Nature At Its Best: Trivandrum Travel

It was a boring office trip to Trivandrum and on the weekend, I was getting bored sitting alone in the hotel room on a Saturday when I thought, what the heck, solo travel can also be fun. Hearing all the rape stories had got me a little nervous and scared and hence I packed a knife from the hotel fruit basket 😛 and geared myself up for what turned out to be my one-on-one with nature.

I was staying at Taj Vivanta in Trivandrum and called for a taxi to go to Leela Palace, Kovalam, to indulge in some high quality food by the beach and enjoy the luxuries of life. It was raining beautifully when I got a chance to get a seat by the window overlooking the sea and reading my current favorite book Nagas from Shiva Trilogy, life could not have been any more enjoyable.

I foot the bill for the lunch and moved ahead for my next stop at Poovar Island (a small coastal island in the south of Trivandrum and a solitude lover’s dream), much famous Kerala Back Waters tour – and now I know why it is so famous – it deserves every word of the praise it gets from people across the globe. It was a 1.5hrs motor boat trip through the back waters jungle to the Arabian Sea and included a pit stop at the floating restaurant in the river!

As the trip started, I could feel the monsoon breeze touching my cheeks softly, we went deeper into the thick jungles where all I could see was water and greenery all around – like I was filming for a Discovery Channel documentary!

Going through the jungles, the river started giving way to clearer water and there it was – my moment of truth…the Arabian Sea! The tide was high and scary but the river was quiet and patient. The two met like friends forever – without being bias about the vastness of size; no jealousy about the clear or salty water. It was just pure friendship.

The point where the two meet is the Golden Sand Beach and is a must see beach if you are on a trip to Kerala (This place is not suitable for swimming though).

Being so closely attached to nature, it was one of the best tours of my life, all by myself! The point where you see the waves of the sea shaking hands with the waves of the river, the only thing you think of is – ‘Hats off to Mother nature’!!!

Though the constant rain had made the sea very rough and wild, it was magnificent nonetheless.
Facts to know!

• Cab from Hotel to Kovalam, Kovalam to Poovar Island and Poovar Island to Hotel – INR3000
• Meal at Leela Kovallam – Caesar Salad and Beer (for one person) – INR1500 (good things dont come cheap)
• Jet ride to backwaters (for one person – off season) – INR2500
• River Name – Neyyar
• Forest Name – Mongroves
• Sea – Arabian Sea – Golden Sand Beach
• Location – 30kms from south of Trivandrum, 12kms from Kovalam Beach
• Some more popular points – Elephant Rock (Golden Beach), Meditation Center (Golden Beach), Floating Cottages (Neyyar River), Floating Restaurant

Hope you liked the pictures……I had the best time of my life! Will be back soon! 🙂

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