations of mountain ranges, waterfalls and cliffs.

Dodo is the national bird despite it being extinct, as a tribute to the bird. Mauritius was the only home of Dodos which got extinct during the Dutch rule as it was easy to hunt.
Ethnicities such as African, French, Asian and Chinese reside in this country, so everybody feel at home here!

National flag has red, blue, yellow and green. Red as a tribute to the struggle of blacks, blue for the Indian ocean , yellow for the independence and the sun and green for its lush vegetation.

Major economy runners are sugarcane which is grown in plenty (you find them all through the island), diamonds imported from South Africa and designed here and ship making since this also was a major port.
South also boasts of the world’s second biggest statue of Lord Shiva, Shivrathri is celesport with pomp and glory. There is a statue of Shiva here known as Mangal Mahadev as he does not hold the Dumru, nor has the 3rd eye; he has a smile on his face. There is a crater lake beside the statue known as Ganga Talao due to the fact that Indira Gandhi had got lots of water from Ganga and poured it in here. On the way to this place we saw the Black River Gorges National Park.

 

Ganga Talao

History of Mauritius: first occupied by Arabs, this island has seen many invaders. The Portuguese followed, seeing its potential as an important port to refresh before reaching Africa.  Then came the Dutch who all but destroyed the land plundering it for its ebony trees. Slavery was the norm there and soon the Dutch abandoned the island due to cyclones (unfavorable south west winds), drought, cattle illness and poor harvests. During this time the dodos were exploited as they were easy to catch (they could not fly) and were tasty. The dodo soon became extinct.
The French, who arrived next, did not cause more harm but due to the deplorable conditions here, left soon after. Then came the British who brought in some progress, many Indians were migrated during this time, as there was a shortage of sugarcane field workers, and one can see a lot of Indian influences here. Indian food is cooked superbly here and the people enjoy Hindi movies. Hindi songs are widely played here!
Indians are accepted and treated so graciously here, as part of their own...maybe that is because Indians are a vital part of Mauritians. There is even a day, November 2^nd, to commemorate the immigration of the first Indians who came to work in sugarcane fields.

The North Island – the most important of this part of Mauritius is Port Louis, the capital city of Mauritius. There is a waterfront which is a replica of the waterfront of Cape town, Africa. The Le Caudan waterfront is interesting to explore! The north also includes the Fort Adelaide (also known as La Citadelle) built by the British. It offers a view of Port Louis and its harbor.

 

View from La Citadelle

 

Caudan waterfront

 

Port Louis harbor

Ile Aux Cerfs - the most beautiful island around here. It’s a privately owned island (owned by the Touessrok Hotel ) and only a part of it is open to the public where they have water sports, a pretty place to swim, changing rooms and a restaurant to eat!

On the way to the eastern coast (where Ile Aux Cerfs is located) is the Bella Mare beach where we enjoyed our sea walk activity! They take us away from the shore in a speed boat (which is total fun!) to a boat equipped for it. We climb down from the docked boat into the sea where they placed a glass helmet around our face and take us for a walk on the sea floor to see the coral reef and the fishes. Priced a bit high, but if you have not done it before, it’s worth it! They even click your photos and provide them in a CD at an extra cost!

 

Bella Mare

We then went to another beach to get transferred to the ile by a speed boat, exhilarating ride, scary as an amusement park ride! Speed boats are maintained very well.
Once at Ile Aux Cerfs, we were again transferred to a platform for parasailing. I had a wonderful time high above as the winds were quite high that day. Back to the beach to enjoy a pizza at the restaurant and enjoying the sight of the water, wish we had more time to laze around but we had pre-booked to go round the island and see a waterfall. The ride was again on a speed boat n we braced ourselves for a back jarring ride as the water was choppy due to high winds. They take you up close to the waterfall and it’s a great experience if you like going up close to a waterfall. If you have experienced waterfalls up close and played under it quite often and are not so excited about another waterfall, then I recommend that you skip this. Instead you can pay and play any other water sports or enjoy the beach!
Ile Aux Cerfs is again a little more than an hour away from north island (everything seems an hour away from the north island).

Grand Baie: closest place to hang out around Trou Aux Biches, its about 15-20 minutes from here. We went by bus, the conductor seemed to understand us perfectly and was helpful when we asked him to let us know when our stop arrives. Grand baie seemed to be a posh area and none of the shops seemed to give out a fair price (or atleast what seemed fair for us!) despite them offering discounts!

We stayed at Casuarina Resort & Spa: a big hotel, good service and hospitality. There is a beach right opposite to the resort and they even offer some free activities like paddle boat, glass bottom boat and kayaking. You can even do parasailing and water skiing, but tats not free!
There are other water, under-water activities around here like scuba diving n blue safari.

Casela Nature Park - Famous for its lion encounter activities, Casela was on my must-places-to-go list. We went there mainly for the lion interaction, but we saw many birds, peacocks, zebras, emus and ostriches up-close-and-personal. During the lion interaction we were grouped into a group of 10 people who had to stick together, we had a few instructions given to us before entering their enclosure that we had to stick to. There were about 3 lions in the enclosure and I got to pat one of them! It was a heady experience!! There were also other activities in the park such as ziplining and quad biking but due to limited time and availability (we had to catch our flight in the eve) I was unable to do it! We went of a photo safari where animals such as emus, ostriches and zebras came running upto us and it was pretty sight! So I even got to pat a zebra! Casela turned out to a lot of fun!!