How to get to Varkala?

• From Cochin – Train + Auto (3.5 hours) / Bus + Auto  (4 – 4.5 hours) . Total Distance of  220 Kms
• From Trivandrum it takes just less than a hour. Distance of 44 kms

• There are lots of home stays in the cliff
• We stayed at a bamboo hut and the rate was around 1000 for a night. They allowed four people to stay in the large room and provided extra beds.
• Normal rates should be between Rs 400 – Rs 800 / night
• Walk around the Cliff to locate hotels and cheap homestays

What to Do in Varkala?

• Swim in the beach
• Watch the sunset
• Take a shower in the the mineral water gushing from the hill which is believed to have medicinal properties.
• Do Shopping
• Relax + Massage
• Food (French, Israeli, American etc). You find almost every country menu in there.
• Party

Varkala beach is one lovely beach. The water is very clear and you can go a bit into the sea (get guidance from the lifeguards). What makes varkala special is the cliff facing the sea. The sight of the sea from the cliff is breath taking. The Blue sea, the sky, the cliffs make varkala feel like heaven. I recommend you should spend atleast 2 to 3 days in varkala to enjoy and relax out there.

 

You will find three beaches out in Varkala, the White sand beach (near helipad) called the Papanashini beach and two small black beaches. If you are ready to walk you can walk through the cliff and end up in kaapil (where i heard you can do boat rides).

 

Varkala is also one amazing place for party animals. You must check out Funky, Blueberries and Rock n Rolla (it was closed when we went but might open soon)  for partying. Funky was the most happening place when we went and as the night hits you can definetly smell weed (beware!!!).

 

You can find all sorts of food there from French to Israeli to American. We had a tough time locating Indian food. Finally got tandoori chicken and chapathi at Sunrise hotel (near to helipad)

Varkala beach is a perfect spot to spend your weekend. I must definitely give a thumbs up for Varkala!!!

 

Information in Short:

• Cochin to Thekkady 200 kilometer and thats around 5 hours of travelling
• Route taken through Thripunithura-Muvattupuzha-Thekkady
• Thekkady stayed for 2 days at a Home Stay (Rs 875/day)
• Places or Things to do in Thekkady
  Night Trekking / Day Trekking – Rs 500
  Bamboo Rafting (Whole day package – Rs 1000 inclusive of food)
  Cloud Surfing / Border Trekking (Whole day trekking)- (Rs 750+)
  Boating
  Trip to Gavi lake + Trek – Rs 1200+/Person
  View Point + Waterfalls (3KM from Thekkady) 

Wonderla is an awsome experience for any aged people. High thrill rides to normal rides make sure that you enjoy every bit of your stay in wonderla. Wonderla is from V Guard group who also runs another amusement park in kerala cochin by the name Veega Land. Wonderla has got a large number of imported rides with world class safety. The place is clean and water is hygienic(reverse osmosis treated water used). Wonderla also has heated pools in winter.

Some Basic things you should make sure before you visit wonderla

• Clothes
• Plastic Cover to put your wet clothes
• Bath Towel (you can take a shower at the end of the day) + Soap.
• Sunscreen, Cap
• Chappel (this is optional)

Water and food are available in plenty. All beverages are charged the normal amount. You dont have to pay extra for your camera or handycam.

Expenses

Entry Fee to Wonderla Monday to Friday : Rs 450 (11AM to 7PM)
Entry Fee to Wonderla on Saturday,Sunday and Holidays : Rs 570 + tax (Comes around Rs 600) – 11AM to 8PM.

Locker Room Charges : Rs 100 (refundable) + Rs 30.

To have maximum fun make sure you get into the park by 11AM, otherwise you are sure to miss many rides. First it is advised to visit the Dry rides and finish all the dry rides by 2.30PM and then start getting wet after 3PM.

The Different Rides + shows in Wonderla Bangalore are:

• Wonder Splash
• Carousel
• Funky Monkey
• Wonderla La Bamba
• Crazy Cars
• Musical Fountain + Laser Show
• Merry Gosts
• Mini Pirate Ship
• Termite Coaster
• Kiddies Wheel
• Mini Express
• Toon Tango
• Cine Magic
• Moon Walker
• Sky Wheel and Tower (you get to see the entire view of wonderla and nearby places)
• Jumping Frog
• Mixer (get ready to be thrown in the air)
• Flying Jumbo
• Drop Zone (What does it feel to get dropped from Top?)
• Lion Swing
• Techno Jump
• Net Walk
• Maverick (Awsome Ride – So much fun)
• Y Scream (Recommended, a must visit ride)
• Pirate Ship
• Insanity
• Hurricane
• Convoy

