Malabar Drive

Our anniversary on Jan 27th was another excuse to head out of town and we decided to drive along the Sahyadris down the marine Malabar Coast. Having made all bookings, got the car serviced and checked up and then it was just a question of packing breakfast as we wanted to leave early and the restaurants around Krishnagiri are open for service only around 7.30am, and we did not want to waste time, as the first leg of our journey was to Thekkady at a distance of 505kms from Bangalore. All set, we left at 5.45am.

Day 1 – Jan 23rd.2011 - Bangalore to Thekkady
Driving at a good 100kms speed along NH7 till, we took a diversion just before Dindigul to the right (look for a board which says Kodaikanal) after the first two flyovers. Route is – Hosur – Krishnagiri – Salem – Namakkal – Dindigul – Theni – Periyakulam – Cambam – Kumily – Thekkady. The road up to Dondigul is flawless, and then it’s NH 45, a smaller two lane version, which passes through towns, so obviously, your speed falls. In fact right up to Kumily you are traveling in Tamil Nadu. Club Mahindra Tusker Trails Resort is between Kumily and Thekkady, 505kms from Bangalore. Do-able, in about 9 hours with comfortable breaks, for breakfast and lunch. Before we checked in at 3pm we had a typical Kerala meal at a restaurant called Travancore Heritage at Periyakulam en route. Tasty and reasonable at Rs.55/thali, this clean restaurant is a good stop for a meal. The resort is wonderful; it apparently was earlier the Taj Garden Retreat before being acquired by Mahindra. Cottages are built on stilts with thatch on regular RCC roofs to give a rustic feel, machaan style. Wonderfully quaint with a stained glass window, the cottage is a delight. Ours, no.152 had a quail design and was called that too. They could of course re-do the bathrooms as they have a dated 80s look to them, not to say that they are not comfortable, they are, but the makeover will make it more today rather than yesterday. The weather was mild and so after a brief nap, a hot cup of coffee, a dip in the pool was just what tired bodies needed. We returned feeling fresh, had a drink and had some hot dinner in the room. We drifted off to sleep with mellow music from the i-pod listening to frogs and crickets joining the orchestra. Nature's symphony has a soothing effect and we fell fast asleep. The green cover as it is set in a plantation and the spices aroma in the air is fresh and invigorating, and the temperature fell sharply at night.

Day 2 – Jan 24th 2011 Thekkady On a cool pleasant yet sunny morning, we did some serious shopping for spices and lugged in 2 huge bags full to the room. A simple lunch, nap and a swim later we were ready for the Kalaripayattu – a display of martial arts, at a centre close to the resort and we bought the tickets of Rs.200/person from the resort itself. This one hour showcases the discipline, skill and agility of this art, which is a precursor to Karate, Kung fu etc and is considered over 3000 years old! Wonderful display of controlled aggression by the 'warriors', to a packed audience comprising of many Indians and several foreigners, an hour later we returned to a room where we switched on the heater as it was quite chill by then. Snuggled in with some hot soup, chatted happily and feeling immensely rested, went to sleep.

Day 3 – Jan 25th 2011 – Thekkady to Kovalam
Checked out around 8am the next day and left for Kovalam. Though the distance is only around 270kms, we were advised to be prepared for an 8 to 9 hours drive, as quite a bit of the drive is through the ghats and thereon it’s a busy road! Well, the advisory was right. The route we took was Thekkady – Gavi – Perremedu - Mundakayam - Kanjirapally ––Chenganssery – Tiruvalla – Chenganoor – Adoor – Trivandrum – Kovalam (while leaving Thekkady ask for Kottayam road). The route is very scenic, (we saw an old fabulous chuch and tea estates) green and filled with hair pin bends. Had lunch at a quaint restaurant en - rote which is rum by thr local famers and the appam/Kerala paratha and stew was simply delightful. When we drove along the length of Kerala, what became apparent was that Kerala is placed on the Sahyadris range in its entirety and being a very narrow state, no road is over 2 lane wide, National Highway or not, the sea coast or not, the ghats are all prevalent and you have a natural roller coaster drive! In addition to this the state is so densely populated and developed, one town sits right to another and save a board announcing the names, they all blend together so much so that you don’t realize when one town ended and the next began. Because of this nature of the topography, despite good roads and signage, the travel time between places is high and gets to be strenuous as you cannot speed and have to keep eyes peeled for people suddenly crossing or moving across the roads. As the national highways pass through towns, the people tend to use it as just a regular road leading to traffic snarls also add to it the penchant to avoid overtaking by the Keralites. Lane driving takes on a whole and severely frustrating avataar here!. Reached Kovalam, which is after Trivandrum on the Kanyakumari road at a distance of 15kms around 4.30pm.

