Sindhu's World

Kerala, God’s Own Country. Travel and Leisure names Kerala as "One of the 100 great trips for the 21st century". Indeed, true! One of the finest places I have visited. Green Green, everywhere! We visited Kerala during my final year summer vacation. South India is damn hot anywhere in summer, but then Kerala was different in terms of soothing wind and monsoon rains, yet indifferent to hot sun at noon. The vastness and diversity of the landscape and life in Kerala is huge. All the tourist places are well-connected to almost all the major cities by road and traveling by road is a pleasurable experience because of the good roads, pleasant atmosphere and surrounding green backdrop. Kerala is blessed with backwaters, beaches, hills, valleys, palaces and forts. It is complete package to fantasize every visitor to the state. We planned to visit Maritime city of Kochi, Divinity of Guruvayur, Green valleys of Munnar, House-boats of Allepey, Beaches of Kovalam and Viv

Kochi, a beautiful maritime city defined by beaches, backwaters and rich ancient past. It projects a unified mix of the colonial past and the diversity of modern India. We reached the city past noon, in time to freshen up and board the ‘ Sagara rani ’, a prestigious vessel operated by Kerala Shipping Corporation offering luxurious trips in the backwaters of Kochi. We had the pleasure of watching sunset in the west and a sparsely visible moon on the other side. We reached the shore at night, in time to have a good dinner. With lots of pictures clicked and a joyful ride of 'Sagararani' in the 'Sagar', it was a memorable experience. The day next, we became true tourists exploring the new land with some really colorful umbrellas to protect from hot sun, coconut water right under the tree, freshly prepared banana chips to eat along the way, buying some natural spices and oils, collecting different seashells, strolling in the beaches and clicking random pi

Munnaaar is a lovely hill station with endless span of tea plantations and exotic species of flora and fauna. I simply loved this place. The cool breeze of the beautiful hills and valleys makes it a perfect summer destination. The hotel we stayed in provided a beautiful site of the tea gardens from the room’s huge glass window. Climate was pleasant, making our three day stay perfectly convenient. The spa, beauty salons and massage parlors are famous here for being a natural treatment to erase all the stress of daily life. We had a complete rejuvenating experience. As we explore the town, the roads are completely covered by tea gardens on the either sides. Stop by the Echo point , to have a good walk/trek in the tea, coffee and spices plantations. We stopped at a tea-estate en-route from where morning rays dribbling through the mist, z-curved roads, progressing hills, a township from a distance and a huge tea-factory were seen. To know more on the tea plantations and processing,

Alleppey, a beautiful town with radiant backwaters and absolute green backdrop. It is also known as Alappuzha. Described as ‘ Venice of the East’ , it stands true to the description with picturesque backwaters, canals, lagoons and beaches. The houseboat cruise in the backwaters is an immensely delightful and lifetime experience. We had booked the houseboat for a day and nights stay. The houseboats provide all facilities as a luxury hotel with lounge, air-conditioned bed-rooms, television and ordered food right up to eat. The cruise staff welcomed us with glass of coconut drink and boat started off about mid day from Pallathuruthy Bridge. We got to see many other decorated houseboats on the way, coconut trees on the edges, small houses on either sides of canal, some women and children rowing small boats to cross the canal and the funniest part, the houses were so close to the canal that people are fishing and cooking right up there. We had wonderful lunch served on the boat a

Trivandrum is the vivid capital city of Kerala, also known as Thiruvananthapuram. Trivandrum owes its name to the Lord Vishnu, the guardian deity of the city. The Maharaja of Travancore till date pays homage at the Padmanabhan Swamy Temple that enshrines the image of Lord Vishnu, reclining under the hood of "Anantha" the great serpent. The Padmanabhaswami Temple is one of the famous and richest temples of India. The temple holds the prestige of being counted among 108 holiest abodes of Lord Vishnu, Divya Desams. A spectacular architecture and religious environment surrounds the temple. Most of all Kerala temples have some clothing regulations to be followed by the tourists. No trousers should be worn by men or women. Men have to wrap pancha/mundi and women have to wear sari/long skirt. This tourist city boasts plenty of natural beaches in and around. The picturesque Kovalam beach is one among the best beaches in the country. Located at around 15 Kms from the city