7th October 2011, 17:54
| #16 | ||
| BHPian Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Bangalore
Posts: 243
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| Re: Trip to Kodai, Thekkady, Munnar and Alleppy Quote:
[quote=abhinav.s;2533449]Very nice pics and narration Indian Ranger. Keep them coming. OT: Have to admire your younger daughter. She is very cute.  How old is she and does she handle traveling such long distances easily?Thanks Abhinav. My little one is 2.5 year old and we were surprised by the way she behaved in the entire trip except that he food timings are different. She has the habit of sleeping in the car for long times hence does not trouble much. But my ending of the trip at Alleppy was not good since she fell sick badly. Shall share the experience it in the coming posts. Quote:
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7th October 2011, 19:41
| #17 | ||
| Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Bangalore
Posts: 2,774
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| Re: Trip to Kodai, Thekkady, Munnar and Alleppy Quote:
 Quote:
 to your daughter for being able to handle long distance travel. Am checking as i became a father recently in August and hence gathering all the info i can. | ||
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9th October 2011, 22:15
| #18 |
| BHPian Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Bangalore
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| After refreshing and resting for some time, we started for the Kathakali show and reached the place by 7 pm. This place is a privately managed one. This is the first time that we were watching a live performance of Kathakali and we were treated to some fantastic performance. They first started by explaining about Kathakali, how, where, when it originated, how much time does it take to master the art, how many hours does the person has to sit for the make up etc. More can be from the following link Kathakali - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The story for the day was that, the women is a demon and wants to be a wife of king if not for life but for at least a day. She comes in the form of a Deva Kanya and tries to attract the king who identifies the demon and rejects her. Fantastic performance by the artists i must say and great efforts to showcase the art. The next pictures are of the same:                   In the end they would give a chance for every one to take snaps with the performers and create some wonderful memories. These are mine.   We came back to the room, ordered food in the room itself and retired for the day. We had to go for the boat ride in the early morning. We were informed by the hotel staff to be at the sanctuary gate by 6 am so that we could get the boat ride tickets. Most of the days, the crowds are large and if we miss the early morning one, the next one is only after 9 am which does not work for us. We were at the entrance by 6 am, purchased the entry tickets for us and the car. Right at 7 am the gate was opened and there was mad rush to reach the parking and get into the ticket counter for the ride. We parked the car and walked to the ticket counter. The forest authorities take down the details of each of the individuals and the accompanying kids inorder to ensure they have all the information in case of any mishap. This was put in place only after the accident last year i guess. I opted for Rs. 150/ head ticket and purchased the ticket for camera too. Each of these tickets have the seat numbers. The boat we were to aboard was good and wide but we had got the seats in the middle.  . Luckily, the last row of the boat was vacant and before anyone could get there, we moved in along with the kids. Finally the boat started at 7:45 am. The ride was fantastic and we saw herds of bisons, deers, wild boars, birds and a wild elephant with a calf from very far. The view of the back waters from the office area:  The last boat is ours  Pictures taken from the boat         |
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9th October 2011, 22:30
| #19 |
| BHPian Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Bangalore
Posts: 243
Thanked: 29 Times
| More pictures of the ride                               |
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9th October 2011, 23:08
| #20 |
| BHPian Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Bangalore
Posts: 243
Thanked: 29 Times
| Kids started feeling hungry during the boat ride and by the time we were back at the room it was 10 am. Directly walked into the restaurant, had break fast, too batch and checked out of the hotel by 12:30 pm. Made the payment and moved towards the next event, Elephant Ride. This is at the same place which hosted the Kathakali show. They with the permission from the government, are maintaining about 7-8 Elephants and ride for each person costs Rs. 300/-(Kids free till 6 years i guess hence were not charged). Some snaps at the Hotel   The Front view of the Hotel we stayed at  The Elephants   The Path  The Pose    Beautiful Flowers   Bathing Elephants The water did look dirty and i guess at least couple of elephants got washed before the change of water. But the ma hoot was literally sleeping on the elephant and ensuring that every part was washed. Great bonding really.   Another elephant was drinking water    We had couple of photos with the Elephant and the one where we received the blessing is attached here.  It was time to leave for Munnar now. It is about 100 kms and the route is very scenic. We purchased some banana chips and water and started towards Munnar. The route is very scenic with most of the distance covered on both sides by the spice gardens. Many of them have the outlets selling the spices and the tour operators does have a stop as a part of the package. I must say that the moment the climb starts the road is like snake with lots of twists and turns and at times is so narrow. Wonderful journey it is to pass between the tea estates and mountains. It took 4 hours by the time we reached Munnar from Thekkady. The first pictures of the tea estates.    It started raining now and being my first trip to such places did not wanted to take any kind of risk of venturing into unknown place in the late evenings. Hence took couple of snaps from distance of Anaiyirankal Dam and skipped it for the visit.   Some more of the tea estates     Photos of Power house water falls(Hope i am correct)     The views are fantastic and mesmerizing. We wanted to move on and reach the town as early as possible since we were hungry and lunch was couple of bread and butter slices which we carried along with some juices and biscuits. |
