Kerala Tour For Senior Citizens - A Travelogue

Mountains, rivers and seas have a huge attraction for me. "

I feel a mystical experience when I am in these locations. It has a humiliating effect on me. A few years ago, when I was crossed through the Lake District of England and later by the Sounds of South New Zealand, I had experienced the ultimate nature's abundance of humanity. Little did I know that I was so close to God's own country and was blissfully ignorant of beauty and grandeur so close home.

Recently I had the opportunity to join the Senior Citizens Club on a trip to Kerala, with a group of seniors. I had always experienced that much is being made by that description of Kerala - God's own country. How ignorant I was! Allow me to share the joy and experience I've experienced from this trip.

"My ecstatic pride with Kerala began with the walk on the sunny beaches of Cherai."

The ride to Alappuzha from Cherai was very picturesque. We went through villages and small villages, which had cute houses, some small and a number of large, sloping tiled red roofs surrounded by many greenery. Almost all houses have sporty gardens with colorful flowers and coconut palms. The scene was very cool and pleasant to the eyes. What got my attention was the roads completely clean and completely empty of litter or litter, which is a very rare sight in most parts of India. Even the coconut water vendors were very special about the way they used to sell the coconut shells and plastic straws used by tourists.

The houseboat experience on the backwaters for almost one and half days was exciting. The gondolas on the Venetian canals do not match these simple but beautiful houseboats on the winding Kerala backwaters.

They were absolutely clean and comfortable, and the teak furniture on the boats was very polished and seemed that they did not have to suck the seats before occupying them. Houseboats were furnished for maximum comfort, and the large windows in the cute little huts have a beautiful view of the landscape on the banks of the backwaters. Additional function of the houseboat was the hospitality shown to the tourists with their delicious food and hot cups of tea served during sailing. The kitchen on the boat was also maintained in the overall shape of the ship. The houseboat shook through the huge backwaters that were very wide in places that resemble a large river. At regular intervals we found small blue structures on the banks that were actually boat stations. Small boats operated from these stations to transport local people from village to city. This transportation system was as efficient, simple and cheap as the BEST bus system in Mumbai. We also saw a large station where the annual regatta participants were trained and the competitions were organized. This sport is a common feature of the Onam festivities.

After enjoying the houseboat trip on the canals, we head to the Wildlife Sanctuary at Thekkady.

There was a total change of the site; From the sea level of Cherai and Alappuzha we started climbing the waist of the western Ghats.

The high expectation to see wild elephants, tigers and other animals in their natural habitats increased the level of adrenal gland in me. I had previously said that mountains stimulate a spiritual and mystical feeling in me.

The winding roads on the Ghats with the deep green forests of teak trees and rubber plantations on the one hand, and terraced herbs and tea plants in the valleys were a pleasure for the eyes. When we left quite early in the morning the weather was very pleasant and there was only a suggestion of fog around the mountain peaks, a scene that a painter would like to paint.

At Thekkady we stayed in a sanctuary in the nature reserve. It was a short walk from the forest to Periyar Lake, which was formed by the construction of Mullaperiyar Dam on the Periyar River. It was a large body of water, the banks where wild elephants, tigers, bison and other species of wildlife come to drink. We crossed the huge lake into a huge motorboat. We saw elephants and their calf, chickens at the banks and saw tigers, wild boar, bisons and sambhar. I had seen all these animals except elephants only in zoos and circuses. To see them in their natural surroundings was a great sight.

The very beautiful scene was worth the thought of Wordsworth 'to remember in peace'.

Thekkady experience was followed by the exciting drive to Munnar, a tourist paradise. God seems to be very partial to this part of the Western Ghats, rich in its foliage, forests and small waterfalls, as well as man-made tea and herb plantations. For the first time, I actually saw how latex from the long rubber trees was typed and how the process was protected from rain. This trip, I realized, was not only a tourist sight-seeing activity, but it was also an educational experience that taught us about various things that we simply accept and never understand completely.

Munnar is a wonderful place to escape the heavy urban storms and relax in the midst of the natural beauty that God's own country offers us abundantly.

The visit to the Spice Gardens opened us an encyclopedic world of information about Ayurveda, our own indigenous medical science. The highly-skilled guide described various drug values and strengths of the various herbs we use in our daily food. It is unnecessary to say that many of us encountered buying many spices that would last for our lifespan.

The walk through the Rose Garden was also very pleasant. It was a terraced garden that had not only different types of roses but also varieties of other exotic flowers. The visit to the tea plantation and the factory was also very interesting. A small museum at the factory showed various communication gadgets and tools used by the Plantage owners in the 18th and 19th centuries. find here Kerala Luxury Package

This tour of Kerala has ended with a visit to Mattanchery, Kochi, where we visited the Dutch Palace in 1555 A.D of the Portuguese when they were overwhelmed by the hospitality of the Rajah of Cochin. Strange it is called a Dutch palace, but originally built by Portuguese, as it was renovated by the Dutch when they had political power for a short duration. The palace has some beautiful frescoes and murals of scenes from our Epics, Mahabharata and Ramayan.

The only thing I missed the whole trip was the look of the Kerala ladies in their native indigenous pearl white mundu tundu, which seems to have been discarded and replaced by the garish synthetic sarees and salwar khameez. Such a pity!

This wonderful, fun and educational trip was made possible by Swan tours. It is a leading travel company in India. It would be insubstantial to me if I did not mention how well they managed a group of senior citizens who could be useful to their own families, let alone a total stranger. The Tour Manager's adequate ways and happy smile even brighten up every morning. Thank you Swantour.com team who made this trip a great experience.