Category: Travel

Well who doesn’t like Kerala. After multiple cancelled plans & fights over silly things, my husband was finally able to fly me to the God’s Own Country. We spent 15 days their travelling like snails. And this my version of a great 10 to 15 days Kerala Tour.

Preparations : What To Do Before the Trip

1. We were full Jeronimo mode in this one. We had booked a 1 way flight, and just 1 night in advance, and everything was else was left to God. After all, were visiting God’s own country.
2. This was my first visit to Kerala, but my Husband has been here multiple times and for long periods as well. So he had some confidence on what he was doing, and I though I just have to play along. Did not happen that way. More on that later.
3. My husband spoke to few travel agents for best Kerala Tour Packages [we have never travelled with an agency yet], and we thought it might be new or interesting or better in someway. But none seemed convincing. In fact, it was quite disappointing on what agents and travel websites like Makemytrip, Traveltriangle had to offer.

Delhi to Kerala Flight: Arriving at Trivendrum

1. We started our trip from Trivnedrum, unlike the popular choice that starts from Kochi. Reason was my cute husband thought that we would be able to go to Kanykumari as well. Yeah, did not happen.
2. Also, we our flight seemed liked the last for the night. We walked from terminal to the campus gate, something that seems impossible coming from Delhi airport, and while my husband was haggling with autos & ubers, a guy closed the gates, locked the gates and went away. There were around 30 people looking for auto, taxi etc like us, and we were the last to leave. A good man from airport security came outside to check if everything was ok with us, and we told him yes, we were just looking for autos, while everyone else had left.
3. Never the less, we reached our homestay. Now, this was the creepiest check in that i have done yet. Difficult to go into details, but I would not recommend Nalin Homestay if you are looking a decent accommodation in main Fort / Temple area in Trivendrum.

Things to do Trivendrum

1. The breakfast here was home cooked and nice. After breakfast, my husband suggested to go for a walk and explore whats around. We ended up reaching Padma temple, the main attraction of Trivendrum. Since we had reached here, without any prior plans, my husband recommended lets see what inside, and so we went in. We changed clothes to traditional attires, went inside, stayed inside for 2-3 hours becuase it was fascinating. Though we came out happy, this is how he we did what was supposed to be among the main attraction of our Kerala trip.
2. In the evening we went to Kovalam. We booked an auto – who charged 400 for to & fro, and waited there patiently for 2-3 hours (basically as long as we wanted to stay). There are multiple beached in Kovalam. And we just kept on walking. Whenever we got tired, we sat on the sand and ate something, and started walking again. The sunset is great from Kovalam (like all other Kerala beaches). We ate food at one of the many eateries lined up on the main beach. This area seemed to be more popular with foreign tourists. We did not like the vibe of any eatery – all seemed like copy paste versions of Goa. Finally we sat at a place – staff was rude, food was bad, overall experience was meh. Our auto driver was a jolly fellow and we came back home happy talking with him.
3. We the junction where auto dropped us, there were some milk shake shops with a lot of crowd – my husband wanted to try. This was the first time we had tender coconut milk shake and it was brilliant.
4. Eat at Amma’s Kitchen. What a brilliant Sadhya style dining place. My husband ate so much he fell sick for 1 day due to overeating.
5. We changed our guest house from old fort area to the Museum area. Nice place. Nice host.
6. We hired a scooter on rent from Trievndrum and took it to Munroe Island. Beautiful coastal road. No traffic. Good weather. Could not be happier. It was around 80km. We took our sweet time. Stopped where ever we could find anything to eat.

Trivendrum to Munroe  Island (the quiet backwaters)

1. Munroe Island is a very small village. Quite opposite to Allepey. Few tourists here. Most of them were local Keralites. Always a good sign.
2. Our homestay here was run by a very sweet family. They gave home made food. Very very delicious.
3. Did an early morning boat ride through backwaters. Very happy with it.
4. Took cycle on rent and took it to another corner of backwaters for sunset. Very nice place. Just 3-4 tourists here in total. Found the famous poisonous mango tree here. Just when I was about to touch the tree, locals objected and politely told me about it. They were very kind in telling the stories & legends about the tree & its fruit.
5. Walked a lot here as well. In the village, saw coir making, boat making, oil. grinding in wooden mill. All done by village people for their local consumption only.
6. Next day we headed towards Varkala. Beautiful road again.

