Yeah yeah...I know its been a long time since I posted. I'm so lazy and easily bored that even ranting about it online has become boring. So much for a positive outlook! Anyway I've been wanting to write about this for quite a while now. The draft was ready months ago...just that I was too lazy to click 'Publish'.
Ashes(reporting for NGC!), .com, KK, Suri, Shanky, Maadu, Kini and yours truly set off from college to Bekal Fort which is a couple of hours away south of Mangalore. Bekal is Kerala's biggest fort, dating back to the 15th century. The fort is located where the coastline takes a huge U-turn so it couldn't be more strategically (and photogenically) built. A Mukhyaprana(Hanuman) temple welcomes you to the fort which offers breathtaking views of the Arabian Sea. The fort and beach below it are famous tourist spots; the waters and the walls at Bekal Fort have been captured in many a movie, most notably in Bombay whose song 'Tu Hi Re' was shot here. I managed to get some really decent snaps of the fort while NGC Ashes recorded a few good videos.
What followed after Bekal was my first backwater experience...God-like!
Some 30km away from Bekal fort lie the Valiyaparamba backwaters. It still took us more than 2 hours to get there since there were no direct buses available (and more than half a day to pronounce the name right). Half a dozen buses and a lot of enquiry later, we reached the last point in the mainland - Ayitty village(God's own IT village!). And there lay the vast backwaters, calling out to us in all their serene splendour. I was awestruck by the sheer expanse of the waters and the endless sight of coconut trees. The 30-minute ferry ride from the IT village to Valiyaparamba island is pure bliss(of course it would've been more so had we not been stuffed into an overloaded ferry). Despite fearing that the boat may capsize any moment, I clicked away to glory.
The island is a treat to the eyes and the lens. It takes you centuries back where the only roads were paths and the clamor of vehicles was unknown to the ear. The island is some 7km long and is FILLED with coconut trees. After landing onto the backwaters' side, we walked the breadth of the isle to reach the beach which is(and will be for quite some time) the best beach I've ever been to!
I can exaltify it in a hundred more words but I'd rather let the pictures do the talking and compensate for my lack of adjectives that befit this place. Click here to view the full album - its the next best thing to actually being there. (plus my photography was appreciated by many so you won't regret it). All in all it was both a very economical(just 200 per head!) and more importantly, one of the most memorable places I've ever been to. For those of you who go to Bekal, the backwaters are a must-see.
Before final year exclusives like block parties and job treats could take over, it was our first weekend as a final year(which, I still feel, sucks!). Three of us were stuffed in one 7th Block room a la 2nd year which we couldn't take anymore. But the BIG positive was that there was LAN so we grabbed up every download slot that we could. Maadu and I were somehow more keen on getting off our asses than download movies and sitcoms. After convincing everyone else(except Chakki of course!), we decided on a one-day trip. My affair with Kerala was far from over...
Ashes(reporting for NGC!), .com, KK, Suri, Shanky, Maadu, Kini and yours truly set off from college to Bekal Fort which is a couple of hours away south of Mangalore. Bekal is Kerala's biggest fort, dating back to the 15th century. The fort is located where the coastline takes a huge U-turn so it couldn't be more strategically (and photogenically) built. A Mukhyaprana(Hanuman) temple welcomes you to the fort which offers breathtaking views of the Arabian Sea. The fort and beach below it are famous tourist spots; the waters and the walls at Bekal Fort have been captured in many a movie, most notably in Bombay whose song 'Tu Hi Re' was shot here. I managed to get some really decent snaps of the fort while NGC Ashes recorded a few good videos.
What followed after Bekal was my first backwater experience...God-like!
Some 30km away from Bekal fort lie the Valiyaparamba backwaters. It still took us more than 2 hours to get there since there were no direct buses available (and more than half a day to pronounce the name right). Half a dozen buses and a lot of enquiry later, we reached the last point in the mainland - Ayitty village(God's own IT village!). And there lay the vast backwaters, calling out to us in all their serene splendour. I was awestruck by the sheer expanse of the waters and the endless sight of coconut trees. The 30-minute ferry ride from the IT village to Valiyaparamba island is pure bliss(of course it would've been more so had we not been stuffed into an overloaded ferry). Despite fearing that the boat may capsize any moment, I clicked away to glory.
The island is a treat to the eyes and the lens. It takes you centuries back where the only roads were paths and the clamor of vehicles was unknown to the ear. The island is some 7km long and is FILLED with coconut trees. After landing onto the backwaters' side, we walked the breadth of the isle to reach the beach which is(and will be for quite some time) the best beach I've ever been to!
I can exaltify it in a hundred more words but I'd rather let the pictures do the talking and compensate for my lack of adjectives that befit this place. Click here to view the full album - its the next best thing to actually being there. (plus my photography was appreciated by many so you won't regret it). All in all it was both a very economical(just 200 per head!) and more importantly, one of the most memorable places I've ever been to. For those of you who go to Bekal, the backwaters are a must-see.
Here are just a few images of some of Kerala's amazing backwaters
Comments
Given that its a name in the God's Own Language, it was not as simple as it seems, for us!
nice blog indeed :)
nice blog indeed :)
Ashes
NGC :P
@ashes: thanks :)