Life in God's Own Country

Thangasseri old lighthouse

There's more to Kollam than what meets your eye. Kollam was one of the earliest ports famous for cashew imports. Maritime traders from Portugal and Holland (Dutch) used Kollam as a base for trading.

Thangasseri one of the seaside town near Kollam  has an old lighthouse. You can see the remnants of Dutch in the old ruins near Thangasseri beach. First Dutch came, then later English settlers stamped their mark in this town. Thangasseri is also famous for old 18the century churches.


About Thangassery Fort

Thangassery Old Fort is just 5 km from Kollam, Thangassery or Dutch Quilon as it was called was once a British enclave. Meaning is gold village in local parlance, this was the hub of a flourishing trade that used gold as currency. This seaside village of historic importance shelters the ruins of an old Portuguese fort and churches built during the 18th century.

The famed lighthouse of Thangasseri which is 144 ft high, constructed in 1519 by the British Thangasseri, a silent sentinal warning seamen of the treacherous reefs of the Thangasseri, since 1902.Thangasseri was once a favourite settlement of the Portuguese, the Dutch and the English in succession, as Kollam was one of the oldest and most important port for international cashew trade on the Malabar coast. Today, it showcases a few ruined forts built by the Portuguese, and the Dutch

Location  Thangasseri, Kollam, Kerala, India.( Source: http://www.keralaorbit.com)

Vattakotai - Circular Fort View

The typical seal of Travancore at Vattakottai. If you're visiting the tip of Indian penunsila, then you might as well visit this fort ( Vattakottai).

I find Kanyakumari stale, crowded and boring. Only good visiting points are the vivekanda rock memorial, and the light house. Apart from that, all points has lost its sheen.

Here's a great picture of Kanyakumari beach, Thiruvalluvar statute and Vivekanada memorial. See pic

Chinese Fishing Nets

Great picture capturing the silhouette of Chinese fishing nets against the backdrop of descending sun. The chinese fishing nets known in Malayalam as (Cheenavala) are believed to be introduced byexplorer, Zheng He.

For a traveler to Cochin, there are many cultural icons to see. Cochin has traces of influence from  Portuguese, Dutch and British. This city also has a Synagogue, and majority of population are Catholics.

Places to Visit In Cochin:

Chinese Fishing Nets view video

Fishing with Net

                                                   ( Photo Courtesy: Sasi)
Thanks again for Sasi for capturing this classic picture of fishing net spread out to snare the little fish close to the shore. I think he has taken this picture at Poovar in Trivandrum.

How often have you thought of trying fishing in our tropical water. Here's an opportunity to angle for pearl spots or catfish from our wide labyrinth of lagoon and backwaters. Use the local baits to lure local fishes in your line! How fantastic it would be, to wait for the perfect catch or just to leave empty handed without a fish in your line!

Don't be just a spectator in 'God's Own Country'. Get out of the usual tour trip, indulge in activities done by the locals for their livelihood.

If you're interested to know these offbeat trips in Trivandrum or stay in places away from he humbug of life, you're welcome.

Contact me for details. I can arrange personal English or German or French speaking guide to take you around for a personalized trip in Trivandrum or Bangalore.

Trek beyond the Usual

Trivandrum offers more than the usual tourist destination like Kovalam, Varkala, Napier Musuem or the traditonal massage centers.

Beyond these, you can explore the green tropical forest. For those who like hiking, Trivandrum offers a rich bounty of tropical delights. For an outsider, it's not easy to venture to the forest. First hurdle is the persimssion from forest department. Even for localites it a hassle to go to these Govt offices and get the required license.

Despite the pains of getting the offical entry pass, it's a good way to get into the tropical wilderness of wester ghats. If you're keen to use your treking boots, you can get admist these ever green forest with our treking service.

We have lot of options for a green conscious folks coming to visit Kerala. Contact us by mail to know the options. We can arrange guided tour in Trivandrum forest location or in Munnar for a long trek.

Explore the green canopy along with sun lit beaches. Contact us for more detailed on eco-friendly travel.

