A long-awaited destination, a curiosity and a fascination – the thirst of all were quenched! I won’t say Kanyakumari is a treat for the adventure lovers but it has a different charm in itself. The conjunction of the three seas and being the southernmost part of India – with Sri Lanka being just 300 km away – you feel like you have hit one corner of the world.
Kanyakumari is some 680 km and by bus it will take around 12 hours to reach. To save time, we took the shorter, and of course costlier route. On Saturday early morning, we took a Kingfisher flight from Bangalore to Trivandrum and then a cab after that for the 80 km distance till Kanyakumari district. There are limited flight options though, the planes themselves are small and are two-seaters throughout.
The flight timing was one and a half hours, then another 4 hours from Trivandrum. But it was worth the expense because the green outfield that lay before us on the way is a treat for the eyes. We reached by noon and luckily the driver took us to a hotel with a view of the Thiruvallur and Vivekananda Rock, set amongst the majestic water waves. We stayed in a place called – Sebaa Palace – and the room cost us 650 bucks a night, a lot lesser than a hotel called Hotel Sea View (4,000 bucks a night), which of course had a complete, unrestricted view of the sea. But it is an option for people who are ready to shell out some extra cash. Again, be sure of booking a place during the peak season.
Many people warned us about the rains and humidity in June, because of which we had our rain gear ready with us. But we were quite lucky since we faced mild rainfall, along with lots of sun and wind.
An evening’s rest and a walk in the market refreshed us enough for an early rise the next day to watch the sunrise. Though it was a bit cloudy, we could catch a glimpse of the red sky. Around 9 am we headed off for the rocks. The steamers cost 20 bucks for a round trip. The route is – shore till Vivekananda Rock, from there to Thiruvallur Statue and then back to shore – none of the short distance ferries are accessible on foot. The time it takes to wait for the next ferry to frisk you to the next destination – you really will wish for a much faster foot-bridge.
The wind is extremely strong in the two rocks, it feels wonderful. You can buy some memorabilia at the Vivekananda Rock. There is one map here that tracks the summer and winter solstice, and a sun-clock. Thiruvallur statue itself is 133 ft tall (besides the pedestal it is put on!!!). The local people said, during Tsunami, the water reached till the statue’s shoulder! No surprises that Kanyakumari was one of the worst affected regions during the natural calamity.
We were back on shore by 11.30 am and went straight for the Kanyakumari temple, set right near the beach. We were sweating like pigs by the time we came out. There are quite a few shell, conch and clothes shops on the way to the temple. I noticed a new tradition in the temples here, which many of you must be aware of already – the male population has to discard their clothing covering their torso before they can enter the temple premises.
A quick lunch later, we started off for Padmanabhapuram Palace, Thiraparappu Falls and Hanuman temple. The entire distance was a round trip of around 150 km through Kerela borders.
Well, it will still be an understatement if I say the palace was humongous! Set amongst beatific, cloud covered hills; the wooden palace was definitely the king’s pride. Even after an hour’s walk in the palace and skirting a portion, we still couldn’t see the entire place. The thing that struck me the most was the flooring of the entire building. Since there was no cement 300 years back, the floor composition was made of jaggery, lime, egg white, river sand, charcoal. It was almost edible and to think of the volume of the materials that went in!
The Thiraparappu waterfall wasn’t as exciting enough as we thought. It was crowded with many people bathing in the artificial fall. Also, many of them were drunk, making the place quite unsuitable for family outings. A bit higher up, there is Thiraparappu temple and boating area where public nuisance is much lesser.
I will suggest you go to the Hanuman temple only if you want to give alms to the lord. It was again quite dark and hot inside, not much of my taste. It is just 18 km from the district, so you can stop by anytime.
One day’s activities finally got over – and you can well imagine how tired we were. We were asleep before we hit the bed.
Rising to another morning’s sunrise and our day of returning, we went for a walk till Sangam and Gandhi Memorial. Sangam is the place from where is it said the three distinct colours of Arabian, Indian and Bay of Bengal can be made out. Gandhi Memorial has his portrait, etched on granite and a rock pedestal. It is said that on 2nd of October every year, the sun shines down for twenty minutes on the rock from a hole above. We chatted with the caretaker – Jalaal – who gave us the details. Jalaal is with the memorial for an astonishing 38 years, so it felt great talking to someone with such fervor for the place.