We had booked our stay at the Royal Kovalam Beach Club which turned out to be a dump, so we chose to lose some money rather than suffer – so we quit! We were searching for an alternative and were ready from a pricey proposition too, but happened to give Swagath Holiday Resorts hotel a try at the very end as a last ditch effort and found it surprisingly good - just a 10min walk to the lighthouse beach and tucked in from the main road, the hotel is a quiet place, with large, well appointed rooms, a lovely pool and a great balcony overlooking the pool. At Rs.3750/night inclusive of taxes and breakfast, it was a great bargain esp. in a place like Kovalam where prices are very high or if they are low, they are not worth it. Other than the fact that this is not a beach front property, it is a very nice hotel with all comforts. Food is fairly tasty and service is prompt. Having had a bad experience with the accommodation, mood was a little grim but a swim in the pool and a good hot meal later, we felt better. Relaxed and went to bed early as the drive had been tiring.

Day 4 – Jan 26th 2011-02-06 Kovalam – Kanyakumari
Kanyakumari is at a distance of 83kms from Kovalam and again this fiendishly busy road with its twists and turns is a back breaker and it takes anywhere from 2 ½ to 3 hours to reach. We left at 9am after breakfast and reached around 11.30am. Having heard horror stories about how filthy it is etc, we were pleasantly surprised to find a clean place with orderly queues to board the ferry to Vivekananda Memorial and the place was busy yet clean, more so, as it was a national holiday. There are two rocks, known as Pitru-tirtha and Matru-tirtha, about 500m from the coast, where Vivekananda meditated in 1892. Also here is Sri Pada Parai, the footprints of Kanya Devi. They are installed here in a small shrine, which marks the spot where she performed penance. The Kanyakumari temple is a popular pilgrimage place. The sand at Kanyakumari is seven different colors. It is said that Lord Siva married the goddess Parvati here, and the seven different colors of rice thrown at the wedding were turned into the seven-colored sands of Kanyakumari. The temple has a legend attached to it, about the goddess Kanya (the virgin goddess), who is doing penance. The sage Parasuram is said to have installed this deity. The history of this temple is that the demigods prayed to the goddess, an incarnation of Parvati, to destroy the demons. Soon after appearing, she was betrothed to Lord Siva. Knowing that if she married she would lose interest in killing demons (?!), Narada Muni tricked Lord Siva so that on the way to the wedding he turned back home to Kailash. So after destroying the demons, the goddess, a most charming deity to see, still waits in her temple for her husband to be to arrive. The deity wears a brilliant diamond nose ring that is said to emit a powerful ray, which makes ships crash against the rocks near the shore. Therefore the seaside, eastern gate, of the temple is only opened on special occasions!!!
Balanced the camera with difficulty against whipping wind and braced ourselves while moving around. The Gandhi Memorial is constructed so that at noon on October 2 (Gandhiji’s birthday) the sun’s rays falls on the spot where his ashes were kept for public view before being immersed at sea at this place.

Bought some cashews at a bargain price, and enjoyed the vast expanse of the ocean for a couple of hours - watching the Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal whipping up a maelstrom on a windy day is an awe – inspiring sight, not easily forgotten, though we missed seeing the museum, as it was closed on that day, paid a minute’s homage at the Tsunami Memorial and went to a Veg restaurant Sangam and resumed our return journey by 2pm. A bridge a short distance away is extremely ancient and weak and can take the rolling load of uni-directional vehicles only so we cooled our heels while we were stopped for over 40min and then carried on, we had to remember to take a left at the Balarampura Police Station to reach Kovalam or else we would end up at Trivandrum!

On the way back, about 20 kms from Kanyakumari, we stopped at Thuckalay at the Padmanabhapuram Palace, the erstwhile palace of the Travancore rulers, made entirely of teak and rosewood in the 16th century. The antique interiors have intricate rosewood carvings and sculptured decor. The palace also contains 17th and 18th century murals. One can see: the musical bow in mahogany, windows with coloured mica, royal chairs with Chinese carvings, 'Thaikkottaram' or the Queen Mother's palace with painted ceilings, rose wood and teak carved ceilings with 90 different floral designs. The Durbar Hall of the palace has a with a shiny black floor specially made from a combination of egg white, jaggery, lime, burnt coconut, charcoal and river sand. The royal palace is awe inspiring with its riches and one can only imagine the royal splendor of the Maharajahs during their days of power. This is also the ‘gurukul’ and is very close to the hometown of the celebrated royal artiste par excellence Raja Ravi Varma. Though the palace is situated in Kanyakumari district of Tamilnadu State, it comes under the Government of Kerala's administration. Photography is not allowed inside so unfortunately, no pics.
Returned around 6pm to the resort and relaxed as it had been a very long day but what a day – replete with both natural and man made splendor of yore!