Home Stay At Kottayam & Pala

Here're few homestay's around Kottayam Pala side. Most of these homestays are amidst the plantations, giving you secluded private moments.

Ann's Homestay Kurumannu, Pala Ph # 914822-221287 / 221887  View details







Other homestays in kerala View details

Traditional Kerala House

Here's the picture of a typical traditional kerala house. The big veranda, the tiled roof, wood pillars and wood ceiling has stamp of typical kerala architecture. The open courtyard gives an air of invitation, a place for kids to run & play.

In Kerala many such Nalukettu houses are now open as home stays. It gives you first hand experience to live the old traditional life, know the life of our ancestors. Many owners in Kerala open their traditional family house for tourists.

Here's a beautiful Nalukettu house owned by renowned film director, script writer, and producer Adoor Gopalakrishan.

Stay at Nalukettu House

Are you interested to stay in a Nalukettu house? Contact me with preferred location and budget.

Kovalam Leela View

View behind the Leela Kempinski, at Kovalam. It's a pleasure to walk through these well maintained pathways beside the Kovalam beach. Apart from these views, the visitors are exposed to a world of luxury facilities that includes, Aurveda massages, infinity pool, Indian dancing and wellness Spa along host of other facilities for big budget traveler.

Where to stay in Trivandrum?

You can choose your stay depending on the location and your budget. For those looking for star accommodation, you've handfull of hotels offering wide range of facilites. You can choose to stay either inside Trivandrum City.

Top Hotels in Trivandrum City
Viventa by Taj - Latest 5 Star hotel run by Taj.
The Muthhot Plaza: Another at the heart of this city:  Ph # 471 233 7733
Hotel South Park : At the heart of Trivandrum. Ph 0471 2333333
Luzia Hotel : At Eastfort. Ph #:
Mascot Hotel
Hotel Horizon
Hotel Residency Tower


Hotel Ruby Arena - Close to Medical College Trivandrum
Ginger Hotel - Close to IT Center at Kazhakuttom near to Technopark
Sunday Bed and Breakfast Hotel: Close to Trivandrum International Airport
Sankars Homestay, Thiruvananthapuram

Hotels at Kovalam & Poovar

Leela Kovalam Beach Resort
Palmleaves Beach Resort
Poovar Island Resort
Coconut Bay Beach Resort
Isola Di Cocco Beach Resort
Surya Samudra Beach Garden
The Travancore Heritage
Uday Samudra Beach Hotel 
Somatheeram Ayurvedic Beach Resort
Poovar Island Resort
Hotel Abad Palmshore
Hotel Sea Face
Estuary Island

View this list of Home Stays in Trivandrum and budget hotels in Trivandrum.

Top South India Travel Points

These are top & popular south Indian Travel destinations for travellers to this part of India. I've just complied this list. As I add more posts, I'll keep updating this page with interesting travel points to stamp your visit.

If you have other suggestions, please add a comment. I'll include your detination. Apart from the top destination points, I'll have seperate post for untapped points or unorthodox detination points.

Kerala Travel Points:

Trivandrum Top Tourist Attractions
Kovalam
Poovar
Veli Lagoon - Boat Ride, Rock Garden & sculptures
Akulam Lagoon - Another part of Veli Lagoon
Shangumugham - Beach View - Best time to visit at evenign or early morning
Napier Museum - 150 year old museum
Art Gallery - Collection of painting by Ravi Varma
Zoo -
Kanakakunnu Palace
Kowdiar Palace
State Central Library
Padbanabha Temple - 500 year old temple. Non Hindus are not allowed inside the inner sanctum.

Since this list goes too long, I've kept seperate travel point post for each Tamilnadu, Karnataka. I've also put the list of remote or adventuresome avtivittes in another blog post.

Top 3 Mistakes In Hospitality Websites

Random search in Google will fetch many south Indian Hotel blogs. I picked few promoting travel biz around Kerala. First look at these websites revealed glaring mistakes in the placement of text, use of graphic and navigation errors.

Here are the top 5 mistakes frequently found in hospitality websites

Too big Paragraphs
Many people who build websites are not aware of the visitor behavior. They create website like a brochure. Big chunk of text in the home page is a big "NO" for hotel related websites. Don't use all those clumsy content on your pages. Use only 3 or four lines in one paragraph.