After a quick bath at the hotel, we checked out and took a cab around noon so that we could visit Kovalam beach. En route, we also visited Kanyakumari church. Our flight was at 7.45 pm, which gave us enough time to stop over at the beach. A lazy lunch and sudden bursts of rain, the rough and vibrant sea, climb a small rock for better view of the waves and coffee at an open air restaurant by the water – it did feel nice.
The beach was just 20 minutes away from the airport and we reached way too early for the flight. The small airport and its meager crowd was quite a different and refreshing experience from the ever-busy Bangalore airport. We were home by 10.30 pm and ready for office the next day.
Hogenakkal – Our own mini-Niagara
Take out 10% of the highly cosmopolitan Bangalore crowd and build a new city for them in Hosur. Now hold that thought. I shall come back to it in a while.
The 1st Sunday of June, the weather is so darn amazing that it felt like a crime to stay indoors. Also, we wanted to go to some waterfalls, with the recent rains swelling up the water level.
I had heard a lot about Hogenakkal. The Cauvery River flows through it and divides Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. The water flows into Chennai, providing the drinking water for the citizens. The added attraction of the falls is the shooting of a couple of famous songs from the movies Roja and Guru. So on Sunday, we set out around 9.30am, with the target to reach the location in 3&1/2 hours.
What really amazed me was the absolutely great road throughout the entire 180km. Even as we crossed the villages, we came across not a single crater or a bump. In fact, after we crossed into Tamil Nadu border, it was a biker’s paradise and a driver’s highway to hell! You just won’t feel like pressing on that brake lever.
With the green and serene surroundings, almost a trickle of traffic, and the perfect weather to match the excitement, I could have sat in the car the entire day without complaining.
Now to come back to the first sentence, I don’t intend to spoil the virgin beauty of Tamil Nadu, but trust me, the faction of people who love peace and quiet, and clean breathing, the idea of shifting them just beyond Hosur won’t be a bad idea – especially if it is voluntary. So we will have a reciprocal benefit, Bangalore can relieve some of its ever-increasing population and Tamil Nadu can welcome some urban development. And they won’t be far from Bangalore also; it is just 40km away.
Hogenakkal seemed like a mini-Niagara Falls to me. It gets even more beautiful after monsoon, since some of the bigger falls are dry now. The only activity here will be boat-rides and bathing, so be sure to carry an extra set of dry attire with you. The big circular shaped boats take you right under the waterfalls, which is an unforgettable experience. In fact, the view from top of the cliff takes your breath away!
One more fantastic thing that we got to see was rock holes made by whirlpools, which drilled the granites right till the top. The rock-faces are as smooth as a porcelain cup!
The waterway we had taken becomes inaccessible during monsoon and the boatmen have to take an alternate route for the rides. From what we saw, a three hours’ stay is enough to enjoy Hogenakkal and we were back home by 8pm.
I intend to go again after monsoon, when the water swells to its fullest and reaches its purest and frothiest white!
Note: I have uploaded some pictures in the following link http://picasaweb.google.com/sanjula.guha/Hogenakkal#
The 1st Sunday of June, the weather is so darn amazing that it felt like a crime to stay indoors. Also, we wanted to go to some waterfalls, with the recent rains swelling up the water level.
I had heard a lot about Hogenakkal. The Cauvery River flows through it and divides Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. The water flows into Chennai, providing the drinking water for the citizens. The added attraction of the falls is the shooting of a couple of famous songs from the movies Roja and Guru. So on Sunday, we set out around 9.30am, with the target to reach the location in 3&1/2 hours.
What really amazed me was the absolutely great road throughout the entire 180km. Even as we crossed the villages, we came across not a single crater or a bump. In fact, after we crossed into Tamil Nadu border, it was a biker’s paradise and a driver’s highway to hell! You just won’t feel like pressing on that brake lever.
With the green and serene surroundings, almost a trickle of traffic, and the perfect weather to match the excitement, I could have sat in the car the entire day without complaining.
