Kozhikode

20/06/2014: Even though I was going to attend the Village Extension Officer, PSC exam, I was trilled to see the beauty of Kozhikode district. I set my journey alone in KSRTC Super Deluxe bus from Tvm Central depot at 6.30pm. As I have booked my ticket to Kannur, I have informed the conductor to call me when it reaches Kozhikode. It was raining outside.

When I woke up I was above the Faroke bridge from where the sight was so beautiful even at night. At about 3.45am I reached Kozhikode stand. After having tea I took an auto to find some Hotel nearby. The auto driver was very friendly like all the auto drivers of Kozhikode. He told that all the hotels were full due to the exam but still managed to get me a double room in a tourist home. I had a good night sleep. When I woke up it was nearly 9.00am. After taking a bath, I got ready to go to the exam, took my backpack also.

Exam was at Kunduparambu, the outskirts of the city. I got two new friends from the bus, one of whom was from Trivandrum and other one was his friend from Kozhikode. The guy from Tvm as Firoz and the other was Jithesh. Firoz was also going for the exam and Jithesh came to show him the way to school.

After having food from a near by hotel (food was really tasty) we went for the exam which began at 2.00pm till 3.15pm. Then we catch the bus to the famous Kozhikode beach. The beach was very beautiful. We spend about 2-3 hours in the beach, took many pictures.

Firoz and Jithesh

The walking area to the side of the beach

Suddenly it rained. We took shelter in a near by coffee stall. After some 20 minutes rain stopped.

Beach road in rain

The sight of the rough sea in the cloudy atmosphere was truly amazing. The wind was very chilly.

Aakashavani, Kozhikode

Kozhikode Corporation Office

At about 6.30pm we took an auto and went to city as Firoz want to purchase some clothes. Jithesh took us to Focus mall. There are many malls in Kozhikode. Focus mall was huge with many shops and multiplex within. Firoz bought some clothes for him and his family. I bought a kids bag to my son.

After some two hours of shopping we went to the bus stand as it was time for Firoz to leave. He got a Superfast bus to Trivandrum. The bus left and after saying goodbye to Jithesh I went to the room. I was so tired that I slept soon.

I woke up early in the morning vacated the room and went to bus stand to catch the bus to Kodencherry a small village near Thusharagiri waterfalls in the hill ranges of western ghats to the east of Kozhikode. From Kodencherry I had breakfast (Puttu and Kadala) and hired a taxi with 5 more persons who was there in the bus in which I came. 

There are multiple waterfalls of which three are nearby. The sound of the waterfall can be heard as a loud roar. A local person (Hamsa chettan) who was with us told that it is dangerous to go near the falls due to heavy down drop and slippery rocks. I was so sad that I was not able to see all the waterfalls, some are deep inside the forest. The view of the waterfall was mind refreshing.

By noon I came back to Kodencherry and had dinner from a small hotel. The food was so tasty, the fried fish and Kallumekaya was yummy. When enquired about the return bus to Kozhikode with the shop keeper, I was told to wait for nearly 2 hours as the next bus was only at 3pm. Even though it was boring to wait for 2 hours in a tea shop, I found it quite interesting. The bus came and I set the journey back to Kozhikode. i reached Kozhikode at 05.15pm, alighted at Manachira square. Mananchira is a park in the centre of the city. It has a literary park name 'Ansari park', with sculptures of Malayalam poets and writers.

There is a man made lake in the centre of the park called Mananchira after which the park was named. The lake got the name from the ruler Manadevan samoothiri.

After spending sometime in Mananchira square, I went to the 'Mittayi Therivu', a famous street in Kozhikode, also called Palayam market. There were a wide variety of Halwas (Kozhikode halwa is world famous). I bought Pista, Orange, Tender coconut and Black halwa.

After roaming for some more time I went to the bus stand after having dinner. My bus arrived at 7.30pm and I set my journey back.

Hoganakkal

01-02-2014: From Yercaud we came came back to Salem. After having lunch from a good hotel we took the bus to Dharmapuri where Hogenakkal falls is located. We reached Dharmapuri by 5 in the evening. After lodging we went out to see around. By 9 we returned back, had food which we purchased and went to bed as we have to wake up early to catch the bus to Hogenakkal.

02-02-2014: We woke up early in the morning, had tea from nearby tea stall. After refreshment we packed our baggage, had breakfast and set the journey to Hogenakkal.

The entire terrain changed after the check-post in Pennagaram (a village in Dharmapuri district- on the way to Hogenakkal). Both sides of the road was astonishing.

We reached Hogenakkal by 9.15am. First we roamed around, saw the river Cauvery flowing between rocks, many locals selling fried fish caught from the river etc. We searched to hire the circular vessels called Coracles (The oldest types of watercraft in the world). The rate seemed quite expensive. Rs 900/- for 6 persons (Rs 150/- each) but we were only 3. Then we found a couple who were in the same situation. We enquired whether they like to join us and they agreed. We talked to boat man and agreed to pay Rs 750/-. He agreed and we started our journey through the river.

It was an amazing experience traveling in a coracle boat through Cauvery. From the boatman we came to know that Hogenakkal means smoking rocks (In Kannada Hoge means smoke and Kal means rock). We saw many waterfalls on the way. We travelled for nearly an hour and reached a shore near to Karnataka border. The freshly served fried fish was very tasty an affordable, I had two pieces on our way back.

After reaching shore we went to the bridge to see the waterfall. It's a beautiful sight. One the way we saw many massaging centers.

After having lunch we caught the return bus to Dharmapuri and from there to Salem. Our train was at 7.00pm. I really had a good time there with my two friends.. Sunil chettan and Murali..