Varkala

1. Varkala is crowded. But it is so long & large spread that it is easy to find quiet accommodations near quiet beaches. Except from the main beach & main market, things are enjoyable.
2. The main market & main beach is crowded. Same Goa vibe here again. We ate at multiple places. Some were bad. Some were ok. Nothing was outstanding. At one particular place a birthday party was going on and they were kind enough to share the cake with everyone in the restaurant. Sweet.
3. So then we started eating close to our guest house on beach in not so popular restaurants and that worked better for us.
4. We took out the scooter to visit nearby beaches as well. Beautiful cost line. Isolated tourists here and there. Some were practicing surfing and some were doing pre marriage photoshoots. Good old laid back times.
5. We staed in Varkala for 3 nights, and headed back to Trivendrum to return the scooter. Then we caught a train to Kochi

Kochi

1. As we got outside the station, the big city taxi drama started. Multiple cancellations, insane price quoting and following us. Finally after 30 minutes of doing this we got a gentleman who did not cancel the ride. It took 2 hours to reach out hotel in Fort Kochi Area
2. Fort Kochi is a beautiful and unique area unlike many in India. It might remind of Puducherry or Vasco (Panaji).
3. Once again, we walked and walked. Lots of fancy eateries here. And Foreign tourists as well. Our guest house turned out to be a bit of disappointment but it was not worth lamenting about. So we will not focus there.
4. Every place we ate was delicious. Everyone was polite. Nothing seemed very expensive.
5. A lot of Kerala local girls boys chill in Fort Kochi and they are a pleasant sight. Unlike what is seen in Delhi or other North Indian metros, their demeanour is calm, attire elegant and overall presence graceful. Loved it.
6. We again rented a scooter here. And went wherever we could. Visited the Jew Colony. Nice place to just walk by.
7. We stayed 2 nights here. And then we were off to Munnar.

Munnar

1. My husband has been to Kerala 3-4 times while this was my first time. And he has a weird sense of what to do and what not to do. Sometimes it works like magic and sometimes its pure WTF! Like his idea of renting scooter and travelling Kerala on 2 wheelers worked for me. I could not be happier. But then he also recommended to skip Munnar as it is overrated. God help me.
2. So I put some sense into him and we left Kochi in dawn on our pretty yellow scooter. The route was very nice. Once outside Kochi, the road was dotted with large mansions (spice export money or Gulf Money). Beautiful homes.
3. We reached Munnar comfortable in around 4-5 hours. Our room was very nice here. We were not tired, so we freshened up, and kept going on scooter. And boy did we go. We went to almost all the spots the same day. We ended up riding for 14 hours that day.
4. Munnar is beautiful. And despite being crowded, it is such a large area, we were able to find peace & solitude where we wanted. Unbelievable views.
5. We found the food a bit tricky here in Munnar. All we could find was tourist friendly north Indian food. No good Kerala cuisine restaurants (at least in the area where we were staying).
6. We visited chocolate factory. Good experience.
7. One thing that is easily missed is Kerala feels very safe. One does not appreciate it enough till you visit to not so nice places. There was no incidence of any one even mildly bothering us except Kochi Railway station. We have had some harrowing experiences on our travels. Kerala had none. The people are really really really nice & sweet. This cant be mentioned enough about Kerala. (this might be the case because we stayed away from House Boats – where my Husband told me chances of not so nice behaviour are higher).

Budget

Flights: 6000 x 2 x 2 = 24,000

Hotels = 14 x 2500 average = 35,000

Food = 300per person x 2 meals x 2 person x 14 days = approx 15,000

Internal Transfers & Scooter Rentals = 15,000

Tickets etc = 2000

Total Expense = Around 95,000

Thiruvananthapuram (1-3 days)

We booked a highly rated homestay in Fort Area. It makes temple visit walking distance. the homestay was a disappointment and we changed after 1 day

1. Padma Temple

   1. The temple is absolutely amazing. We loved it.
   2. Strict dress code for temple entry. Dress available at all gates for around ₹200
   3. Check temple timing & main shrine pooja timings as it determines how crowded it will be.
   4. Popular local joint for breakfast lunch –

2. Palace

   1. Palace is adjacent to the temple. Not as popular but we enjoyed it. The architecture is very different from what we have seen in historical buildings in other parts of India.
   2. Check timings

3. Park

   1. Beautiful park with a beautiful meuseum building at center. The meuseum from the inside is not very impressive. Small zoo in the premises as well. It is more of a local spot.
   2. The roads around have many main Kerala insititutes housed in old building making it nice locality to just walk around.

4. Kovalam

   1. Some tourists prefer to stay in Kovalam to enjoy beach. We opted to stay in Trivendrum to experience their normal life. After visiting Kovalam, we did not regret our decision.
   2. We went by auto. Charged ₹200. Nice beach walks. Good Sunset. Not too crowded for an Indian beach.
   3. Lots of foreigner tourist who were also staying in the 100s of resorts along the beach. Lots of eateries. Typical touristy vibes. Somehow we did not enjoy the food & vibes here.

