Me & my older bro love hip-hop from 90’s. We used to listen to it quite a lot growing up in Bahrain. From Fresh Prince & Jazzy Jeff, Skee-Lo, Lucas, Kriss Kross to Naughty by Nature, Tribe Called Quest, Das EFX, and early Tupac. Hip-hop wasn’t all about the pimp-life, b****es, ho’s, bling and the merchandising it is these days. And there was no auto-tune back then. Rap could have been happy, dark and sometimes even funny. Rap and hip-hop back in the 90’s was also commonly associated with dancing. From the ‘chicken dance‘ to just bobbing your head to the heavy beats.
Of course now, things are different. Which is why it was so refreshing to hear about B.o.B.
Though the main purpose of this trip was to attend a friend’s wedding, as always, being an out-of-town wedding, I’d use the opportunity to travel around. This time, it was a chance to explore a bit of south Kerala. Being from north Kerala and having only visited Trivandrum years back, I’ve longed to visit the parts of Kerala that are now most synonymous with tourism in Kerala.
We (me and a friend) left Bangalore city from K.R. Puram station in the evening and headed for Ernakulam, an overnight train ride that took nearly 12 hours. Upon arriving (really) early in the morning, we got off the train only to board the one next to it. An hour-long journey took us to our friend’s hometown in Kottayam. Given that we had a day before his wedding — and the fact that his place had little to offer in terms of “tourist sights,” we decided to head for the tourist village of Kumarakom.
When we heard Kumarakom wasn’t very far from Kottayam city, we thought of saving some time by taking an auto. Then the auto driver said it would come to around Rs. 160 (€2.50/$3). So instead, we just waited for the KSRTC bus — which cost us Rs. 6 (too low to convert!) per person. Clearly the better option.
30 minutes later, we were at the “jetty” stop, pretty much the starting point for the boat rides to the lake. There are other roads on either side of the stream that will lead you to the many resorts that surround Vembanad Lake, the biggest lake in Kerala.
We opted for the 1-hour boat ride from the KTDC which cost Rs. 350 (€5/$7). (We didn’t try bargaining because these rides were conducted by the tourism department and it was written on a board there. But you could try.)
These houseboats can cost anywhere from Rs. 3,000 to Rs. 16,000 per dayThe prices vary based on the amenities available on each boat
The backwaters leading up to the lake were lined up with houseboats and smaller boats parked on either side. It was an odd mix of luxury resorts among houses belonging to villagers, both living off a tourism economy.
The backwaters eventually lead out to Vembanad Lake.
And even though the pictures may not give you the scale, trust me, it’s big!
Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary is located on the east coast of the lake, which explained all the birds flying around and getting a better view of the lake.
The boat ride is very relaxing and I would definitely recommend taking it at around sunset.
Me, about to fall asleep from the lazy ride
Kumarakom has dozens of resorts by the lake. From high-end properties from the Taj Group and the famous Kumarakom Lake resort to mid-range offerings farther away. If you can afford it, it really is a great option for a romantic sojourn.
Back on land, we paid up and took a bus back to Kottayam. The next morning was our friend’s wedding, the venue being the local church.
His big day
After the wedding, we headed back to our room and caught up with a third friend, who would join us for the rest of our journey.
Kumarakom was just the first stop. Next up was Thekkady and then Cochin.
Camera used: Nikon D90; post processing done in Photoshop CS3
P.S: Here’s a small video I took from Vembanad Lake:
The next day, after Vivek’s wedding, we left Jaipur in the after noon by bus and headed for Agra. We took the state bus which was quite cheap (and very basic in every shape and form).
We reached Agra by 5pm and took an auto straight to the Taj Mahal. It was already sunset, so we really didn’t have much time.
We bought our tickets, paid for our camera fee and got in.
I was budding with excitement as I was finally going to see India’s most famous monument.
And though my photos may not paint a rosy picture, trust me, it really was beautiful!
I had no choice but to use the camera flash once inside.
There really wasn’t much else I could take as the flash would have made the photos appear as though it was already night fall (which it wasn’t yet). Plus it was closing time, so we had to make our way out.
My only regret is that I wish I had gotten there a few hours earlier.
After making our way out and surviving the hordes of vendors pushing replicas of the Taj in your face, we sat down for a coffee break. We pondered about whether we should stay in Agra that night or head straight for New Delhi which was the next stop on our ‘tour’.
But Delhi it was. So we took an auto to the Agra bus stand and boarded the bus. It was around 8pm by the time we left and we would arrive at New Delhi around 3am the next day.
New Delhi
Date: 4th March 2005
We were staying at a (crappy) 3-star hotel in the heart of the city, pretty close to all the major sights we planned on seeing. So in the morning, we headed first for Red Fort (or Lal Qila).
Yeah that's me. Laugh all you want.
(Panorama comprised of 3 shots)
Indian war museum at Red Fort
Here’s a brief video I took:
We had a relaxing meal at a coffee shop/restaurant at the Lal Qila itself, which was nice. After that, we moved to our next stop (across from the Red Fort) — Raj Ghat.
The massive public park houses several memorials in honour of some of the greatest Indians that helped shape our nation. First up, the greatest of them all — the Mahatma Gandhi memorial.
We then walked down the bricked path to check out the rest of the place.
There’s a fairly large pond in the middle of the park which makes this place all the more serene.
If you like geese, here’s a video:
The day wasn’t the brightest Delhi offered, and we even got a brief moment of drizzle — but the somber skies suited the next few sights.
More memorials, these mostly honouring the Nehru clan.
After walking around for nearly an hour, we took an auto and headed for India Gate.
We followed down the straight road from India Gate which took us to the Rashtrapathi Bhavan.
To our right was the parliament house…
… but we weren’t allowed near the building nor were we permitted to take photographs from up close. Oh well.
Back to the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Me in front of the President's palace building. Not sure why I wasn't smiling.
As an Indian, you can’t help but feel patriotic when you are in this part of Delhi.
Of course, there is much more to the capital city. It is after all famed for its shopping and street food — but we had to catch a flight back to Bangalore the next day and we were a bit knackered with all the walking we did. So we went back to the hotel and rested.
The next day, it was checking out of the crappy hotel, hopping into a taxi and heading off to the airport.
Taken from inside the car:
Theen MurthiBarah Murthi
Camera used: Canon Powershot A95; post processing done in Photoshop CS3
P.S: Here’s a video I took while at Rashtrapathi Bhavan and India Gate:
