Our Travelogue

We will add a short travelogue of couple of adventurous trips which we had done together. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Maldives (This was heaven indeed) /* Will be updated shortly. Please go my flickr link to view and comment on my pics. Thanks! */ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Nelliampathy trip: ( Nelliampathy, a relatively unknown hill station near Palakkad/Kerala ) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ .... It all began as very well planned trip after our marriage-day. There was a series of misses and more misses of a variety of transport options and finally we reached Cochin(Kerala). From Cochin airport it was an 2 hour journey to Thrissur/Trichur. It was around 7:30PM we reached Trichur and we called up Deepak who had already reached there. As per his directions we knew that we had to catch the bus to 'Nenmaara' which was another 2 hours. Sensing that our tummies are giving some distress signals but with the bus parking, I went and fetched some awesome kerala-porotta and chicken curry from a nearby hotel. Our hunger perhaps increased the taste of the dishes, we had a sumptous dinner. Around 8:30 the bus to Nenmaara started off and it was via a place called Vadakkanjeri. We both were very tired and wanted to take a nap. But what followed after Vadakkanjeri was bad and more bad roads!. It was literally a roller-coaster ride. Somehow we reached Nenmaara and we figured that we would need to stay put since there is no more transport options further. We also were longing for some rest for the day was pretty hectic. .... The next day, we caught up the first jeep of the day and went up to Nelliampathy. After some 10-15 kms of scenic drive through the roads surrounded by beautiful paddy fields, the climb started and it was a truly intoxicating experience as each curve made the temparature dip and provided ample forest scenaries. We went to the KSTDC resort where Deepak was staying with his better-half. We had a sumptous breakfast at the KSTDC resort there of lovely appams and stew and after that we went for a short walk trip around the place. There was no lovely gardens or fancy stuff there. But pure and virgin forest both sides of the road. Breathing fresh and cold air and having the place just for us truly is an experience. .... After the walk, we went and hired a 4X4 jeep to show us around the various viewpoints. We haggled and the price was decided around 800. That was our first 4X4 experience and we were just awed and the climbing and descending prowess of the machine. The machine tamed some real rough roads and steep inclines and took us to some beautiful valleys and other spots ( unfortunately I forgot the names ). The views were scintillating with scenaries and green all around and the experience was heavenly with heavy winds and chilly temparatures. Each spot had its own flavour and we had an amazing day overall. Another add-on was that it wasnt a touristy place like Munnar. We had the visiting spots entirely for us. Please check the photos. The photos themselves do not justify the real beauty of the place, but just a representation for your visual senses. After the himalayas this was one of the places that just cant be just told in photographs, it has to be experienced. ..... We have planned to take our cedia there soon. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------