5. Food

   1. Amma’s Kitchen for traditional kerala sadhya experience
   2. Delicious shawarma’s available easily. Tender Coconut milk shake. Super yum.
   3. Villa Maya if you are rich

6. Accommodation in Thiruvananthapuram

   1. We stayed in homestays & airbnbs. One was disappointing, the other one was great. Things did not expensive here and 2-3000 budget can get you good rooms.

7. Local Transport in Thiruvananthapuram

   1. Ola, Uber are easily available here.
   2. Even without apps, taxi and auto are friendly and do not overcharge.

Munroe Islands (1-3 days)

1. Reaching Munroe Island

   1. We rented a scooter from Thiruvanantapuram for 5-6 days at 1500 per day. Roads in Kerala are beautiful & traffic is not so bad. We went to Munroe island and varakala and roamed everywhere in between on 2 wheels and enjoyed it a lot.
   2. It is a beautiful, quaint backwater village. The backwaters are super clean & there are no houseboats
   3. We roamed around on traditional boats, kayaks, bicycle, scooter.

2. Accommodation & Food in Munroe Island

   1. Decent homestay with 2 rooms. The area around is huge. Food is home cooked and amazing. Run by a family, and the host is very very helpful.
   2. Had home made coconut oil here. Fresh todi. Traditional fish.

Varakala (1-3 days)

1. Reaching Varakala

   1. Took the same scooter to Varakala. The roads are beautiful. Traffic not so stressful. Which makes it a good deal.

2. Accommodation & Food in Varakala

   1. A decent airbnb with multiple rooms. Beach was a 2 minute walk.
   2. The main Varakala cliff was about 20 minute walk along the beach.
   3. The cliff has lots of fancy eateries, cafe full of tourists. We tried multiple eateries here but somehow nothing was worth mentioning. One of those places where tourists are for granted and quality gets compromised, not on purpose. But it is just not the top priority.
   4. We tried traditional breakfast in the main town, and that was pretty good. We went there multiple times.

3. Things to do In Varakala

   1. Varakala is known for surfing. We saw people surfing on multiple beaches during both morning & evening.
   2. We went for scooter rides along the beach road exploring multiple beaches. It was very beautiful.

Kochi (1-2 days)

1. Reaching Kochi

   1. We took a train to Kochi. Trains are good in Kerala. Clean, On time, and not overcrowded.
   2. Taxi was a haggle from station to fort kochi despite ola, uber etc. Welcome to big city.

2. Accommodation & Food in Kochi

   1. Hundreds of decent options in fort Kochi. Go as per your budget, and google ratings. You won’t go wrong, unless it is just a bad day.
   2. Do note, these are all old buildings – 200-300 years old. Rooms can be slightly on the small, darker & less airy here. But we are not complaining.
   3. The food in fort kochi was mind blowing. Unlike Varakala, wherever we stopped, whatever we ate, what lipsmacking delicious.
   4. Early morning street vendor breakfast to neapotalian pizza cafes

3. Things to do In Kochi

   1. We spent lazy days here exploring fort kochi on foot and scooter. The Chinese fishing nets, jew town, Churches and so on.
   2. We rented a scooter for our next leg to Munnar, and rode in and around fort to wherever we liked. We enjoyed it.

Munnar

1. Reaching Munnar

   1. We left Kochi on a scooter and reached Munnar in around 3-4 hours. We rode slow, took multiple stops & pictures.

2. Accommodation & Food in Munnar

   1. Munnar is again, very touristy and you get all kinds of hotel options based on your preference. We believe it is difficult to go wrong if you do proper research. We stayed in an airbnb which was a bit far from Munnar. It was very quiet, the room was nice and had very good views. For 2000 per night.
   2. Somehow, we could not find great food options here. Coming from Kochi we had very high expectations. But the restaurants & eateries, whatever we could find, were made for tourists and tailored for their pallettes. They missed Kerala real taste.

3. Things to do In Munnar

   1. Scooter is a a boon here. The roads are narrow here, and due to hoards of tourist vehicles, main roads are slow or jammed. Two wheelers are unstoppable though.
   2. We went about in every direction we could. Top station, tea garden, dams, sunset points, sunrise points. We did it all.
   3. But what we enjoyed the most here was riding on roads with surreal scenery & landscapes in the background. It was magical.

Wishlist

This was an unplanned 15 day, slow paced trip in Kerala. We left few places for our next trip. Here is our research & plan for places we would like to visit.