Now to come back to the first sentence, I don’t intend to spoil the virgin beauty of Tamil Nadu, but trust me, the faction of people who love peace and quiet, and clean breathing, the idea of shifting them just beyond Hosur won’t be a bad idea – especially if it is voluntary. So we will have a reciprocal benefit, Bangalore can relieve some of its ever-increasing population and Tamil Nadu can welcome some urban development. And they won’t be far from Bangalore also; it is just 40km away.
Hogenakkal seemed like a mini-Niagara Falls to me. It gets even more beautiful after monsoon, since some of the bigger falls are dry now. The only activity here will be boat-rides and bathing, so be sure to carry an extra set of dry attire with you. The big circular shaped boats take you right under the waterfalls, which is an unforgettable experience. In fact, the view from top of the cliff takes your breath away!
One more fantastic thing that we got to see was rock holes made by whirlpools, which drilled the granites right till the top. The rock-faces are as smooth as a porcelain cup!
The waterway we had taken becomes inaccessible during monsoon and the boatmen have to take an alternate route for the rides. From what we saw, a three hours’ stay is enough to enjoy Hogenakkal and we were back home by 8pm.
I intend to go again after monsoon, when the water swells to its fullest and reaches its purest and frothiest white!
Note: I have uploaded some pictures in the following link http://picasaweb.google.com/sanjula.guha/Hogenakkal#
Butt-Trouble
Ever wondered how it might feel if your to-be in-law looks at your butt and says – oh it’s wet!!!
Now before your imagination starts galloping to conclusions, I’ll give you the correct context to the build-up of the comment.
On the 2nd Sunday of June we went to Hogenakkal – a lovely day trip in Tamil Nadu. The ‘we’ includes my fiancé, his mom and me of course. As most of you must be aware of the fantabulous waterfalls, which divides Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, the only activity here is a ride on the circular shaped boats. The end result – you just have to have a spare set of clothing if you want to return dry and ‘safe’ from being commented on!
The mistake I did was, the bag-pack I carried was of cotton material and the intelligent girl as I am, I had my fresh set of garments in that bag. I was quite oblivious to the fact that it conveniently got wet while we were taking our boat-ride.
Back on shore, with my pair of jeans and top dripping wet, I couldn’t wait to get out of them and you can imagine my shock when I discovered the disaster in my bag! So changing into them didn’t help much. Going back to the comment now, my to-be-mom-in-law happily and mischievously chirped – oh your butt is still wet!!!!! And my fiancé also HAD to peep in unabashedly.
I didn’t know how to react; all I could do was ask them to walk in front of me. At least the general passers-by were too busy to notice.
I had my bit of fun when, out in the sun, she turned her back towards the heat to dry her sari (since she didn’t have a fresh set of attire). I followed suit, it was like a mutual respect and acceptance since both of us wanted to get a little drier before getting into the car.
Moral of the story – Don’t go out of your way to impress your in-laws, you can’t change your comical self, so go out and have fun!
Now before your imagination starts galloping to conclusions, I’ll give you the correct context to the build-up of the comment.
On the 2nd Sunday of June we went to Hogenakkal – a lovely day trip in Tamil Nadu. The ‘we’ includes my fiancé, his mom and me of course. As most of you must be aware of the fantabulous waterfalls, which divides Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, the only activity here is a ride on the circular shaped boats. The end result – you just have to have a spare set of clothing if you want to return dry and ‘safe’ from being commented on!
The mistake I did was, the bag-pack I carried was of cotton material and the intelligent girl as I am, I had my fresh set of garments in that bag. I was quite oblivious to the fact that it conveniently got wet while we were taking our boat-ride.
Back on shore, with my pair of jeans and top dripping wet, I couldn’t wait to get out of them and you can imagine my shock when I discovered the disaster in my bag! So changing into them didn’t help much. Going back to the comment now, my to-be-mom-in-law happily and mischievously chirped – oh your butt is still wet!!!!! And my fiancé also HAD to peep in unabashedly.
I didn’t know how to react; all I could do was ask them to walk in front of me. At least the general passers-by were too busy to notice.
I had my bit of fun when, out in the sun, she turned her back towards the heat to dry her sari (since she didn’t have a fresh set of attire). I followed suit, it was like a mutual respect and acceptance since both of us wanted to get a little drier before getting into the car.
Moral of the story – Don’t go out of your way to impress your in-laws, you can’t change your comical self, so go out and have fun!