Lack of Bullet points

Use bullet points or numbering to increase readability. Most websites forget this basis formatting tool.  Give feature of each room or other service under bullet points. It instantly catches the eye of the visitor. They can instantly scan across these bulleted points to find your message.

No Proper Navigation
Maintain a logical flow of links that helps visitors to move around your website. Use call to action at the end of every page to suggest them to take action. From home page, you can take them to facility page or tariff page or even to booking page. Keep everything aligned by studying other hotel websites. Take the best lessons from your competitors and implement in your website.

If you find it hard to reorganize your content, you can call me for suggestions. Contact me to refurbish your website and make it sparkling new for 2011.

Social Media For Hotel Business

Travel & Social Media Publicity for Hospitality Biz

These social media platforms get wider coverage of hotel business. I help most of my clients to use these social media sites to get visitors

• Linkedin (Add key resources to Linkedin)
• Facebook ( Attract millions of potential travelers to your Facebook Page)
• Twitter ( Post quick tweets about travel destinations)
• Blogs ( Get detailed coverage of your hotel or resort through blogs)

Start your hospitality business by giving vital digital buzz through these four key mediums. It's not rocket science, it's just getting to know what works and how to go about it.

Get someone form your organization to look after the profile. Most important use interesting content to attract time starved users.

Website For Hospitality Biz

Maximize Tourism biz through Website 
Most hotels in Kerala or in India has a website. Browsing through many of these site, you can instantly find that these are old content. There's something that's missing in these websites.

First they don't update the website. This results in inaccurate results. Moreover, it hardly comes in search results. This robs you the opportunity to get booking or enquires from people searching over the net for information. I feel most hotel owners are not aware of the potential possibilities through digital marketing.

Get More Booking From Digital Marketing
Most travelers search through Google to locate hotels, or resorts for stay. If your tour house is not visible, then you're loosing a big chunk of booking.

It's time you realize the importance of website or digital publicity to improve your booking or get more reservation. If you're not aware of the potential benefits or do not have an idea to turn clicks to visitors, then you can consult me for free.

Get Free Consultation on Website Marketing
Learn simple tips to get more users. Add your hotel or resort in Facebook, Twitter or in other social networking sites. Get the best through online reach.

Contact me for free 10 min discussion on hotel publicity through online channels.

CVN Kalari House At EastFort

Kalari Payattu, the age old martial arts form of Kerala has a unique blend of physical, culture, self-defence and martial techniques. This indigenous martial arts form is said to be created by Saint Parasurama.

It's name Kalaris is named after the schools where training is to the students by their Guru's.The Kalaripayttu system is divided into four sections :

• Melthari (Body Control)
• Kolthari (Training with wooden sticks)
• Ankathari (metallic and heavy wooden weapons)
• Verumkaiprayogam (unarmed combat)

Now in Kerala, there are few centers where they still continue teaching Kalari payattu. One of the known  place is C V N Klari. 

In Trivandrum CVN Kalari is close to West Fort Trivandrum. Here they practice Kalari Payattu in the purest form, and they do treatment. Many people with aches, or dislocations come here for oil based treatment.

If you're in Trivandrum, you can walk in their place. You require permission to see their Kalari or even see the demonstration. This place has appeared in National Geographic Magazine and other big publications.

All across Kerala there are other similar places where they have packaged this Kalari and Ayurveda centers. Here's one center at Parasala.

Stay at House Tree in Western Ghats

I remember the night I spend in a tree house amidst the wild boars and bears. It all came together on new years eve many years back. When every one was looking out to celebrate in some jolly, liquor laden party, we headed to the wilderness in mountain terrain some 40km from Trivandrum.

Through some contacts from settlers at Kallar, we found a person who owns a machan( house tree) deep in the jungle. We were four of us. It was around night 8:30 when they took us across those wild bushes across the trekking path to this isolated machan.