Yercaud

31-01-2014: After a long planning we (Sunil chettan, Murali and Me) managed to set a trip to Yercaud a hill station in Salem district in Tamilnadu. We board the train from Tvm Central railway station at 5.20pm. The journey was interesting. We got many details about Yercaud from a lady passenger near by who works in Govt. Press, Tvm. She was going to her native place in Erode district.

01-02-2014: By about 5 in the morning we reached Salem station. It was quite cold and we took a coffee. 

After refreshing we went to catch bus. A TNSTC bus was waiting in front of the station. We enquired the conductor about the bus service to Yercaud. He told that we can get the bus from the Central bus stand which is only 2kms from the railway station. We board the same bus and got down at Central stand. From there got the bus to Yercaud. The conductor told as to sit in the front seats to see the view. At 6am the bus started and we set our journey to Yercaud - The Jewel of South.

The journey was quite interesting. A typical crowded bus journey through a village with people sitting even on  the bonnet of the bus. There are 20 hairpin bends to Yercaud, all of them were deadly superb. By about 7.30am we reached Yercaud. We got down at the stop near to the lake. It was a chilly morning with freezing cold. The lake was a beaufitul sight in the mist.

After having breakfast we decided to go for sight seeing in an auto. Even thought the auto driver was not so pleasing he answered some of our questions. His name was Sasi. First he took us to Servaroyan temple which is situated in the Servaroyan hills, the highest point in Yercaud about 5000ft above sea level. The temple is dedicated to Lord Shervaroyan.


The view from the summit on all sides is magnificent. The Yercaud town and Nagalur is seen well from this hill.

We spend there for half and hour. From there we went to the Botanical garden. On the way we step down to another temple dedicated to Lord Ganesha. When we reached the Botanical garden it was found closed. We enquired the security and he told that the garden is closed on Saturday and Sunday. Then we went to view points. Lady's seat and Gents seat..

On the way to Lady's seat was the rose garden where we can see wide variety of Roses. Also there was small park for the children.

After spending some time in the garden we walked to the View point - Lady's seat. On the way we saw many structures.

The view from here was spectacular. 

By about 12.30 we reached the bus stop near to the lake where we got down in the morning. After paying the rent to the auto driver we waited for the bus. Soon the bus came and we started our journey back to Salem, from there to Hogenakkal..

The journey to Yercaud was a great experience, the only disappointment was that we were not able to see the Kiliyur water falls as there was no water in the river.

Guruvayoor

       25-10-2013: This trip was actually to fulfill a votive, My son's 'THULABHARAM'. This was a family trip, both the families of my wife and me came with us. There were about 12 members. We took the Guruvayoor intercity from Tvm Central at 05.00pm. The train was very crowded with officials and students till Kayamkulam as it was a Friday. The journey was quite comfortable.

We reached the station by 12.10am. It was raining heavily. We waited sometime at the station for the rain to stop. After the rain stopped we began to walk to the KSRTC bus stand, as we had a room arranged near to the stand by a KSRTC staff of Guruvayoor depot whom I know well. The hotel was at the Vadakkenada.

      After reaching the hotel we slept for sometime woke up very early, took a bath and set to Guruvayoor Temple to see Lord Unnikrishnan. It was not so crowded as expected, but still there was a queue. It only took 15 minutes to enter the temple. After praying I took the token for Thulabaram. and waited in the queue. My son was running inside the temple and my wife as running behind him. He seems to have so much fun.

       It took nearly 45 minutes for our turn. The Thulabharam was with Kadali Pazham. After that we went to Mammiyoor which is dedicated to Lord Shiva only walkable distance from Guruvayoor temple.

       Then we all went to the room and took rest. After breakfast we decided to visit the Punnathurkotta which is the camp of Elephants, now renamed as Anakkotta. It is only 3 kms from Guruvayoor temple. There were lot of buses going through the elephant camp.

       We took one of the bus and alighted at Kottapadi. The visiting hours are 8.00 AM to 6.00 PM. the entry fee is Rs 5 per adult. An extra Rs 25 is charged for to uses a camera inside the camp. I took 12 tickets, didn't pay any for the camera as I decided to take pictures with my mobile. there were nearly 60 elephants in the camp - both small and big ones.

      I paid the mahout Rs 100/- for carrying my son between the legs of the elephant. He told that it was not allowed but agreed to do so. I took my son three times - To and Fro. There were many mahouts including the one I paid, asking for the hair in elephant tail for some 200 rupees, but I didn't buy it.

     We also saw may elephants with Musth. They were tied with many chains. One of the elephant was throwing coconut leaves towards the visitors. He was really violent.

      After circling the camp we entered the Kovilakam, which was neatly maintained. There is a courtyard and a big pond was decorated in the shape of an 'Uruli' in the center of the courtyard. There are many fishes inside the pond. My son was trying to catch fish with his hands.

      After that we came back, had Annadanam from Mammiyoor temple and check out the rooms and went to KSRTC bus stand only walkable distance from the hotel for catching the bus to Thrissur. We reached Thrissur at about 4 in the evening. As out train was at 8pm we decided to go to Vadakkumnatha Kshetram and Paramekkavu. Vadakkumnatha Kshetram is in the centre of a huge ground called Thekkumkadu Maithanam. Many people used to come and spend their evenings there.

Vadakkumnatha Temple

        Inside Vadkkumnatha Kshetram is a great experience. As mobile or cameras were not allowed inside I was not able to take any pictures.

Paramekkavu

       After that we had a walk round the Thekkinkadu Maithanam to reach Paramekkavu dedicated to Goddess Parvathy. As I didn't bring any dhoties I waited outside the temple. From there we took two autos to railway station to catch our train.