Thekkady

1. Reaching Thekkady

   1. We

2. Accommodation & Food in Thekkady

   1. M

3. Things to do In Thekkady

   1. Sc

Alleppey / Kumarakom

1. Reaching Alleppey / Kumarakom

   1. We

2. Accommodation & Food in Alleppey / Kumarakom

   1. M

3. Things to do In Alleppey / Kumarakom

   1. Sc

Wayanad

1. Reaching Wayanad

   1. We

2. Accommodation & Food in WayanadM

3. Things to do In Wayanad

   1. Sc

1. Objective – In Dec 23, We were looking for a quick 2-3 day getaway that was not mountains, and Mandawa had been on our list for quite sometime. With a super short notice of 1 day, my husband asked me to pack bags and we left for Mandava early morning.
2. Itenrary – 6 hours comfortable drive. We stayed for a total of 2 nights in Mandawa & 1 night in Nawalgarh.

Total Budget & Expenses

1. Hotels & Accommodation – Radhika Haveli – 2000 per night. Royal Haveli Resort Nawalgarh – 2500 per night.
2. Fuel & Toll – Around 3000
3. Food – approx 4000 – No Dal Bhati Churma or Gatte ki Sabzi in this part of
4. Entry Tickets – Most of Havelis have their own person who charges 100 per person. Some offer a tour in this, some dont.
5. Shopping – Could not find anything here.
6. Total –

Reaching Mandawa

The route, Karnal to Mandawa, is nice & had less traffic. The roads & landscape were new for me, as I was travelling in this part for the first time in my life. Our route passed through ——- city name, where we saw huge havelis. Later we found out that all of those little towns were birth places of India’s biggest business families like ——, ——, —–. It was truly fascinating for both of us to see how families and generations went from small towns to being India’s & global business powerhouses.

Haveli Hotel Accommodation in Mandawa

1. We stayed at Radhika Haveli for 2 nights in Mandawa and Grand Haveli Resort in Nawalgarh. It is an old Haveli, not very nicely maintained, but not too bad either. We liked it because of its old world charms and not becuase of its amenities. The staff was good to us. Mandawa, though a very small village / town, has been a preferred shooting location for multiple Bollywood movies and each Haveli has seen their share of celebs staying in the rooms, and share their stories with a lot of excitement.

Best Time to Visit Mandawa

1. Mandawa sees 90% of its tourism from foreigners. During the end of Decemmber though, close to Christmas, the foreign tourists were very, and the town had very surprisingly low tourist activity.
2. The hotel prices & tourist crowds were low. The weather was perfect.

Haveling Hopping : Things To Do In Mandawa

1. We reached there at lunch hour, and were hungry. We asked for recommendations, and out hotel staff directed us to Fort restaurant Lal Maas. This was quite good. The fort had an interesting deal where if you eat at fort’s restuarant, the tour is free, else it costs 250 per person. Of course we went for a hearty meal followed by a tour.
2. The fort was nothing extraordinary, but we enjoyed our time there. The fort has a decent hotel as well, and is a good option. The fort is also a popular destination wedding spot, a high end one though.
3. After lunch & fort tour, we walked around the streets of Mandawa, in awe of its murals & walls, deservedly known as the open meusuem of India. Each Haveli has a different story. We were curious to hear them, so we walked to every Haveli we could, and spoke to whoever was available in the Haveli.
4. Dinner at local homely restaurant. The food was good. But not something we could remember after 6 months.
5. The Havelis we checked out were 1,2,3,4,…… We can’t say if you should visit any particular one, or leave any other one. Each one is quite beautiful and unique in its own right, even the ones that have no names, and no mentions on the web. If I were asked, I would say just go there and walk and talk.

Day 2: Havelis Around Mandawa : —— Town

1. Next day we went to explore nearby villages, as these Havelis are spread all over the region of ———. These Havelis had a signature of their own. The color changed from yellow to green. the art styles changed too. Once again, we drove & walked to as many Havelis from as many narrow streets as we could. We ate at a local dhaba enroute.

Day 3: Havelis of Nawalgarh

1. Next day, we went out to Nawalgarh. This is a slightly bigger town than Mandawa [which essentially feels like a big village].
2. Google gave really bad directions, getting us stuck in super corwded market with roads wide enough for just 1 car. Nevertheless, big hearted locals helped my scaredy cat husband. We were able to park our car in a good spot. We started walking, exploring.
3. The Havelis here are newer. The art here incorporates British era much more than Mandawa [which mainly had Indian stories & elements]. As I said, each Haveli has different story.
4. This town had proper markets, and their own local food and delicacies. Their ghevar, that thing that we ate at night, mirchi vada and so on.
5. When it started to get dark, we had our options open ended. We could go back to Mandawa, find something in Nawalgarh or headback to our home. We were lucky enough to find a really nice hotel at good price [again, becuase the toursits were low during these weeks].
6. Next day we had a hearty breakfast in the beautiful Haveli, and left for our home quite content with 3 days well spent.