Could n't imagine such a place. Had a tough time climbing this tree house. It has two levels. The couple friend who came along settled for the upper deck, while me and my friend sat on the lower wooden deck. At first we had fear of the strength of this tree house.

At night, there was strong winds and rains. It was a wild spectacle to face these two at this new tree house. What a feeling to get water spray from the torrential rain ponding on the thatched tree house. Occasionally few drop were falling next to our sleeping pad.

Somewhere in the night we drifted off to sleep. Next day woke to the sound of birds and squirrels. Yawned up to see the tree tops filled with the early monring dew. Took few precious snaps from the machan. Around 10 in the morning the guide came to get us down.

Next day we were still awe struck thinking of the night we spend in the tree house. Later our trip was published in Hindu. God I wish I could repeat this trip again...

Due like to have a similar experience staying up on the tree house. I can arrange trip for you to stay in these tree house. Get close to wild life amidst the green canopy of wild wild Western Ghats.

Call or mail me for details of time and more info on machan stay in Kerala.

Catamaran Cruise

Catamaran is country rafts made from soft wood. Around 3 thick logs are tied together to make Indian Cattamaran.

Many tourist coming to Kovalam get a chance to ride this country boats. The best time to travel is in the morning. You can take along your line to try fishing in deep Arabian sea.

Start your day across the aquamarine watters of Kovalam bay. Get wet from the sea froth as these experienced fisher men take you to the edge of horizon in their Catamaran.

Get in touch with me to plan an all exclusive catamaran in Trivandrum. Get exclusive travel guidance to make your travel something special for you!

Visit to Toddy Shop

Visit to Kerala is not complete with out tasting it's natural brew extracted from coconut trees. Kerala the land of coconuts, has used this tree for all reasons. Food, oil, roofing, wood and also as an mild intoxicant.

Tody shops are part of Kerala's lifestyle or culture. Food loving malayalee's visit toddy shops not just to taste the toddy but to try the Toddy's shops spicy fish delicasies. These Toddy shops make very spicy yummy fish curry that goes with Kappa ( boiled tapioca) and ofcourse Kallu ( Toddy).

While you're passing by Kerala's interior, you can spot Toddy shops surrounded by palm trees or fields . Most of them are painted white with black boards. I love having pure Toddy, but these days most of the Toddy shops sell adulterated Toddy. Thanks to the arrack ban, these toddy shops are sell brew mixed with strong intoxiants.

Who killed Toddy? That's another post.
Visit To Toddy Shop 
It' not safe for tourist to venture inside a toddy shop. The people will look friendly but slight provocation can cause them to fight like alley cats.

If you're keen to visit, get a guide or someone who know the people running these Toddy shops. If you can a local guide then you can venture in and taste this palm brew. Or you can get freshly fermented toddy in bottle to taste.
( In case you need local guide, I can arrange it for you)
Toddy shops from Allepy/ Kuttanadu are noted for wide choice of fish delicacies

If you're in Trivandrum, I can arrange you a visit to Toddy shop. Our guide can take you around to see how how the whole process is done. You can see how the Toddy collectors go to collect toddy. They have special knife and other unique addons to process it.

Get this unique opportunity to taste and see the toddy. Get close to the age old culture of Kerala from a different point of view.

Mail me back for reply or call back.Learn more about the fermentation of coconut water.

Beypore Lighthouse

Beypore Lighthouse was constructed in 1977. It offers 360 degree view of the Arabian Sea, the Kadalundi river and the Beypore port. It's a must see sight for those visiting Calicut or Beypore.

After lifting the an on taking photographs from Beypore lighthouse, this picturesque place is open for visitors to see wide expanse of sea and land.Get the view of untouched greenery around from a height of 30 meters.View South India Map.

Many tourist visiting Calicut, Kadalundi Bird Sanctuary and the Beypore boat-building yard add spot to their itinerary. You can reach Beypore lighthouse by road or by boat.

God's Own Country's Big Propaganda

I'm big time fan of great promotion. This season Kerala Tourism stole the show with great ads across all mediums. Recent ads released in a galla way is a big hit in You Tube."Your moment is waiting" launched at Saatchi Gallery, London, got rare reviews on creativity.