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10th October 2011, 23:14
| #21 |
| BHPian Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Bangalore
Posts: 243
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| Some more pics en route to Munnar. The feeling of driving through such winding roads and tea estates is the experience worth under going. Winding roads   Drive through the Tea Estates       Most of the journey from the water falls was in rain and foggy conditions. All the tiredness of the drive was forgotten traveling through these wonderful locations and weather. We could not cover couple of locations but do not regret since traveling with kids does always warrant some unscheduled stops, delays and misses. We reach Munnar and our Hotel at 5:30 pm. Checked in and rested for the day. Did not feel like venturing out in the night as it was cool and rainy. We were staying at Hotel Grand Plaza and here is the link Grand Plaza Munnar View from the Hotel  Next day 5 - Wednesday Due to the shortage of time, we planned to cover the many places in 1 route as much as possible by afternoon and then cover other routes depending on the time. We had heavy breakfast and started for the day by 9 am. We took suggestions from hotel staff and decided to cover the following places in the first half: 1) Mattupatty Dam 2) Photo Point 3) Echo Point 4) Kundala lake 5) Top Station if we could The winding roads with Eucalyptus trees on both sides make the drive pleasurable.  Reached Mattuppatty Dam boating point, purchased the tickets for speed boat ride. Each of the passenger has to wear the life jacket by rule and there are helpers around to make you wear the same. We waited for some time till the boat arrived and took some snaps with the help of the staff there. The front seat has the dummy steering wheel which gives quite an entertainment to the kids who feel that they are the ones driving the boat. The person who controls the steer is very efficient and is helpful in ensuring most of the distances and creeks are covered. Does take the snaps as well right in the middle of the waters. Wonderful.   Little one driving the speed boat, her smile and happiness, priceless.        Tussle to control the ship )  Nicely decorated lorry to carry the logs downhill.  What can I say about my trusted friend Look at the logs waiting to be transported. We reached Echo point now which was quite crowded. There were quite no of students on tour and there was rush to take the snaps. We took just took couple of snaps, purchased some snacks and moved on to the next point. [ATTACH]825150[/  ATTACH]      |
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11th October 2011, 22:23
| #22 |
| BHPian Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Bangalore
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| We then moved to Kundala Dam. Spent some time taking lot of pictures. Did not venture out for horse or boat ride since we were done with them. There were photographers willing to take your snaps and then instantly print it and give for a meager Rs 30/- and they really do a good job. We too availed their serice and were not disappointed. The gates of the dam were slightly opened.      we then left the place and drove towards Top stations for some distance and stopped to recalculate the time we had and places yet to be covered. We decided to visit Eravikulam National Park in 2nd half hence returned back to the town for lunch. Some the pictures en route:   Then we saw this wonderful sight of National flag hoisted in the picturesque location.  Clouds covering the mountains      We decided to have lunch at our hotel itself since we need to pick somethings from the room. Always have problems with the little one since she falls asleep during the lunch hour and then we need to feed her later. We loose time while doing this but no options we have and today was not exception. We left to see the national park by 2:30 pm and reached there by 3:30 pm. There was large crowd waiting for the tickets. Upon inquiry, we were informed that the entry to the park is only through the park buses and private vehicles are not allowed. We were also informed that the shuttle runs every 20 minutes for dropping and picking next batch of visitors. We were told before hand itself that there were no sighting of the Nilgiri Thar that day hence not to blame. Hearing this many of the visitors backed off, but we decided to try our luck. All this happened in front of the ticket counter hence we did not get time to carry our sweaters or umbrella for cover. Really regretted for this mistake when we reached on top. The road to the drop point was very narrow and goes in between the tea estates. There are 3-4 water falls, not very big though, we can see and cross at least 2 before reaching the dropping point. It started to rain and the mountain got slowly covered by the clouds. Slowly the fog started covering the entire tea estates and by the time we reached top, there was hardly any visibility. Many of this pictures are taken while traveling hence are not clear. :(        Look at the fog when we reached on top  After the bus drops, there is climb which has to be done to reach the top. There are roads laid out properly hence this can be easily done. We slowly started walking towards the tap when a fellow visitor informed that there are 4 goats which can be seen but need to rush. Wish we could do that but carrying little one and rushing was not in mind. We reached till half distance when it started raining. Like i said earlier, we were not carrying any kind of protection like jackets, umbrella in hand hence decided to return back before getting fully wet. We could not afford to get the kids health get effected since we still had more days of trip to be covered. Forgot to mention, the park gates are closed at 5 'o' clock and they do not allow any one inside. The folks inside can comeback little leisurely till the light exists. Pictures now:          |
