From highlands to coastline in 8 days: My family trip to Kerala (Part 2/2)

We left for Thekkady after our sightseeing at Munnar, it's a 3-4 hrs drive, so we reached Thekkady pretty late and missed the window timing to buy safari tickets and had to give-up on the plan all together. We still managed to buy tickets for the evening cultural show which I was damn excited to attend. There are various agencies that provide such shows in different time slots and packages, ours included Kathakali and Kalaripayattu. Kathakali was first and if you reach the venue an hour before you can see them getting ready with the tedious makeup and heavy costumes, which looks so put together and effortless once they are on stage. To experience these skilled forms of art was the highlight of our trip and do not miss this while you are on your trip, for as amazing as these art forms are they do need our support to flourish.

Accommodation: Our stay was pleasant and the ambiance was great and well maintained. The location is right around the market place, cultural performance center and safari which also gives you a great view and green surroundings.

Our next stop was Alappuzha where we had a houseboat booked for a day and so we had to reach there by 12 pm, which we did, after a 3 hours drive! Alleppey/Alappuzha is one of a kind district with various canals cracking through the whole town. There are other options to experience these canals as well because to book a houseboat all to yourself can be expensive if it isn't a family trip, so we have local ferry, tourist ferry and a boat ride for an hour or two, these are various options that will give you a good backwater experience without burning a hole in your pocket. We were looking forward to our whole day ahead in a houseboat which is a different blog all together, but in short, it was great to have witnessed villages, schools and sports complex surrounded by water. The meals that we had were of fresh prawns and fishes that we shopped for amidst the canals. So, to have experienced a floating city around was amazing and something new and not to mention the beauty around and our sunset view. Also, the staff on boat was damn friendly and helped us understand the culture even better, the cherry on cake!

After having our breakfast on boat we started our journey towards Kovalam which is a small beach town a little further away from Thiruvanathapuram. We added this stop just to enjoy a beach day off and to make sure it doesn't get too tiring as our next destination was Kanyakumari which was far off from Alleppey. So our time here was spent mostly around the beach (which we had access to from our resort), exploring the canal right in middle of our resort and enjoying sunset at Kovalam Beach.

Accommodation: This resort although off the highway was closer to the beach and literally had a canal (which you have to row through every time) cutting through the reception area and the stay area. The stay is peaceful and offer all the facilities.

We headed for our last destination, Kanyakumari which is approximately 80 kms away from Kovalam. Because we had to cross inter-state border we required some paperwork and permits, which our driver helped us with. We reached Kanyakumari in 3 hrs, dumped our stuff and were back on road to explore 'The Land's End'. Vivekanand Rock Memorial and Thiruvalluvar Statue are right in the middle of Lakshadweep Sea, there is a ferry service for your commute to these islands and the view of never ending water bodies on three sides is a memory to cherish. Next we enjoyed our sunset at Kanyakumari beach and called it a day as we had an early morning flight the next day.

Kanyakumari is also known for it's beautiful sunrise so before leaving for Thiruvananthapuram (nearest airport) we did enjoy a mesmerizing sunrise view from the View Tower near Vivekanand rock memorial and that's how our trip to God's Own Country ended on a high note.