Travelogue -2017
Originally published on Jan 12, 2018
We must always travel in hope! Not bad advice at all to step into the new year with. I guess one could say I’m back here from riding the holiday cloud. 2017 gave us a lot of great memories to cherish and a few set backs as well. But I’m grateful for the year that went by. Most importantly, I will remember it as the year that my father’s dream of having a home in Chikmagalur came to fruition. We were sad to lose my maternal grandmother last year as she stepped into another journey of eternal peace.
2017 was a year filled with a lot of wonderful trips to mesmerizing places, some of them with amazing friends and family. This shall be a tribute to the amazing places I/we visited in 2017, that have changed me for the better.
1. Aluva Mahadeva Temple, Eranakulam District, Kerala:
I began with visiting India in February, to see all my wonderful family across South India.
Aluva Manappuram is the place where my father rests. I had decided sometime ago, that I will not visit Ernakulam in Kerala, without going to the Aluva Mahadeva Temple also known as Aluva Manappuram. Located on the banks of the Periyar river, it is a unique temple in its own right. During the monsoon, when the river swells up, the temple gets partially submerged in water (see image). It is a place which brings me mixed emotions. I also visited most of the famous temples in Kerala with my in-laws, that are too many to name.
2. Thannithodu, Konni, Kerala:
Thannithodu is a village in Pathanamthitta district in the state of Kerala, India. It is near Konni town and is mainly a plantation township. Another mesmerizing and serene bounty of nature in the heart of Kerala, which I visited with my in-laws and other family members.
I couldn’t get enough of it and I would definitely visit again! I recommend it to anyone who loves the serene quality of lush green forests and calm water. It was incredibly breathtaking and I enjoyed my visit thoroughly. My pictures here won’t do justice.
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We had a splendid experience riding the Kuttavanchi (bowl boat) on still water, among lush green trees with low hanging branches barely above us. To say that it was all very ‘dreamy’, would be an understatement. Plus it was drizzling as a bonus! Blissful indeed!
3. Vietnam.
The best thing about Vietnam? It is an amazing destination for a cheap budget! Seriously! 1 AUD is 17,775 Vietnamese Dong. On my return to Oz land, we took a detour to Vietnam. This was supposed to be a surprise trip until my husband goofed up and sent me the entire itinerary way before I was supposed to know. Ha ha! Anyway, visiting Vietnam was life changing. This is the place where I died and came back alive. We’ll get to that later on here.
We started with Ho Chi Minh like any other tourist in Vietnam. Thankfully, we did not stay there for long as we were more interested in seeing the lush green interior Vietnam where people barely spoke English. While in Ho Chi Minh, we experienced the wretched stench of the Durian fruit, a distant cousin of our very own Jack fruit and tried delicacies like fried Duck’s tongue and other native soups. We also got bamboozled by the looks of an exotic looking ice cream merely dressed in dry ice. We shopped at the local markets but soon got tired of the sparkling touristiness. And so we went to Phong Nha via Dong Hoi, the fabled land where the movie Kong: Skull Island was shot. And with good reason! My! it is unbelievably picturesque! We also got to stay at the Phong Nha resort, in the room where Samuel Jackson stayed. It was beautiful, overlooking a calm lake right out of the balcony. Ah! stuff made of dreams!
And now, to the part where I died and came back. You see, we went on an 8 km trek to the heart of the forest to see the ‘Hang Tien’ or ‘Fairy Caves’ in Phong Nha. An experience of a lifetime! We ventured in with our guide Mr. Lung, into the ominous looking forest in full spelunking gear — heavy boots, cave helmets with lights and a crude stick for support. I was sweating even before we started because of the humidity (or so I blamed). We treaded the loose rocky terrain to see the majestic river cave at the end of our expedition.
The mouth of cave itself could fit a very tall building!! It was insane!. The roof of the cave was apparently formed by the gyrating river that eroded the rocky wall, as the water hit it and made its way back (See picture above). As we walked in with our lights on, into the gaping pitch darkness, we could feel the air around us get muskier with each step. We were met by unwelcoming limestone formations, slippery rocks and the unmissable, fear inducing hum of the raging river inside. A freakin’ river flowed inside the cave. Not a feeble one, but an enormous and live river that filled up the entire cave from time to time. I was genuinely terrified, gulping with each step in. And when Mr. Lung, asked us to turn our lights off, it was pitch black. Needless to say, it was the experience of a lifetime.
We made our way back to the temporary camp site where they offered us the most delicious rice paper rolls I’ve ever had in my life. It must have been the hunger! I was tired and moved like a snail. And the thought of making our way out of the forest was daunting indeed. To say that I walked back in full consciousness would be wrong. I was dragged through the trek by my husband and the poor lads who accompanied us as our cooks/guides. And to top that, I took a nasty fall and got bitten by a leech (I only discovered this until it was too late). The guides hopped on like little rabbits, looking at me with pitiful eyes, yelling encouraging words (I hoped). Who knows? But I’d like to believe so, as they had the kindest eyes. I moved at the pace of a sloth and my man Rosh, was ever so patient. I could barely walk 10 steps, a real showcasing of stamina there! And thus I say that I died and came back to life in the forest that housed the Hang Tien Cave. What an incredible experience! Would I do it again? Without a second thought!