Day 5 – Jan 27th 2011 – Trivandrum and Varkala
It was unanimously decided to take a taxi as one ways and parking spots or their lack, can make driving in cities a very stressful experience. Engaged a taxi for 6 hours for Rs.2000/- and left for Trivandrum. Beautiful pleasant weather made the day a super one – first up we went to Padmanabhaswamy temple - Thiruvananthapuram's (Sri Ananth’s City, so to speak) most interesting temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu. The temple is a blend of the Kerala and Dravidian style of architecture. It is a good example of South Indian architecture, with an impressive seven -story gopuram. A dhwaja stambha encased in gold stands in the huge courtyard. It is known for its murals and carvings. In the main courtyard, the Kulashekara mandapam, there are some intricate granite sculptures and nearly 400 pillars are supporting the temple corridors. Only Hindus are allowed inside the temple and Men must enter the temple wearing only white dhoti. Then we went to the Ganapati temple on East Fort Road, a beautiful temple in black. Located near the Napier museum, the Sri Chitra Art Gallery of Trivandrum is an art lover's (me!!!) paradise. The section that attracts all visitors alike is the one that is dedicated to Raja Ravi Varma. This famous painter has carved a separate niche for himself in the world of art. His paintings look so real that it seems as if they speak. Raja Ravi Varma was fondly called as "Prince among painters and painter among princes". The main palace though paled before the Padmanabhapuram Palace and of course we were not interested in the zoo, so Ranga bought me a beautiful coffee table book on Raja Ravi Varma and his paintings (what a treasure!) and then we decided to have a sea facing lunch at Varkala, a beach front area very popular with tourists, similar to Kovalam, about 60kms away. Reached around 1 pm and had a super Kerala meal – tried the Meen Moilie and Steamed rice, absolutely yummy and this while enjoying the best view in the world – the Arabian Sea crashing against the Cliff – this restaurant is an open shack like so

many others there with a view to kill for! It’s a relaxed place and anyone in a hurry should just not bother. Time here has no meaning and silence rules, the cobbled walkway overlooking the sea is frequented by nature lovers from all over the world! We started off around 2.30pm, albeit reluctantly, but it was a 2 hours drive back to Kovalam. Reached the resort at 4.30pm. Evening, we went to ‘Turtle On the Beach’ (a very beautifully designed hotel) for a quiet dinner and our anniversary was one of the best we have had – lovely food, in an ambience that exuded romance, art, class and absolute sheer beauty – a night to remember!

Day 6 – Jan 28th 2011 – Kovalam – Madurai
We decided to leave early as it was a 310kms drive and the first 70kms till Nagercoil was through some very busy areas and we decided to try and beat traffic. The staff at Swagath gave us a packed breakfast the day we left for Madurai, after staying for 3 nights at the hotel. Cho Chweet! We left at 7am and stopped just before Nagercoil at ‘Gowrishankar Restaurant’ for breakfast, highly recommend the place for some yum pongal and super fast service! We then drove from Nagercoil (once again we are on NH7 after Nagercoil) – Tirunelvelli – Virrudhnagar – Madurai. Once on our familiar NH7, we ripped through to Madurai and reached by 12.30pm and checked in at Hotel Germanus. What decided for us to stay at the Germanus at Madurai was the fact that it was on the highway from Trivandrum to Bangalore, so the approach was convenient and a large car parking facility which was not crowded and since we wanted to only visit the Meenakshi temple at Madurai, which was only 3kms away, it suited us perfectly. It claims to be a four star hotel and is priced accordingly but needs to spruce itself up a bit. It is quite comfortable though we had to shift rooms as our first room, the AC was malfunctioning. The second room was also having a very low AC output and mismatched sofa chairs, but it was large and go for a deluxe room, if you want a tea/coffee maker and a fridge, this is Rs.4250/- + taxes, which I felt was a little steep. Food is good and room service is prompt. Breakfast buffet in the morning was adequate but not excellent. It is a very good hotel to stay at but a tad overpriced.
Relaxed after a good lunch (the packed meal from Swagath!) and rested till about 5pm. Had tea and left at 6pm by a rick to the Meenakshi temple – I must say that people exaggerate, it is not so crowded, it is very clean and superbly managed so that a Rs.100 ticket gets you a quick darshanam. And what a darshanam we had that too on a Friday! Marvellous. According to legend, the sacred Swayambhulingam discovered by the king of Gods Indira at Kadambavanam, was later enshrined by him in Madurai. The fact that the Lord is seen on the vehicle of Indira in this temple is said to be proof of this. The temple was almost completely destroyed in the year 1310 following the invasion of the Islamic rulers. The temple was restored to its pristine glory in the late 14th century when the Hindu Kings came back to power in Madurai. This can also be termed as the dawn of a new era in the history of the temple, when it was almost completely rebuilt. Took the prasadam, the kumkum from the Archana, clicked a few of the super sculptures in the marriage hall and the towering gopurams and returned to the hotel after a simple meal. Relaxed in the room.
Day 7 – Jan 29th 2011 – Madurai – Bangalore
Started after a fairly good buffet breakfast at 9am, topped up the tank and hit the highway for a drive of 450kms. Since the entire drive back is on NH7, it’s a breeze, except for the idiots who tend to drive on the wrong side of the road, and we did see a couple of collisions. Stopped for lunch at A2B near Chinar and reached Bangalore at 3pm and then crawled home by 4.30pm.

What a journey – up hills, down to the end of the Indian mainland, along the sea coast, through the history of over centuries, a superlative experience of artistic brilliance and an absolutely smashing anniversary. Kerala gave us a memorable time, and we shall certainly revisit.