North Kerala trippin'

In our quest to travel far and wide in our beautiful country, we (read I) hit upon a tiny village called Neeleshwar in North Kerala. It was exciting to plan a trip to the Malabar coast, having never visited that part of Kerala before. We were supposed to travel here in January, then again in April, but both time I had to cancel our train tickets because of work-related emergencies. Finally we were able to make it last weekend, by train to Kanhangad (near Kasaragod) and then a 20-minute drive by car to our resort.

Swaying palm trees, cool rain, and lush foliage awaited us as we emerged. I couldn't wait to explore the cottage and it's surroundings, and the view of the Arabian sea was simply superb. The pics say it all!

The agenda was to relax and do nothing. The rain helped; without it I might have been tempted to revert to my usual traveller mode of rushing here and there to see the sights. One Day 2, we visited Bekal Fort, a beautifully-maintained fort a few kms from where we were staying. Although it was gorgeous and green (the kind of vivid green I would associate with, say, Ireland) on a wind-swept, rainy day, I was disappointed to see no signage or information about the Fort itself, and came away no wiser than before (Wiki came to the rescue). The kids were thrilled to see large waves dashing themselves against the rocks.

We also spent an evening cruising along the Valiyaparamba backwaters in a houseboat, not a novel experience but oh-so-relaxing.

Great Malabar food, serene environs, the constant sound of the sea against the beach, raindrops rattling on the roof, masala chai and the company of loved ones - what more could one have asked for? As I completed yet another circle around the sun, I felt truly blessed.