Into the Wild – II
The subject sounds like an animation movie sequel but I’ll only be concluding my trip to Sundarbans in this article. In the last article, I took you through how to reach there, the accommodations, and the time you need to take off from office to visit the land of tigers.
The best thing that I liked about Sundarbans is the vast greenery, clean blue sky, and the innumerable islands that form the complete forest area. It has around 200 islands, which are part of both India and Bangladesh. Then there is the rise and fall of tide, the water recedes early in the morning and by late evening, you can hear the gurgling of the water almost near the hotel where you put up.
A couple of items you should buy from the place are – honey and tiger paw prints. You get the purest of honeys in the area, fresh from the forests. The paws are imprints taken to determine the number of tigers alive in the area, as well as the sex of the beasts. These two things make for a perfect visit, a memorabilia of the place and a feeling of being as close as possible to the ‘wild’.
Amongst the places to visit, there is a museum at Shojnekhali, Hamilton’s bungalow in Gosaba, tower at Sudhanna Khali from where you can see the animals at large, and Sonakhali where there are some guest houses and small shops. Barriers and check points stand tall in Sudhanna Khali from where you might get to see some deer and if you are extremely lucky, a tiger. The most adventurous part is that all these spots can be reached only through water body.
And don’t think that your day of fun ends at sun-down. If you are willing to take a little pain, you can contact the Forest Officer and obtain permits for tiger-watching at night. But the chance of catching one in action is almost nil. You can also spend the evening around a nice and cozy bonfire with a guitar and a bottle of beer.
Sundarbans is a haven for bird watchers and photographers. Migratory birds are pretty abundant here, displaying their multi-coloured plumes. The sunset and sunrise gives picturesque view of the extended Bay of Bengal. The golden reflection of the sun poses a fantastic catch for a photographer.
A word of caution: drink safe. Even though the place is a government aided tourism haunt, the water used for cleaning utensils in the boats is from the river where all these steamers function. Also, if you are sea-sick, you might come back with an upset tummy, so keeping some medicines and bottled water at hand will be useful.
I know too much packing and planning ruins a trip, but trust me, for some trips you have to have prior knowledge to enjoy a comfortable and fruitful holiday. Sundarbans is one of those. Have fun!
The best thing that I liked about Sundarbans is the vast greenery, clean blue sky, and the innumerable islands that form the complete forest area. It has around 200 islands, which are part of both India and Bangladesh. Then there is the rise and fall of tide, the water recedes early in the morning and by late evening, you can hear the gurgling of the water almost near the hotel where you put up.
A couple of items you should buy from the place are – honey and tiger paw prints. You get the purest of honeys in the area, fresh from the forests. The paws are imprints taken to determine the number of tigers alive in the area, as well as the sex of the beasts. These two things make for a perfect visit, a memorabilia of the place and a feeling of being as close as possible to the ‘wild’.
Amongst the places to visit, there is a museum at Shojnekhali, Hamilton’s bungalow in Gosaba, tower at Sudhanna Khali from where you can see the animals at large, and Sonakhali where there are some guest houses and small shops. Barriers and check points stand tall in Sudhanna Khali from where you might get to see some deer and if you are extremely lucky, a tiger. The most adventurous part is that all these spots can be reached only through water body.
And don’t think that your day of fun ends at sun-down. If you are willing to take a little pain, you can contact the Forest Officer and obtain permits for tiger-watching at night. But the chance of catching one in action is almost nil. You can also spend the evening around a nice and cozy bonfire with a guitar and a bottle of beer.
Sundarbans is a haven for bird watchers and photographers. Migratory birds are pretty abundant here, displaying their multi-coloured plumes. The sunset and sunrise gives picturesque view of the extended Bay of Bengal. The golden reflection of the sun poses a fantastic catch for a photographer.
A word of caution: drink safe. Even though the place is a government aided tourism haunt, the water used for cleaning utensils in the boats is from the river where all these steamers function. Also, if you are sea-sick, you might come back with an upset tummy, so keeping some medicines and bottled water at hand will be useful.
I know too much packing and planning ruins a trip, but trust me, for some trips you have to have prior knowledge to enjoy a comfortable and fruitful holiday. Sundarbans is one of those. Have fun!
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