Kerala has all the potential to become one of the hot tourist destination among global tourists. It has all the sparkles to entice low budget to high end travelers.

Everything show in these promotions are fine, but for the stale roads networks and cleanliness. Tourism is not just about a destination, it's also includes the journey.

This is where Kerala fails in a big way. You don't have to search long to prove this.

Last time I took at bus to Kovalam from Trivandrum, the state of appathy was everywhere. The waiting bus stand is dirty, unkept and has no information for tourist. In 2010, many Indian's from other states boarded from this bus stand. But there's no information to help these national tourist.

My suggestions:

• Keep a one man tourist counter to give suggestion, plans
• Keep the bus stand clean with better flooring and roofing
• Keep information about bus timing, esp about A/c buses
• Maintain a clean loo close to this point.

It's time to show dignity by practicing cleanliness, and convenience. It's not rocket science but the basics that's falling apart. I hope someone hear to my babble.

If you're a Govt official you can take up this matter to your super bosses or if you're a travel business owner, you can get other's involved and do something for the tourist. I wish I had bit spare dough to lead the way.

Thanks!

Ride In An Ambassador Car

One of the iconic Indian cars. Ambassador, like the name was the most popular car till the late 80' or early 90's. I couldn't think of another car in our streets filled with portholes. Now on the same or even worse portholes, we have BMW's or Ford or Lexus.

Have gone for a drive in these rustic Ambassadors? Do you want to ride again in these spacious automobiles.

Green Green Paddy Turf

Another beautiful view while crossing this large expanse of paddy fields. Allepy the bread basket of Kerala, still has big acreages on paddy cultivation.

These pictures pulls me closer to my childhood memories, when I used to walk across these paddy fields, fishing, playing in water. Well, those are old cherished memories that still linger. Sometimes, I wish I can still get a chance to walk across these young green paddy fields.

Do you have such a longing? Do you like to explore these little joys while on a tour in Kerala. If you have, but don't know how to reach there, get help from our tour guides. Get into freedom, get into the open spaces, enjoy the little moments of your travel, touching the water and sludge in every paddy field.

Contact me for free suggestion or for guided tour for Kerala.

Crossing Backwaters

Allepy Backwater hideouts
I shot this picture from the Trivandrum - Bangalore train. Got the perfect shop of the lazy morning hue around Kerala's wide expanse of backwaters. Looking back at it, I feel like staying at a remote backwater location. Just you, me, and few books.

During you fancy staying away from the hum-dum of city life. I can arrange perfect hideouts beside these green lagoons.

Watch the idyllic life of people, watch the sawing ducks as it dives into it's water world.

Contact me by phone or by mail to give you wide selection of spots around Kerala's backwaters.

Trivandrum Estury

                                                                         ( Pozhikara Photo: Courtesy: Sasi Kumar)

Pozhikkara close to Pachalloor close to Kovalam is around 20 km from Trivadrum airport or 30 Km from Trivandrum city .The main attraction at this tranquil place is the greenery banks and the lake view across the beach.

Pozhikara beach is spread out with long stretch of golden sand and graciously swaying coconut trees.It's close to Poovar, the mega tourist center for all kinds of starry Ayurvedic Resorts.

The surrounding areas around Poovar offers idyllic base to spend your vacation. There're number of guest houses, big star Hotels, and Aurvedic resorts. What better way than to lazing in a hammock under the palm trees. Get into a relaxing massage and rest your thoughts watching the villagers paddling past in their long dug-outs.

Trivandrum Untapped Destinations

Go beyond the usual tourist places in Trivandrum. If you've the grit to explore the wild untapped beauty of Kerala, there is no better place than in Trivandrum.

There're many places unknown to backpackers or tourist coming to God's own Country. Get an expert guide to take you out to explore beyond the obvious.

Personal Guide Services
If you require English or Germen speaking guides to take on a voyage of discovery then contact me. I'll get back within 24 hrs. Visit all those little places you seen my blog or more and get closer personal experience to the normal life in Kerala.

