It was a long awaited trip: a trip planned with the family around the month of August 2011. We were a diversified group of two senior citizens, one child (4yrs) and four adults.
Looking at our group size and the luggage, we opted for a tempo traveler for our entire trip. Our first destination was the hilly town of Munnar which is about 135 kms away from Cochin. Driving up to Munnar was really adventurous considering the glimpses of lush green tea plantation and natural forest you get to see as you climb up the narrow hilly roads. With few breaks for food and to enjoy the lovely Cheeyappara Waterfalls we took close to 6 hours to reach our resort “Club Mahindra Lake View Munnar”. Must mention here the raw mango sprinkled with salt available at Cheeyappara Waterfalls, that had helped both me and my sis to control our queasy feelings,after the journey through the curvy, twisty hilly road.
Munnar is a heavenly place, which can take your breath away with its abundance of natural beauty and the peace and tranquility surrounding it. No wonder it was the favoured summer resort for the British. Munnar has a mesmerizing feeling with unending expanse of tea plantation, immaculate mountains and exotic spice plantation. Kerala government really deserves praise here for the excellent upkeep of the place. Unlike other Indian tourist destination you will not find a single piece of trash anywhere. The purity of the place probably prevents even the most boisterous tourist form littering.
The air was so pure and fresh that my 4 year olds nagging cold just disappeared the moment we reached Munnar. This was in spite the chill in the air and the need of warm clothes throughout the day. Must say Club Mahindra’s room heater came very handy in having a cozy night sleep.
We have been to many Club Mahindra resort by now, however by far as I am concern, I can rate this one as the best. The property is on a hill overlooking the lake. We opted for 3 studio cottages and the rooms were very tastefully done with nice furnishing. The buffet meal was quite elaborate especially the breakfast. Staffs were well groomed.
My daughter really enjoyed the tea museum factory visit; where they took trouble to individually let her to do all the steps of processing tea leaves while we indulged in purchasing various kind of tea. From the tea museum we went on to visit the Eravikulam (Rajamalai) National Park. We were lucky to spot the mountain goat fairly quickly just before the rain god became kind. One can actually debate if going to the high peak just to see some goats is worth all the effort or not. However, the view it offers is just mind blowing. It ought to be a paradise for poet who wants inspiration from nature.To beat the rain and the cold we had indulged in some hot Maggi noodles and lots of tea.
The other interesting point in Munnar is the Mattupetti Dam and Echo Point. We enjoyed some fun speed boat ride in the drizzle and then warmed ourselves at echo point with some shopping of eucalyptus oil, local handicraft and spicy chilli fries.
Compare to Munnar, Thekaddy is a sleepy town. You will like it if you love wildlife travel.Since we went in the Monsoon we had to skip the forest visit. Club Mahindra resort in Thekaddy “Tuskers Trails” was an erstwhile Taj Property. The resort is undergoing renovation and I should mention here that the old rooms are very shabby. After a lot of request we managed to get two of our rooms changed to the newly renovated rooms, which definitely are of Club Mahindra Standard. The resort is smaller than all the other Club Mahindra Properties. Though there are limitations on what you can do in the resort the staff at the activity room kept the guest entertained in the evening with innovative fun activities. I must say the food spread here was average and nothing compare to the spread we had seen in Munnar The Spa experience was quite nice though.
We had opted for an elephant ride, which was bit adventurous where the elephant treks on a muddy uneven roads but the elephant bathing option especially in monsoon is a waste of money. In monsoon the elephant tends to feel the chill and hence you cannot be an inhuman by wanting to give them a bath. Instead as an option the elephant with its trunk full of water gives you a good shower. We alsoopted for an hour boat trip on the Periyar lake, and sported some elephants, bisons, deers on the shores, drinking water. The boat condition was pathetic and the moment the authorities force you to wear some dirty-filthy life jackets, half of the pleasure of the ride just goes missing.
We came back to Cochin airport after three years and I must admit that much has changed from then. It’s much larger now with a moderate size shopping arcade. I managed to pick up my long pending traditional Kerala sari from the airport shopping arcade before embarking our journey back home.
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