Travelling

We planned for a weekend outing to Bhimashankar. Bhimashankar is one of the 12 jyotirlings in India. The shivling here is made in silver and visitors are allowed to enter inside and can touch the shivling. We hired a cab and started from Pune at around 9.30am. The distance from Pune to Bhimashankar is around 130kms and it took us ~3-3.5 hours to reach the temple which included a breakfast break of about half an hour with kids. As we were travelling in a Xylo, these big cars move a lot during cuts and curves on the road and that induces a nauseatic feeling. I had my 8-month old kid with me and she vomited twice due to this. We reached the temple and it took us around 2 hours to reach inside and do the darshan. Darshan happened nicely, but as it was 3pm, it was time for Aarti and they had to close the premises for cleaning, the temple staff were in a bit hurry. We also visited ram temple which is also in the same campus. While walking back, we had corn chaat from one of the vendors. We t

We reached Alleppey around 2pm. 2 men came to pick up our luggage from the taxi and loaded onto the house boat. One by one they helped us board the boat and we were made to sit on the chairs near the deck of the boat. The dining table had fruits, water bottles and glasses kept on it. There was a standing fan which was cooling us a bit and in a few minutes we started sailing through the back waters of Alleppey. The bedroom was well maintained and the washroom was clean though it was quite congested. The view was amazingly beautiful. It was very very hard to take our eyes off. We clicked a lot of pictures of the coconut trees, the greenery, nature,house boats, boats of local villagers and everything possible throughout our stay on the houseboat. Wand fulfilled this request as well.\nAt 9am we checked out of the houseboat with some very beautiful memories for lifetime.e were served with a delicious Kerala style food for lunch post which we went to the deck of the house boat and the view f

We reached Trivandrum around noon. Pappukutty beach resort was booked for us. This one was the least clean hotel of all the ones during our trip. The advantage of the resort is it is located on the beach (Kovalam beach) with all sorts of shops and restaurants around it. Because the resort is on the beach, it is a bit far from the road. If you've heavy luggage, you'll need to call the receptions they'll send a cart to carry the luggage till the hotel room. We were given a room on the ground floor , but it had dampness on the walls leading to smell in the room. We checked about it with the reception staff and they got us shifted to the adjacent room. There was swimming pool right outside the room which could be used by the guests. My husband and daughter enjoyed in the pool, while I enjoyed a freshly prepared omelette in their in-house restaurant. As it was afternoon, and the sun was too hot to go to the beach. So, I went for a fantastic fish spa for my feet and hands. It was

We freshened up at our hotel and walked till the boating ticket counter, bought the tickets and then had to stand in the queue for around an hour before we could get onto a boat. The boats have a capacity of 150 passengers and ferry the visitors to the Vivekananda rock memorial. There's an entry fee to the memorial. They have a small room where they show a documentary about the place, it gives the visitors a background about the importance of the rock and what happened in the history. The place has 3 different halls. One has the statue of Vivekananda, another one the footprint of goddess Parvati and the 3rd one is a meditation hall. All the halls expect you to be silent and photography isn't allowed inside the halls. The view outside is amazing with water all around and when you get to see the sun going down, it looks awesome. There's a statue of Sri Thiruvalluvar near the Vivekananda rock memorial and it looks mesmerizing too. We then came back to the starting point by the

We checked-in to hotel Temple Citi in Kanyakumari. This was the most fabulous room amongst all of them that we have checked-in during the entire trip. A spacious 2-double bed room with wardrobe, TV, sofa, AC. The room was very neat and clean and so was the attached washroom. This hotel is very near to the boating point. Their restaurant is located on the 3rd floor. The breakfast buffet spread was average, but the restaurant was too warm and humid, making it uncomfortable for the guests to enjoy their breakfast. Finally, we had to get a few breakfast items down to our room and have them there. The old man who carried our luggage during check out was nice enough to thoroughly check the room and make sure we hadn't left any of our belongings there.

