3 months ago
19
A travel to Kerala is ever exciting. We were having apprehensions aft the caller Wayanad disaster. After immoderate research, google mapping and talking to the edifice folks, we decided to marque the roadworthy trip. It was to beryllium a 2-night, 3-day roadworthy travel successful our Audi A4. We were looking guardant to the promising weekend.
After the customary substance apical up and last-minute upwind checks, we near location astatine 6-15 americium connected Friday, 9th August 2024. We stopped for Breakfast astatine Paakashala adjacent Krishnagiri. Several eateries connection plentifulness of choices successful this agelong to Salem. A2B commands the highest marketplace share, I would presume.
There were respective caller velocity breakers installed, each on the route. The roads were awesome. The clime was genuinely bully too.
We stopped for luncheon astatine Temple City, Madurai. Decent place. Car parking was easy available. Restrooms were decent. Menu was intelligibly over-priced. Standard rice- oriented meals were disposable immediately. Any customization present intelligibly volition instrumentality time. We tasted Srivilliputhur Halwa also. It was precise sugary.
Following directions, aft astir six 100 kms, astatine the intersection wherever 1 tin thrust down to Kanyakumari oregon instrumentality the Right ample U crook into Trivandrum, we took the crook / exit towards Trivandrum. This is the roadworthy starring into Kerala from Tamil Nadu Nagercoil. On the close broadside is simply a ample upwind workplace owned by Ramco. It was a beauteous show to spot the elephantine fans against the bluish skies. We stopped to person freshly roasted saccharine maize which was amazing. The adjacent 20 kms were exceptionally creaseless successful a four-lane road. Nagercoil to Poovar region is astir 50 kms which volition acceptable you backmost astatine slightest by 1.5 hours. Though the roads are smooth, it is simply a two-lane crowded road. Evening bureau unreserved besides contributed to the bumper-to-bumper traffic.
We reached Poovar edifice astir 8 p.m. and checked in. This is the nearest backwater enactment adjacent Trivandrum. We rested the night.
On Sat, 10th Aug 2024, we drove from Poovar to Kovalam beach. Roads astatine Poovar are motorable, but narrow. One indispensable beryllium careful. Pedestrians stock the thoroughfare with vehicles. Kovalam is astir sixteen kms and we covered the aforesaid successful sub 30 minutes. I would urge each to usage the NH toll roadworthy and debar the interior Kerala roads. Most locals garbage to talk immoderate different connection isolated from Malayalam. Most car riders presume that they ain the roads and our fig sheet announcing KA registration surely volition not assistance triumph immoderate arguments.
Kovalam formation is astir 2 kms detour disconnected the NH. The formation was quiescent successful the greeting with the fishermen cleaning their ample nets for the adjacent large catch. Dedicated parking slots are available. We walked to the formation and spent a fewer minutes astatine the beach. We past retraced our mode to the NH and drove towards Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple, Trivandrum. We reached the West Nada (Entrance) of the temple. Several tiny eateries service vegetarian nutrient adjacent the temple. The car parking abstraction is constricted astatine the temple premises and lone VIP vehicles are allowed till adjacent the entrance. Other pilgrims tin usage the paid parking services nearby. Enquire with the information unit who tin help. Alternatively, determination is simply a ample crushed adjacent to SP Fort Hospital, 4 100 meters from West Nada (West entrance) of the temple wherever you tin parkland for free. You indispensable past locomotion to the temple. Strict formal codification is followed astatine the temple. There is simply a cloak country wherever you indispensable deposit your distant car keys and different belongings that you whitethorn person carried aft walking the region from the car parking slot to the entranceway of the temple. No mobile phones are allowed wrong the temple. You volition beryllium issued a receipt and the fig of items you person deposited for a tiny fee. Security wielding weapons are to beryllium seen each astir and wrong the temple too. They were highly strict astatine this temple.
We bought the Rs.50/- peculiar seva summons which helped america person a blessed darshan quickly. Aravana payasam is sold successful the temple and you tin acquisition it aft your darshan. There is Annadanam seva astatine the temple (I deliberation each day) starting astatine 11.30 americium and astir devotees formed the serpentine enactment for the prasadam. We had a leisurely darshan and opted to person luncheon extracurricular the temple.
We past drove astir Trivandrum and drove past Mahaganapathi Temple, East Fort aft purchasing immoderate much banana chips astatine Trivandrum. We aboriginal met immoderate household and friends astatine Trivandrum. In the evening, we drove retired to Poovar connected the NH and rested the nighttime astatine the resort.
Do not miss purchasing authentic Kerala banana chips and nendran bananas. These are our all-time favorites, and we took our clip sampling and purchasing the antithetic varieties of chips and bananas disposable lone successful Kerala. At Poovar, we bought spices, authentic coconut lipid and banana chips astatine Kerala Spices. Vendor has a unrecorded banana chips stall too.
Poovar is rather live and kicking successful the morning. Fresh food were being sold connected the pavements and veggies were being unloaded successful mini trucks to the wholesalers. With aplenty oculus warming greenery, coconut trees, large landscapes, water, colorful boats, elemental radical doing their regular chores, it was genuinely Gods Own Country!
We near Poovar aft meal astatine Annapoorna Veg connected 11th Aug Sunday greeting astatine 8 am. I volition not urge this hotel. It was rather average.
Traffic was rather bladed fixed that it was a Sunday morning. We drove to Marthandam and aft crossing the bridge, took the detour to sojourn Sree Adi Keshava Perumal temple astatine Thiruvattaru. The roads were overmuch amended than I had anticipated. Roads were constrictive but drivable. Most importantly, determination was a bully motorable roadworthy till the temple. We had a blessed darshan astatine the past tremendous sized Divya Desam and joined the roadworthy towards Bangalore. The temple was not crowded.
We stopped astatine Gowri Shankar edifice for a break. The ambience is not great. Serves the purpose, though. The Tirunelveli Halwa is not great, which we rather ruefully realized aft the acquisition and during the instrumentality journey. For the vegetarians, determination are 3 axenic Veg restaurants connected that agelong astatine Chunkan Kadai, Nagercoil. Udupi Restaurant, Gowri Shankar and Sai Caf?.
Climbing up the Toppur Range proved to beryllium a miserable experience, arsenic always. Cars weaved successful and retired astatine precocious speeds, overtaking the dense lorries and trucks who were each implicit the highway. I was inevitably forced to travel suit and we had to weave successful and retired chasing different cars for their discovered gaps amongst the elephantine lorry carriers. If you are to instrumentality to 1 lane, you whitethorn beryllium stuck down 1 of the heavy-laden lorries for hours.
For meal we stopped astatine Sai Sangeet (185 kms) from Bengaluru, aft the Toppur range. Dosas were tasty, but oily.
It started to drizzle and rainfall adjacent Hosur. Roads were clogged with postulation with each returning aft the play from their trips. The agelong queues welcomed america backmost to Karnataka. The queue astatine physics metropolis flyover reminded america that we reached Bangalore!
We logged 1525 kms successful this abbreviated but saccharine trip. The roads to Trivandrum are excellent. You volition instrumentality astir 13 to 14 hours to scope from Bangalore depending connected your breaks successful between.
The Audi A4 car performed superbly, arsenic always. The quality of the car to navigate, spurt and find its hidden cogwheel aft 80K connected the odometer continues to amaze maine each time.
