Calm Cherai..

Calm Cherai !!

Picture this - Waves breaking on a coast with the sun about to set in all its glory with sky blushing the most delightful pink, the soft light making the water shimmer...the beach small with only a few people, barring the sound of the waves and the chirping of the birds going home...heavenly quiet...or the backwaters gently lapping at the walls of the property with fishermen silently going about their work...

Sounds idyllic? Well it was...our few days in Cherai, a little known beach tucked away in to a corner, not very well known in tourist circles, barely 28 kms from Kochi...yes it was a haven in the middle of a chaotic life...

But I am getting ahead of myself...let me start at the beginning...Nov 25th big day at Rotary with the Indo - Jap Nite and we only got back around midnight. Fortunately anticipating this had everything packed and ready to go...

Day 1 -  26/11/2013 - Bangalore - Cherai

Woke up at 4.30am, packed breakfast and lunch, set off at 6am. Journey was smooth till Hosur, and then diversions start till Krishnagiri, and then its good till Coimbatore, after that once again road widening works disrupt smooth flow...then after Palakkad of course the normal narrow Kerala roads choked with high traffic volume make progress slow and tortuous...howver with 4 breaks, we reached the resort at 5pm. And was promptly bowled over...

The erstwhile Indriya resort has been leased by Club Mahindra (CM) and boy, did they pick a winner! Small by CM standards, with 48 rooms, this 6 and odd acre property has the backwaters lapping at it on the rear and the sea as its frontage...absolute heaven...A small sliver of macadam road is all that separates the beach from the resort but the walls put up after the Tsunami are an aberration which can be made more aesthetic however nothing could take away the feel good feeling I was floating in...

After choosing the sea view room (Room no.416) on the first floor, which has an elevator for approach vis-a-vis the rooms near the backwaters, as these are more modern and the view was to die for...relaxed with a cuppa...an early dinner closed the deal...and the day. 

Day 2 - Cherai Beach

The resort is lovely, small, yet has a good pool and the houseboat anchored barely a few feet away...gave the exotic place a feel of unreal charm not seen elsewhere. The CM charm and hospitality are unmatched and the always ready to please staff are a pleasure.

The buffet breakfast at the restaurant overlooking the backwaters is good with a varied fare but the fish they had for the dinner buffet was to die for. The dinner buffet has a typical crowd pleasing menu with a little bit of everything that somehow takes away from everything too. Desserts were so-so, but overall the meals served with courtesy and a smile were good.

We relaxed that day exploring the resort and surroundings. The morning stroll on the beach revealed it to be tiny, not particularly clean due to a lot of flotsam but barring some locals not known to tourists by and large so a quiet piece of heaven.

Caught a few shows on TV, just chilled....soooooooo nice!

Day 3 - Cherai Beach - Ernakulam

We had checked out the ferry from Vypin which would take us along with our SUV to Fort Kochi, but having seen it the last time and Ranga wanting to relax, we took a taxi from the resort to Ernakulam to meet an old school friend of Ranga's - the rendezvous point was the Grand Hotel for lunch...very nice sea food menu which was only an addition to the nice company and a well spent morning for lunch...

Returned to the resort at 4pm, relaxed for an hour, went for a walk on the beach and had some lovely snacks...went back to the resort and relaxed with a drink watching the sun slip into the sea...magical and mesmerising never mind how many times you see it...

Day 4 - Cherai Beach

A day to relax, swim...indulge, read a book, have a slow late breakfast and a romantic dinner and just BE. The fact that there was no cell signal or internet connectivity was the icing on the cake...it drove a few people round the bend but IT WAS BLISS...my idea of a perfect holiday - disconnected, with hardly anyone around, quiet, silence being my only companion...perfect.

Thank you CM for opening this resort - please make this a permanent one from the current leased option.

Day 5 - Cherai Beach - Bangalore

We had to return, sad but inevitable...again left at 6am and reached Bangalore with 4 stops amounting to an hour in all, at 4pm, then crawled grumpily back home to reach at 6.15pm...nuts! Thrown in to the mad melee of a metro with out so much as a "by your leave".

Anyways the next break is always something to look forward to...

Route taken - Bangalore - Hosur - Krishnagiri - Salem - Coimbatore - Avinashi - Palakkad - Thrissur - Kochi (Aluva) - Aluva-Parvoor Road - Cherai.

Cherai - Kudangallur - Thrissur (56) - Shornur (34) - Palakkad (50) - Coimbatore (48)- Salem (166) - Krishnagiri - Hosur - Bangalore (201)

Total distance each way from home to and from resort - 580kms.

On the odo - 1202 kms in all.

Fuel efficiency - 14kms/litre

Weather - Pleasant mornings and evenings, hot afternoon, rain at night. Max Temp - 28 deg C, min - 23 deg C with land breeze at night.