Apart from the well known chain of hotel Saravana bhavan world wide, there are a lot of restaurants by the same name all over south India, predominantly in Tamil Nadu. We found one such restaurant very near to Rameswaram temple and thought of giving it a try. The restaurant was quite full when we reached there. We got a table in 2-5 minutes and settled down. We ordered South indian dishes and everything was yummy. The service was a little slow, may be due to too many customers, but overall everything was tasty and upto the mark.

This famous Shiva temple is located in Rameswaram district of Tamil Nadu. This is one of the 12 jyotirlings in India. We went around 3-4pm and to our surprise there wasn't much of rush and we had a wonderful darshan. It was quite calm and serene , and was worth the effort.

This is a ghostly town surrounded by Bay of Bengal on one side and Arabian sea on the other. Due to a cyclone, a beautiful town was ruined and only the remains can be found thThis is a ghostly town surrounded by Bay of Bengal on one side and Arabian sea on the other. Due to a cyclone, a beautiful town was ruined and only the remains can be found there now along with an amazing sea shore and clean water. This is the place where the famous ram Setu was built though it cannot be seen now. There's a huge pillar with the 4 lions that marks our national emblem. The local market of Dhanuskodi generally specialise items made up of shells and/or pearl which ranged from decorative pieces to jewellery to everything. There are ruins now along with an amazing sea shore and clean water. This is the place where the famous ram Setu was built though it cannot be seen now. There's a huge pillar with the 4 lions that marks our national emblem. The local market of Dhanuskodi generally specialise i

Our booking was done in hotel S.S. Grand in Rameswaram. We reached this quiet place by around noon and were given a nice comfy room within no time. It had an AC, mini fridge, TV, kettle, double bed, and almost everything that you might expect from a hotel room. We freshened up and relaxed while enjoying a hot cup of coffee. The official breakfast buffet timing starts from 7.30 am. As we had to travel too much the next day, we got ready early and reached the hotel's restaurant around 7.15am and were asked to wait saying you won't be allowed before the designated time. At 7.30am, though the reception staff allowed us and the other guests inside the restaurant, but the breakfast want ready. They got only a few items at a time by 7.50am but everything was being served hot and very nicely. The delay in time was made up by the hospitality. A nice stay and a happy breakfast!

This had been the largest bridge before the Mumbai's Worli sea link was built. Pamban bridge connects Rameswaram to mainland India. It's a huge bridge and the surroundings are very beautiful. We reached there during the afternoon and it was flooded with tourists, and hence it becomes a no-stopping zone with policemen strictly patrolling and not allowing public to stop their vehicles on the bridge. There's also a railway track which runs through the sea and is known to be an experience! The shore at one side of the bridge was docked with a lot of boats ⛵ . The entire place was very scenic and airy.

Our purpose of going to Madurai was to visit this holy place. We relaxed for a while and then went to visit the Meenakshi temple. We are from our hotel around 4pm and reached the temple. The road leading to the parking was narrow and crowded. We got down near the temple to walk while our driver drive the car to the parking area. We removed our footwear at a shop near the temple. Mobile phones, bags and other such stuff is not allowed inside the temple and needs to be deposited in the locker room. The guards at the entrance all you to be fully covered (not really sure what it means). I was wearing a cut sleeves top and trousers, so she asked me for a stole/dupatta,etc and wrapped it around me like a shawl. There was too much of rush inside the temple. We got to know there was a free line (queue) and a paid queue. Such things are practiced only in places where Hindus worship. I haven't seen any such discrimination at places where any other religion worships. We paid ₹50 per entry to

Hotel Annamalai was chosen for our stay in Madurai. We reached the hotel and asked for our room. The room want available. Though we had booked in advance, the hotel staff at the reception said few of the rooms are being cleaned and would be made available soon. We were asked to wait. After a wait of 15-20 minutes, we were given a room. One of the staff carried the luggage to the room. The room was clean, nice and spacious. We ordered dinner from their in-house restaurant (Anjappar) for room service. Their service wasn't upto the mark and language was a problem there. They couldn't understand either hindi or English properly. But the food was good and on the spicier side. Overall stay was nice with a few glitches here and there.