Muttom Lighthouse

While searching for other lighthouses around Kanyakumari, I read about Muttom light house. On digging further in Bing, I saw more information about this sandy beach.

Muttom is a fishing village, very close to the Nagercoil, the capital township. It's located 12 miles from Nagercoil. It's well connected by road. From Kanyakumari it takes you about 34 km.

Here're few interesting links about Muttom

muttom.net
absoluteastronomy.com
Search Muttom

Light House Kanyakumari

Next time you visit Kanyakumari, try to find time to visit this 100 year old lighthouse. It towers 105 feet above sea level. The view from the old of the light house at Kanyakumari gives you the panoramic view of the Souther most tip of India Peninsula. At night the beacon of light from this towering lighthouse sans across the Indian ocean.

As a repeated visitor in Kanyakumari, I normally skip hot spots in Cape. I like exploring to other historical monuments like the granite Vattakota or Circular fort lying four miles north-east of Kanyakumari. If you're interested in uncoveing old ruins, you can visit the century old lighthouse at Leepuram coast.

This bay area around Kanyakumari cost line is riddled with ship wreaks and many people visit to uncover artifacts from sunken ships.



granite fort six kilometres north-east of Kanyakumari cape

Social Media For Travel Biz

It's a brand new year. Year of promises to a resurging business for your hotel or resort. It's time to start the year with these shining tips to marketing goodness:

Reach out to Customers
Everyone talks but very few marketers does it. Connect with your customers through various contacts. Mobile, email, text msgs, postal mails etc.

Accelerate Your Social Marketing
It's good to have social media presence, but it's even better if you regularly start promoting your business through these channles. Don't do an eyewash stuff with such kind of efforts. Share some insight, meanigful, customer engagement content through Facebook, blogs or through twitter accounts

Time to stay on top of your customer's mind. Prove your awesomeness with savvy marketing initiatives.

If you can't, get an expert do it for you. Get the best advice and guidance from social media expert who can guide your from these unchartered waters.

Circular Fort Kanyakumari

                                      
                                    View inside the Circular Fort, Kanyakumari

Two beautiful  views of Circular Fort; Kanyakumari. Most guided tours don't take you to these forts. It's a detour from Kanyakumari. Next time you visit Cape of Comorin ( Kanyakumari), try to add this to your travel itinerary.

These images were taken by my friend during a recent visit to Circular fort.

Beypore shipbuilding

I still has distant images of visiting Beypore when I was in school. It was during early 80's. I was thunderstruck with those big wood skeletons that becomes the hull of traditional ship made from Beypore. That time I was staying in Calicut along with my parents. Now after many years, I'm trying to piece together few more details about Beypore.

History of Beypore
Beypore port is one of the oldest ports in Kerala. In yesteryears it was famous for building unique wooden boats called as Urus. These big merchant boats(Dhows) were bought by traders by Middle East.Ship building still continues as the main business in Beypore.

Fish Stalls at Beypore
Fishing is continues as another livelihood for the people at Beypore. The fresh catch from the sea is prepared at many of the seaside stalls around Beypore. If you're a sea food lover, you can visit several of the seaside stalls to have sumptuous sea food at affordable price.

Beypore Light house

While searching for more places around Beypore,I found this unique hexagonal lighthouse at Beypore. I'm a big fan of lighthouses. I you're then you can visit this beautiful lighthouse. I found a nice blog post about the trip to Beypore light house. If you are technically inclined about this light house, click here for technical specification about Beypore light house.


How to Reach Beypore From Calicut
It's hardly 10 Km from Calicut town. Take a taxi or rickshaw or you get frequent bus from city bus station and Palayam terminals.

PS: Read this interesting travelogue on Beypore by the famous contemporary author Anita Nair

Kowdiar Palace

Kowdiar Palace the seat of Travancore is another historical building in Trivandrum. Situated in the heart of Trivandrum, this palace has over 150 rooms, 3 stories, wooden lift, 6 steeple. It has a rich history of over 220 years.

The majestic Kowdiar Palace owes it's distinct name in history to the rulers of Travancore who were great patrons of art and architecture. Here's an old B&W image of Kowdiar Palace shared in this forum.