Monsoon in Kerala

The monsoon in Kerala is between the months of May and August. Generally monsoon time is considered as off season for tourism and during this time, the hotel charges will be at it's lowest. If you like rains, this is a good time to visit Kerala, just to enjoy the heavy romantic rains. There is nothing to beat a chivas regal on the rocks, lying on the wooden easy chair at the verandah of my old house, listening to the sound of the rain and watching the dancing of the trees around me acording to the monsoon winds. It is really romantic !

The bubble cafe !

The bubble cafe at the Taj Gateway hotel at Marine drive kochi serves delicious Indian food at reasonable prices (dont think that it is that cheap... ). Give it a try !

St.Antony's Church, Vaduthala, Kochi

Kerala has a large number of churches which belong to almost all denominations of christians. The curch in the picture is St.Antony's church, vaduthala, kochi where we went for the Sunday mass yesterday. This is a very old church, which was renovated recently and looks beautiful with the restored glory.

@ Cherai beach

Cherai beach is just 45 minutes drive from the Kochi, international airport and from the Kochi city. A very clean beach to swim and relax. Like every beach, it has a main area which is crowded most of the time and as we walk away from the central portion of the beach, you get very serene un-cluttered areas of the beach. From November till April, May, is the season and you can watch spectacular sunsets here. If you are lucky enough, you can spot dolphins here. There are a few resorts adjacent to the beach and of these, I like the Cherai beach resorts, which has independent huts, ayurvedic massage and a restaurant, where you can relax and eat. I love this beach.

Men @ Work

Light house at Andhakaranazhi beach

Life without coconuts and coconut trees

Once upon a time, the main revenue of Keralites was from coconut, paddy and rubber cultivation. Here is a healthy coconut tree, which is a rare sight these days in Kerala, due to 'kattu veezhcha' a disease, which reduced the yield of most of the coconut trees in Kerala. The reduction in yield, high labour cost and non availability of labour force have made coconut cultivation no more profitable. However, Keralite (Malayalee) needs coconuts, because of several resons. Coconut is used in most of the Kerala dishes. Toddy, the main liquor of Kerala is from the coconut tree. The leaves and the trunk of the coconut trees were used for constricting huts, furniture. The coconut oil is widely used for cooking and protecting the skin. I am unable to visualize a life of Malayalee without coconuts and coconut trees.

A priceless evening at Andhakaranazhi beach

A priceless evening !

Menu infront of a toddy parlour

Toddy

Pearl spot

Crab

Prawns

Chicken

Duck

Pork

Rabbit ..... Biriyani....

Kallu - the local liquor from coconut trees

This board indicates the presence of a Toddy parlour. If you are lucky, you will get excellent spicy sea food also there along with toddy. Yummy!

Spoons Restaurant at Trichur

If you are at Trichur the mid range hotels I can recommend is Spoons at East Fort. I tried Kerala food, and it was nice. They also serve Chinese, which is not that great. It is a neat place to sit and have some food peacefully (there are not many places like these in Trichur). No bar service :-). Amble parking space is another attraction.

Visit to Andhakaranazhi beach

Andhakaranazhi beach is a virgin beach located between Cochin and Alleppey. If you are traveling from Ernakulam alias Kochi alias Cochin, it takes around 1 hour's drive to reach this place. After Thuravoor junction you have to take a right turn from the NH47 and travel 4 km further to reach this beach. This is a very rustic, unpolluted beach. The local population is mostly fishermen. The time spent there was quite relaxing. If you can venture into the local toddy shops, you can get excellent toddy (local alcoholic drink from coconut trees) and sea food. They serve two types of toddy, the original one from the coconut trees with moderate kick and the artificial ones with a heavy doze of alcohol, which most of the locals prefer after a day's hard work. So You have to specifically ask for the original toddy !. Apart from this one has the options of swimming in the sea, sun bath, ayurvedic massage and photography.

Kerala and the snake boat races

Kerala is well known for it's snake boat (also known as Chundan vallam in Malayalam, the local language)races. August-Sep-Oct is the season for these races and this is the time of Onam festival, which is again celebrated by all Keralites.