Voyage!!

TRAVERSING - something that I loved. Yeah, you read it right, loved, cause travelling is now a dream come true because of the present scenario of COVID -19.

I haven't travelled to many places but rather a few which I love and admire.

KOTTAYAM (Kerala)

My land of origin, although I go there occasionally it's still my most treasured place of visit.

The times I spent there is unforgettable. Moving through the rubber trees with my siblings, spending quality time with grandparents were all amazing moments. 

 Oh, how I miss those foggy daylights, an inexpressible vibe.

Recently when I visited Kottayam, we got to stay at a resort ( COVID - Quarantine measures) for almost a week. A resort beside a beautiful lake, the morning view was radiant during those days. I loved the stay there.

Watching the boats go by every day was a remarkable sight to watch.

How I miss those glorious days!!

ALAPPUZHA (Kerala)

I have an indefinable bond with this place, not sure why but the elegance of the place lied in its hinterlands.

Alappuzha - a city on the Laccadive sea, owning a huge network of water bodies. You would sight a bunch of ducks here for sure. 

I visited my cousins in Alappuzha, they received us with a pleasant welcome, we were so delighted to go there, as that was the first time we visited Alappuzha, but after that visit, we visited the place again, maybe twice.

Talking about the cuisine, Ugh! luscious and incredible.

We also visited the beach there which was a popular tourist attraction in Kerala.

A beach of over 150 years old extending to the sea. A place to connect with your soul and replenish your mind.

A beautiful place, hope I can visit that place soon after all this COVID chaos. I cherish every minute I spent there.

PONDICHERRY (Tamil Nadu)

Although our visit to Pondicherry was short, we visited some exotic places.

Pondicherry - a common name in our history textbooks, a French colonial settlement, a union territory. This beautiful land still preserves its French legacy.

We visited the French colony and the sunrise beach. Early morning 7 a.m., a perfect time to go to the beach and see the rising sun, a day starting with ecstasy.

The beach had not many people early in the morning other than a few people doing their daily workout. The beauty of the rising sun was stunning. I saw many fishermen gathering their catch of fish for the day early in the morn. 

COORG (Karnataka)

Mostly when you hear about Coorg the first thing that springs in your mind is coffee.

Yeah, I did see a lot of coffee plantations and also bought some to carry home.

I visited Coorg along with my schoolmates and best friends as a part of our yearly excursion, for which I did take a lot of time to convince my parents. Anyways, the bus journey was kind of fun but not that great due to the number of hairpin curves we had to pass over, indeed an atrociousness.

It was a 3-day trip covering up to 4 places, the stay was great especially when you have buddies with the same craziness as you. I do remember my mates Hrudya, Anceline and a few others were my roommates.

We visited 2 places - Belur and Halebeedu and a few other places but not exactly remember the names. 

 This was one of the places I visited.

Talking about Coorg, this place is not only known for its coffee but also the wine, there are a lot many varieties of wine, ranging from the most common grape wine to different fruit varieties.

I stuck grape wine, it did taste acrid but was impressive.

And that was the edge of the trip, time flies!

OOTY 

This place always reminds me of the 90's Malayalam movie Kilukam. Our last school excursion, indeed the last time out with our entire classmates sounds unhappy but was nice.

This time I had my best friends come along - Nandana & Hrudya.

A 3-day trip; on the first day we visited a tea & chocolate factory - benchmark.

There, I learnt that there exist 200 varieties of tea, maybe more, Seriously!

We did purchase tea powder and chocolates from there.

Why go to Ooty if you are not buying varkeys and chocolates? ;) Just kidding!!

Then we went to the hill station - Doddabetta, one of the highest mountains among the Niligiri mountains at 2637m. A popular tourist attraction, it is misty up there among the clouds and indeed extremely cold - don't forget to carry your hoods & jackets!!

The next day, we went to Ooty lake where the main pastime was boating and we also went to a place where there was horse riding and a few elephants, I don't seem to recall much. The stay was comfortable but not worth it.

Ooty lake gave me, to be honest, the 90's movie (which I mentioned earlier) vibes. After that, we had a campfire night which was remarkably the only best part of this entire 3-day trip.

The next day and the last day of our expedition, we visited an amusement park in Coimbatore.

To be frank, the trip was indeed not that remarkable.

Anyways the 3-day trip ended soon but the memories stay forever!!

Miss those moments!!

©Elaine_aby :)