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11th October 2011, 22:41
| #23 |
| BHPian Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Bangalore
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| Some more pictures     We saw the rainbow and the sight was really beautiful. Unfortunately i could not capture the entire thing since these pictures were taken from the moving bus.           We reached the parking and straight drove back to the hotel. In between stopped at the Kannan Devan outlet and purchased few packets of Tea. Pictures of the hotel restaurant and us.   They had many foreigners coming for having food. Dinner was at the hotel itself which was buffet costing about Rs. 250/- per head and kids were not charged. Tomorrow we travel to Alleppy via Cochin and upon inquiry we were told that it takes at least 4-5 hours to reach hence planned to leave by 9:30 am after completing breakfast. |
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14th October 2011, 23:41
| #24 |
| BHPian Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Bangalore
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| Day 6 - Thursday - We leave for Alleppy today Total Distance between Munnar and Alleppy is 173 kms and route taken is Munnar, Kerala to Alleppy Coir Mart - Google Maps The hotel manager was from Alleppy and upon enquiry he informed that it would take atleast 4 - 4.5 hours to reach Alleppy and I added another 1 hour to it since there will be some stops. Hence decided to leave by 9:30 am so that we reach for lunch. Accordingly had informed my home stay for preparing lunch. We were staying at Dazzle Dew Homestay | Mahindra Homestays After having some heavy breakfast we started on time. The road is quite narrow till the deviation where if we take right, we go to Kochi and left leads to the falls. Overtaking is literally not possible here and we are are the mercy of the bigger vehicle for getting the sign. We saw numerous streams, falls on the way and roads are really winding. All the way we NH49 till Kochi Bypass and then NH47 till Alleppy. The weather varied quite a bit from pleasant to hot to rainy and settled to sultry by the time we reached Alleppy. It was 2:15 pm by then and we were really hungry. Since the lunch was already ordered, we were served hot and delicious food and we thoroughly enjoyed. Pictures now. Acres and Acres of lush Green Tea Estates   Winding and Narrow Roads  Looks like a Hydro power generations unit Or a unit which needed water. Photo taken on the move.  Area Around Tata Tea Estates Manager Bunglow   House built on a rock  Waterfalls - This was quite big and the force was good.         My ride resting    Another waterfall       Home Stay where we stayed at Alleppy  After having lunch, we checked with Mr. Tony who runs the home stay about the boat ride and he immediately arranged for a boat only for us.By 4 we left the home stay, reached the waters and left for the ride. We were charged Rs.600 for 2 hours(Rs.300/head) and infact the boat ride lasted for closed to 3.5 hours. We have seen many house boats vacant with out customers mainly due to the off season i guess. The reason for me not taking the housing boat is already explained in the thread which i put up for seeking information. I will let the pictures speak now.    The resort on the other end of the entrance to the lake  Anchored Boat Houses waiting for the customers  |
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14th October 2011, 23:55
| #25 |
| BHPian Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Bangalore
Posts: 243
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| More images of the back waters Starting point of the Nehru Boat Race                              Last edited by Indian Ranger : 14th October 2011 at 23:57. |
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15th October 2011, 00:22
| #26 |
| BHPian Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Bangalore
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| Some more pictures of the waters. Enjoy          The land on both sides become less and water body increases from this place.   The opening to the Vembanad lake where all the house boats go for the ride. I was told that none of the boat cross this lake from one side to another since the winds are high and waves too thus can topple the house boats. The home stay owner also informed us that these house boats are built to carry more people than they currently do and in order to balance the weight, bags filled with ricks and sand are place in the hull. This is the primary reason i guess. It sounded quite logical to me and I got convinced. In between the boat guys stopped at a place to have some tender coconut and some chips. opening to the lake    Police boat  Lives by the water   Post office  All kinds of boats were visible    The hotel by the water      The beautiful sunset     |
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16th October 2011, 12:28
| #27 |
| BHPian Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Andromeda
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16th October 2011, 13:53
| #28 |
| Senior - BHPian  | Re: Trip to Kodai, Thekkady, Munnar and Alleppy Great pics, Indian Ranger! Munnar is captivating, as always! No matter how many times I see pics of Munnar, I yearn for more!!!  I was planning to go to Alleppy and Cochin during our visit to Kerala, but couldn't find enough time to plan a visit! Your pics have made me eager to plan a visit down south! Awaiting the rest of the story! |
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17th October 2011, 12:58
| #29 | ||
| BHPian Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Bangalore
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| Quote:
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20th October 2011, 01:10
| #30 |
| BHPian  Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Bangalore
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