I went to South India which is popularly known as Kerala, God’s Own Country with one of my like-minded friends. Basically, we had an official trip to Sri Lanka. It was pre-decided that on our way back, we halted for a couple of days in Kerala. It was long due on my tour bucket list. The way I’m sharing my travel experience, I’m hopeful that visitors will get some sort of inspiration to be there. Certainly, readers will have fair idea to travel Kerala in a cheaper and comfortable way to fit their itinerary.
If anyone ever comes across the TV commercial of Kerala Tourism on a satellite channel, it says, “God’s Own Country”. Undoubtedly, this tagline rightly complements this delta region with natural beauty. Scenic Kerala comprises serene stretches of lakes, canals, and lagoons located parallel to the coast of the Arabian Sea. Obviously, the channel is so pristine and natural that one could spend the entire life here.
DAY 1, CHENNAI TO COCHIN, KERALA
Our flight route was pre-scheduled. I opted for the Dhaka-Kolkata-Chennai-Colombo-Chennai-Cochin-Kolkata-Dhaka route. My Cochin flight was routed through Chennai in the early morning from Colombo. It is recommended to book the air ticket and hotel accommodation online respectively well in advance to avoid unwanted headaches. By doing so, life would be much easier for the traveler. My office helped me to get my desired route 20 days prior to my visit. My return flight cost was around $550 on the route I mentioned.
ACCOMMODATION
Generally, I use online booking platform to book my accommodation. After following a little research, I found my hotel, Prime Palace. It was located in the heart of MG Road from where everything was nearby. Hotel was not star rated hotel but was okay to stay overnight for a couple of days. The cost was only $20/night along with complimentary breakfast and WiFi. Concurrently, these two features exist in the hotel, I always prefer to stay.
SEAFOOD LUNCH
I reached the hotel around 1 pm. After check-in at the hotel, I explored typical Kerala seafood lunch opposite to my hotel that cost only USD5. The food quality was reasonably okay . After following lunch, I went for a nap for rejuvenate myself.
COCHIN EXPLORATION – DAY 1
I must say, Cochin City is laid back compare to Dhaka City or any other metro city in India. By 8 pm, everything got shut down except for the restaurant and bar. I was in a mood to explore Cochin City by night on foot to feel like a lonely traveler. Exploring the backwater of Cochin from Marine Drive, visiting one of the retro bars named Tavern in Cochin. Savoring South Indian dinner in a restaurant had also been a great experiences for me.
DAY 2, KERALA
Waking up fresh in the morning was really a blessing. When I go to new places, I talk to local people to gain knowledge about nearby places. Shubash Park was a great finding which is full of oxygen park. I had a refreshing morning walk for an hour. Significantly, I have seen local people to jog in the park to keep themselves healthy.
FIRST HALF I KERALA
My Day 2 was divided into 2 parts. Evidently, the first part was a half-day backwater tour by a non-motorized country boat operated by local tour company. Indo World Tours is tour operating company which I found from my hotel lobby. This was one of its kind tour which every tourist from across the globe comes to avail this opportunity. While taking this delightful country boat cruise through the narrow canals, visitors enjoyed the natural beauty of Kerala. We visited villages to see the rustic lifestyle. Traditional Kerala lunch on a banana leaf was worth remembering event. Observing the traditional way of coir making and seeing spice plants were very pleasing. As a matter of fact, a half-day backwater village tour lasted for 6 hours. The cost was around $25/person inclusive of lunch and pick & drop service from and to the hotel by private car.
SECOND HALF I KERALA
Eventually, the second part of my trip was to see well-known places in the old part of Cochin. We have seen Jewish Synagogue in Mattancherry and the Chinese Fishing Net in Fort Kochi. As a regular club goer person in Dhaka, I myself enjoyed seeing Cochin Club from a distance. Finally, we were lucky to visit St. Francis Church where famous Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama was buried. For my second part, I hired a car for a couple of hours to cover all the mentioned places. I negotiated rightly worth a price of $5/hour.
After spending such a fascinating day, I returned to my hotel by 6 pm with lots of cherishable moments. Lots of pictures in my memory card, souvenirs, and famous Kerala masalas were taken for my family & friends.
COCHIN EXPLORATION, KERALA – DAY 2
In the evening time, I had a great time with my friend. We had Mosambi fruit juice from the street side near to my hotel. This was so refreshing drink end of the day to refuel you. A glass of Mosambi costs 30 cents/250ml which is a very reasonable and healthy drink for everyone.
SHOPPING, KERALA
I had a great bargain for my travel sandal which cost $5/pair. I was so happy when I bought this. After following the dinner (around $6/person) at the same restaurant where I had taken seafood lunch, I had a long walk down MG Road for coffee time which cost $0.5/cup. The coffee shop was a small shop on the main road with music on FM Radio.
I must admit that every encounter in Cochin city was so pleasant because people are educated. Every traveler feels good to interact with them. It is a great characteristic of South Indian people. Wherever I went in Kerala, the language had no issue. Malayalam is the official langauge of Kerala. But they have a tendency to talk to tourists in English, unlike Chinese or Japanese people.
ADIUE, KERALA
To conclude this travelogue, readers can experience my Kerala Diary on my YouTube channel. A travel video along with a famous song that I used to listen from my boyhood which complemented my travelogue. The name of my travel video is “BACKWATER VILLAGE TOUR KERALA”.