Hotel Annamalai was chosen for our stay in Madurai. We reached the hotel and asked for our room. The room want available. Though we had booked in advance, the hotel staff at the reception said few of the rooms are being cleaned and would be made available soon. We were asked to wait. After a wait of 15-20 minutes, we were given a room. One of the staff carried the luggage to the room. The room was clean, nice and spacious. We ordered dinner from their in-house restaurant (Anjappar) for room service. Their service wasn't upto the mark and language was a problem there. They couldn't understand either hindi or English properly. But the food was good and on the spicier side. Overall stay was nice with a few glitches here and there.

The route from Thekkady (Kerala) to Madurai (Tamil Nadu) is all adorned with beautiful coconut trees in abundance. While I was lost in that beauty, our car stopped. Our driver cum guide told us about the grapes plantation and we went inside to have a look. Both sides of the path was covered with nets and meshes. The plants had climbed tall and the grapes could be seen hanging. They were all bunches of huge black grapes and looked yummy. While you keep walking, there's some open space inside where you can stand between the bunches of grapes and do some photography.

After a tedious/hilly route from Munnar to Thekkady that took a bad toll on my head and sight-seeing, we finally reached our hotel 'Jungle Park Resort'. While my husband completed the formalities, we were taken to our room. The room was located on the first floor near the lift. It was a cosy room with nice interior, sofa set, wardrobes, a clean bathroom, TV, fridge, and a nice balcony with a rocking chair. The room was compact, but the ambience was nice. They also have the famous ayurvedic massage in the hotel and nicely arranged it for us. The massage was too relaxing and a first time experience. My husband went to watch the famous Kathak dance and was amazed by the performance. For the dinner, we went to the restaurant on the ground floor. The kids were already too sleepy. We ordered food, and the food was delicious in taste. I wanted to taste the Kerala parota. We initially ordered it on trial basis, but it was so soft and yummy that we kept ordering the same for all the su

Boating tickets should be booked online and then reach the bus station an hour before your boating time. You aren't the first ticket counter, where you pay to buy 2 tickets, one for entry and the other one for the bus. The bus takes you to the other counter where toucan buy the boat tickets. Even if the boat tickets are booked online in advance, you'll need to get the physical tickets. You'll need to walk for a while to get into your boat. You are expected to wear the life jackets kept on your seats. Once the boat starts, that's where the fun lies. It was raining almost all through the day when we went there. While in the boat, the rain showers were stronger. Okay, so this boat ride that we are doing, takes is inside the Periyar Tiger Reserve. They have a lot of birds and animals as their inhabitants. Due to heavy showers on that day, we could not spot too many of them, but I'm happy to have been able to spot quite a lot of them despite the rain. The natural habitat

It was time to go for an elephant safari. We got counter tickets and their special jeep drive us inside the jungle for the safari. There were 4 mammoths ready to take you for a ride on their huge backs. My family rode on one of them and had a wonderful experience. The elephant took them inside the forest, have them a nice salute and made them happy. Then back in their special jeep and we were taken to 'View Point'. This place oversees a very beautiful scenery with green lands and an amazing sky cover. This was one spot to spend time with your loved ones. The spot is in Kerala and oversees the beautiful scenery in Tamil Nadu, that's the beauty of this place. [caption width="2250"] Elephant safari[/caption] [caption width="2250"] View point[/caption]

Munnar & Thekkady are both known for their spices. On our way from Munnar to Thekkady, we stopped to see the spice plantation. The garden was full of tress of varies kinds. The fruits, root, leaves, stem, bark everything can be used for different purposes. The spices are used for different purposes and they also make lots of cosmetics, medicines, herbal products, coffee, etc. The garden also had a few trees which did not have any medicinal value but were planted just for their show. Their are guides/instructors who walk you through the entire garden and help you with the plants and how they are used. They also have a shop where they sell the various products that are made using those trees. The trip to the spice garden was really knowledgeable and it was fun to see a lot of plants and how the spices are grown. Coffee being my love, I was really fascinated to see the beans growing in colourful covers!! [caption width="2250"] Passion fruit[/caption] [caption width="300