Backwaters beckon

Be it the waterfalls, journey through the ghat roads, spending time with loved ones on a house boat, each experience is rich and unique; no wonder Kerala, is one of the favourite honeymoon destinations in India

It was just five days of sheer fun, frolic and fantasy. The dream wedding got over and the din subsided and we (the newly-married couple) set out on our honeymoon trip to the dreamland called Kerala. The land of woods, rivers, mountains and enthralling coastline was somewhere that I always wanted to holiday at. Thanks to the professional efficiency of the Hyderabad-based Holiday Dreamz, we were at Kochi airport on a chilly November 19 morning.

My honeymoon (in God’s own country, as they rightly put it) thus began in the snowy dawn through the enchanting high range of Kerala, the all enchanting Munnar, magnificent getaway in any season, and yeah, for any reason. While passing through the tea estates, sprawling across the valley in subtle juxtaposition, it looked like a wonderland in eerie bluish black in the predawn haze all through.

And when our driver, Dilip David, was vociferous on the beauty and greatness of the land of coconuts (who knows where got all those wonderful, yet babble-like literature), I was just in a trance like situation, awed with the beauty of nature in its true sense. Yes, eyes were getting heavy for want of sleep, and a cool breeze was humming a lullaby through the small aperture in the windscreen. Cocooned in my own world of weird dream and strongly pulled by the brawn of the wild, I was lost, completely.

And to making it more fanciful, OMG, it started raining and just imagine, you, the one who came here all the way from perennially parched Deccan, can do nothing other than just go round the bend! It was daybreak and we stopped at the ‘Cheeyappara Waterfalls’ and Valara waterfalls located between Neriamangalam and Adimali on the Kochi-Madurai highway which is a quite fascinating spot. We spent some time there, enjoying the inexplicable beauty of the mountains and valleys.

The day began and life started its usual hullabaloos with tourists moving around and vendors and guides yelling things in a language so strange. The sunrays were getting sharper and we had ‘steaming’ breakfast in wayside bistro. We stopped over at ‘Deepa Spice World’ and found it informative and interesting experience about Ayurvedic plants etc. We bought lots of spices for our family. Don’t forget to stop at ‘Rose Garden’, a must visit place for romantics.

Before going to reach the hotel in the evening, we went for an elephant ride for Rs 300 per person in ‘Erratu Garden’. There were lots of sightseeing places in and around. We reached Munnar around 7 pm and were totally surprised to see the clouds descending on the valley of tea-plantations. It was an amazing experience. We stayed at ‘Terrace Greens, A Sterling Holiday Resort where we enjoyed the DJ night and the dinner on our first night.

The second day, we visited the Tea Museum where the entire tea making process one can personally witness. The location of the tea-museum is simply beautiful. One can buy some good variety of black tea, green tea and saffron from the shop located here. We went to ‘Eravikulam National Park’, where we had some fun-time with the endangered Nilgiri Tahr.

The other must-see scenic spot is ‘Mattupetty Dam’. On the way you can see the shooting points where many movies are shot regularly. It is located on the way to Munnar town. You can enjoy the beauty of hills of Munnar. When we returned to the resort we found our honeymoon bed and also cake that night as it was our birthdays also.

We left for Thekkady from Munnar at around 9:30 am. In course of our journey to Thekkady there were various photogenic spots. Our excitement and anxiety were growing as every turn on the road it was breathtaking because of turns and twists every couple of seconds.

(Carry all the medicines that you may require for the travel sickness like vomiting, headache. I was vomiting all the way). You can eat your lunch out instead of going your hotel which will save your time then check-in late in the night after you are done with your boating and all.

Thekkady is a famous wildlife sanctuary. There is boating facility at Thekkady where the boat will take you around the wildlife sanctuary through the Periyar river. One can see wild animals during this boat ride but you should go early in the morning, which we missed. Try to reach Thekkady as early as possible and get tickets for boating in the river. Tickets availability depends on the rush on that particular day. The charge is `150 per person. You need to be in queue and need to produce ID card and your personal details.

In Thekkady there is a beautiful ‘spice garden’. A tour of spice garden would cost 100 per person. We learnt during the tour about various varieties of spices, how they are grown and also their medicinal properties. One can buy the spices at these gardens also. The prices may differ slightly from place to place. The market place at Thekkady is also a good place to buy wide variety of spices, souvenir items and homemade chocolates.

We bought some homemade chocolates at Thekkady market place. If interested in art and and we watched Kathakali performance and also Kalaripayattu show at ‘Mudra Cultural Centre’ at Thekkady. We reached ‘Spice Grove Hotel’ which was not that great like the one in Munnar.

We were desperately waiting for our fourth destination Alleppey, famous for its backwaters. It is the land of beautiful, picturesque backwaters and is the true identity of Kerala. We had booked a house boat in Alleppey well in advance, since almost all the house boats get booked in the peak season. We were in the house boat the whole day, anchored at night near a village and the next morning after breakfast they dropped us back in Alleppey.

Our boat captain Robin said that the house boats were a major attraction in Kerala and we agreed that it was worth an experience. You feel at home in the middle of lake. The evening and morning times are memorable in house boats. It is just an amazing experience.

On the fifth day, we reached Mattancherry which is famous for antique shops. We bought traditional silk cloths from ‘Malabar Weavers’, where Siby William (sales girl) guided us to take the good collection and saw to it that we tried them at the back of the shop. After we were done with our shopping and we started towards ‘Cherai Resort’ situated opposite Cherai Beach.

We had our lunch and took shower at our villa before reaching the beach at 4 pm. It was so fun but at 6.30 pm it started raining and we rushed back to our villa. Next day, we checked out after the breakfast. This was my first visit to the beach and I had full fun with my husband (Mohammad Rafiuddin) and wanted to spend some more time. So we booked the other villa and shifted our luggage and went back to beach and we played a lot in the water.

The resort security people arranged the lounge chairs for us. We had fish for lunch which you can get fresh from the houses, near the beach. Turn away and head towards the beach and there is a sudden change in the way the world appears. You can see the sun touching the ground which was so overwhelming.

We started from the resort at 6 pm to the Kochi airport and boarded the flight at 8 pm, which was via Mangalore and we reached Hyderabad at 11.30 pm. It was a short and sweet journey. If you want to make your honeymoon special and memorable then visit the heaven on earth called Kerala.