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Travel

GOD’S OWN COUNTRY: KERALA

Kerala, situated at the end of the Indian Peninsula, is an awesome getaway destination. I visited the place with my family for Christmas and New Year, a captivating experience with great memories. We traversed the whole state in approximately one week. The best part was scuba diving, that gave me an altogether splendid experience of a new world.

Scuba Diving In Trivandrum

Trivandrum, the capital city, was our first destination. We reached there by the evening and straightaway went to our lovely homestay, Tapovan, located on the outskirts of the city. It is the best place to relax mind and soul, away from hustle and bustle of the city. In the evening we went to the Padmanabhaswamy Temple and witnessed a magnificent sunset at the Kovalam Beach.

My excitement led to a sleepless night. So, I was in a hurry the next morning as my scuba diving was scheduled at 10 am. Somehow I managed to reach the institute by 9:30 am. I was trained by the instructor there and then he took me to the beach where I had my first ever scuba diving experience. And I survived it, folks!

Took me a while to make the jump but that feeling was incredible, when you slowly sink into the sea, struggle to breathe at first but then the sound of your breath seems hypnotizing and you sense the soul of the infinite ocean. The world beneath was truly majestic, rejuvenating one’s inner self. It was so much more than what one can describe in words. I wanted to stay down there so when the instructor asked me to return, I was a bit reluctant at first but we had to return due to bad weather conditions. I swam back up with the hope of returning again soon. It was my first dive. Many more to go.

The following day took us to the backwaters in Poovar. Boating in the backwaters and the beautiful bounties made me realize that the God really outdid himself there!

Kanyakumari added cherry to the cake. I felt alive witnessing the merger of the 3 major water bodies – The Indian Ocean, the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea – at Vivekanada Rock Memorial, signifying the lower most point of the country.

THE BACKWATERS OF ALLEPY

Our second home-stay was at the beach in Allepy. The moment sun rays hit the waves in the morning, the sea gleamed with light. We went for a boat ride in the Backwaters of Allepy. It was Heavenly. One can choose to stay in house boats too. They are pretty cool for sure. But I preferred home-stay which offered a very good and traditional Kerala cuisine.

JUNGLE SAFARI IN THE KADDY

Thekaddy is famous for its exotic Jungle safari. They have special vehicles for traversing through the rough domains of the Thekaddy forest. The place where one can be close to the majestic elephants in their natural habitat. The elephant ride and watching these marvellous creatures sprinkling water like rain showers was so awesome. The jeep took us to the top of high terrain in the forest where we witnessed a crimson sun fading slowly into the hills. We decided to spend the next day relaxing on the top of cruise while this extraordinary country grow on us.

THE HANDMADE CHOCOLATES OF MUNNAR

Munnar is hub to large number of tea gardens, spice gardens, huge variety of handmade chocolates and some special breed of goat. These goats are found at the top of the hill, trekking there itself is an adventure. Hats off to the bus driver who drive through such a terrain! On our way to the city, we stopped by to visit a spice garden. We took a tour of the garden while the guide showed us a wide variety of spice plants and trees. The handmade chocolate factory was a treat to eyes and tongue too. Gave me a sweet-tooth indeed!

TEA GARDENS OF THE CITY

We also visited the TATA tea gardens where we witnessed the processing of tea in the factory and also learnt to make tea in the correct way. I gotta say I enjoyed the resort more than the garden visit. It was so extravagant. The view from balconies, the rooms, the aura, the premises…everything was so lavish. Though the temperature was a bit low there but, we had a great experience.

LULU MALL IN KOCHI

Our final destination was Kochi. On the way, we stopped by to buy some banana chips which are quite famous in that region, handmade chocolates, spices, etc. On reaching the city, we straight away went to the famous LULU mall to do some store shopping.

It felt like leaving home while boarding that plane to Chandigarh but we left with the promise to return soon.

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