My Pictorial Travelogue - Part 2

Hello Folks,
For those of who missed me, I was caught up in something important and had to attend to the same...so here's the rest of my Travelogue hope you enjoy the same as you did with my Nainital e-tour.......so here it goes...

Today I would like to take you on an e-tour to the south of India, to God's own Country...Kerala...and the place where I hail from too...And in Kerala I'm gonna take you on a chill tour to the stunning hills of Munnar & Thekkady.....

The first day we arrived at Coimbatore airport, post which we took a cab ride to Munnar, and believe you me, the whole journey was tremendously beautiful and very refreshing...
Also, it is one of our (me and my hubby) things, we love to travel via road, as the real beauty of any place, lies in its small towns, villages, local people, farmlands and harvests...cattle, the local houses, markets, the local culture and their flavors...

So after cruising towards Munnar and relishing the scenic beauty en route...we tried to capture some breathtaking views in our camera..but no camera can ever do justice in capturing the nature at its best and the most one can do is try and lock it in their memories and re-live it whenever one wants....
But for your e-tour, I've included certain pictures below of the scenic Munnar at its best and the in-numerous tea gardens....which definitely seem like God's bed, and may be that's why they call it God's own country, for the mountains and the green tea gardens, and the beautiful lakes.....such a convergence of amazing beauty symbolic of heaven descending on earth...and painting the earth into this majestic beauty....that we can relish forever...also included are some pictures of the lakes, shikara boats where we went sight seeing...one can also enjoy the elephant rides, boating etc...












Post Munnar we began our journey to Thekkady and here are some pictures which best describe the beauty of Kerala, en route to Thekkady...which will give you a feeling of being abroad, whereas our own country as beautiful and encompasses all elements that one can desire to see in nature, be it hill stations, lakes, mountains, safari's, sanctuaries, wildlife, etc...









Finally we arrived at Thekkady, and we camped here for 3 days, as there are lots of things one can do here, and visit....first was our hunt for a beautiful hotel, which by the way there are many and if you search hard, you will also get some economical ones, also beautiful...

In Thekkady, apart from the breathtaking scenery there are also spice gardens here, whereby the caretakers there take you on a tour and explain to you, how our Indian spices are grown......one can go for trekking in the forest, also take a tour of the famous Periyar Wild Life Sanctuary....then for some entertainment one can enjoy the local marshal arts of Kerala..known as Kalari....and the very famous and one of India's preserved traditional art form known as Kathakali...where the men enact various traditional and religious epic stories or mythological stories of Indian culture. And the distinct part of this story telling is, it involves only men, and if there are female characters involved, then the men portray the same by donning the female costumes and wearing home made make up...for the lovers of mime, this is one of the best place to learn, as one can observe how various facial expressions are enacted at its best....and are perfect to the T...

So without further ado, below are the pictures of Periyar Wild Life Sanctuary, for which one has to arrive at the gates by 4, 4-30 am....(Yes AM, you sleepy heads) only then you can hope to get the tickets for the 2 hour boat ride through the forest which otherwise you can take in the evening as well...while rest of the day one can take one hour ride of the forest...








Here are some pictures of the marshal art form of Kerala known as Kalari..for the ones who are looking for some adventure and some grand show, then this is the place to be...but also brace yourself, as this is not just a simple act, but its a show of daredevilry, whereby men or should I say, boys show their extensive skills in fighting with swords, knifes, playing with fire, performing fine acrobats, etc....










And the ones who love the fun and entertainment, then they can surely feast their eyes on the kathakali dancers, who have to wear  their loud make up and huge costumes but surely will captivate you with their astounding performance....which is truly one of its kind...













With such an infusion of culture, art form, traditions, scenic beauty, wildlife and man made tea gardens, spice gardens, all under one roof, this trip was as fulfilling and breath taking at the same time...It was indeed the best combination of relaxation and getting to know one of the beautiful places to visit in India...aptly called as God's Own country, as the moment you arrive at this destination, the mountains, hills, lakes, and all the passing animals, birds, trees and nature, begin talking to you and telling their story, immersing and welcoming you to their magical world....which although you have to leave soon, as you can't live there for ever, but once you enter this land, you sure would feel that closeness to God, as this seems like the place which God would choose to reside....on top of the hills surrounded by mountains, amidst the beautiful blue sky whose vast image is reflected in the ever glowing water...and wearing the long sheet of tea gardens as His Robe...truly a place where God must reside....

Cheers!
Seeta