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Mithun Divakaran

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Flying into Kannur International Airport for the first time

By Mithun Divakaran
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Dec 21, 2018
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India, Kerala, Travel

December 18, 2018

As a native of Kannur district in north Kerala, I have been anticipating the opening of Kannur’s first international airport for a while now. It was a long time coming (as is the case of every large infrastructure project in India).

Kannur airport’s inauguration was held on December 9 and I decided to fly home from Bengaluru just to experience my “first flight home”. Currently, only Go Air has started flight operations from Bangalore airport (airport code: BLR) to Kannur airport (CNN). IndiGo launches their flights from Bangalore to Kannur on 25 January, 2019. SpiceJet has announced they intend to fly to Kannur but as of this writing, no date has been announced for commencement of services.

Since trains were all full due to year-end holidays, I checked for flights and got an airfare for Rs. 2154, which included a Rs. 200 fee that I paid to pick a window seat of my choice. (Window seat is a must for me on daytime flights)

I wanted to see just how much it would cost to fly solo from Bangalore to Kannur (all inclusive) so I told my dad not to come pick me up from Kannur airport in our car. Of course, the problem with Bengaluru is that the city’s airport (Kempegowda International Airport handles both domestic and international flights) is located so far from the city — making the taxi ride to the airport an expense by itself. Not to mention how long it takes. I had to leave home by 5am and since I couldn’t grab the airport bus at this time, I just hailed an Uber. Opting for Uber Pool, there was only one other passenger, and so the ride cost me Rs. 465 and took 40 minutes from where I am currently staying.

Bangalore airport early morning — This is the first time I was catching a domestic flight from this airport. Didn’t know it gets this busy so early in the morning.

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Munnar to Ernakulam by bus, Marine Drive and Lulu Mall

By Mithun Divakaran
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Dec 17, 2018
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India, Kerala, Travel

Date: March 13, 2018

Today was our last day in Munnar. We planned to leave the hill station and head to Ernakulam city, in Cochin district.

Poori vada bhaji chutney — We had a filling breakfast at Saravana Bhavan

We then boarded a state transport bus going to Ernakulam city.

Tea plantation worker Munnar — It was time to capture the last few shots of these amazing tea plantations

Munnar hill station view — It was cold up here but by the end of this bus journey, it would be hot & humid again

Kerala police sightseeing Munnar — Everyone is mesmerized by Munnar’s tea plantations

The journey to Ernakulam was around 3 hours long. We eventually made it to the hotel I had booked for us. Imperial Regency is a ‘business hotel’ but when booking, it was key that I chose a place close to Kochi Metro.

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DTPC Munnar day tour: Top station, Flower Garden, Spice Garden – Part 2

By Mithun Divakaran
/
Nov 14, 2018
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India, Kerala, Travel

Date: March 12, 2018

See the previous post for stops at Mattupetty dam, Echo point and Kundala dam.

Our tour continued with the next stop being Top Station — basically a great viewpoint. But we would stop along the way, whenever our driver-cum-guide would spot something interesting.

Giant squirrel Munnar Kerala — Like this Giant Malabar Squirrel. I wish I could have gotten a brighter photo but it was hiding in the tree.

Way to top station Munnar — Top Station is another viewpoint nestled among tea plantations… which you would think by now isn’t really necessary considering how many tea plantations we have seen by now

Now, we weren’t visiting the Top Station in Theni district, in the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu. The driver told us this was ‘Top Station’ on the Kerala side. The driver dropped us off at the entry place and told us to walk down. There is no entry fee to Top Station.

Top Station plantation walkway — But we finally got to walk through a plantation

Munnar trek hill fire smoke — Unfortunately, no matter where we stopped, all the tour guides could talk about the tragedy that occurred yesterday night

The previous night, several trekkers were caught up in a forest fire and several young trekkers died. The picture above is one I took using my camera. The smoke from the fire was still blowing. As the locals murmured about the tragedy, we had to continue on with our tour.

Top station tour Munnar Kerala — I guess photos won’t do much

So here’s a brief video:

Continue reading “DTPC Munnar day tour: Top station, Flower Garden, Spice Garden – Part 2” »