Water Rides

• Vertical Fall (Water Ride)
• Wavy Fall
• Harakiri
• Fun Racer
• Uphill Racer
• Banded Kraits
• Twisters
• Water Pendulum
• Lazy River
• Pools
• Rain Disco
• Wave Pools

You can take a Bus to Bidadi from Majestic and get out in Mysore road and then get a free pick up by wonderala bus. 226 N goes through the front of wonderla from KR marker. From Majestic 226 is the Bus to get in to head to Wonderla. if you are looking for an auto Ride it would costs you some 450 bucks. Or You can reach Kengeri and take a auto to wonderla from there. Auto fare would be Rs 150.

The match was supposed to start at 4 and we had got into the stadium by 2.15PM. It was a very long wait in the hot climatic conditions. Chennai Climate is too hot. Soon the stadium started filling in. So many “beautiful girls”  where to be seen. To be honest i have not seen “much” in bangalore.  Majority of the crowd where Doni supporters. Hardly around 10 people in our stand where supporting Kolkata Knight Riders.

The match started on time and it was a disappointing performance by the Kolkata Knight Riders team. They managed only 147 in 20 Overs. This score seemed no match for Dhoni and team and they achieved it pretty smoothly. The match thus was pretty boring.

There was Shivamani doing rounds around the stadium on the field during breaks with his drums entertaining the crowd. More than the match i was expecting Shahrukh Khan and Vijay (two of my favourite heros), but i was disappointed. While out of the stadium had a glimse of the Kolkata Knight rider cheer girls dressed in minimals from close range. Asked them to pose with me for a Photograph but they just left in a hurry. I couldnt manage a snap of it as i was begging them for a photo and in the confusion they vanished.

It was an intresting chennai trip. The sunday was spent visiting Spencers, Chennai City center and Marina Beach. I would be posting some random shots of the chennai trip in this blog when i get time as you guys know i am very busy with the “Night Shift”.

To End up! Im still a Big Knight Rider Fan!! As one of the Messages in stadium read ” Mind says Chennai but heart says Kolkata”. Heart is still with Kolkata  Knight riders!.

Note: I still havent got hold of Knight rider T-shirts. I called up some guys they said they can give me T-shirts but not the jersey  !

The Shopping Festival is proposed to be conducted from 1st December 2007 to 31st January 2008 and spread across 14 districts of Kerala State.

About 11,000 shops and business establishments in the district are expected to participate in the Grand Kerala Shopping Festival (GKSF), sponsored by the State government.

Modelled like the Dubai Shopping Festival or DSF, is aimed at boosting local trade and projecting Kerala as an international shopping destinatio.

The GKSF initiative will run consecutively for five years and is planned with a mega media spend. This year’s budgeted marketing outlay is Rs 10 crore for 60 days, 80 per cent of the money will be spent in Kerala. The rest will be shared among other states like Tamil Nadu Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, specific northern states, and counties like the UK and Singapore.

During the Festival, the retail shops, trade centers, shopping malls etc will be offering attractive ackages to encourage the customers and attract more tourists to visit Kerala. The Festival will lso interlink with the State’s high quality mercantile, Tourism brand value & human resources strengths, which is inherent to Kerala.

Prizes worth Rs. 125 Million are announced which include:

• Merc/BMW cars,
• Residential Flats,
• Paid Holidays,
• Diamond Sets,
• Gold,
• LCD/Plasma TV
• and much more when you shop at Grand Kerala Shopping Festival (GKSF).

Every time a customer makes a purchase worth Rs. 1,000/- from any of the participating outlets in Grand Kerala Shopping Festival (GKSF) he/she will be entitled get a lucky coupon.
Official Website: www.grandkeralashoppingfestival.com

Last Saturday since i was alone me with my friend manish and his brother went to nandi hills in the early morning. we started off at 5am and reached there by 6.30am something(lotsa stops in between). I must say early morning nandi hills looks awsome!. The climate,the scenary, the mist..it’s beautiful and refreshing.

I do have the snaps which was taken by girish. I’ll be posting some soon here in my flicker. you can check out the tippu drop and the adjoining places which is pretty scenic. I’ll tell you, it’s best to visit in the early morning beacause the place looks so different by afternoon and it might not intrest people.

Kerala Offers a wide range of tourisn opportunities from nature tourism, monsoon tourism, backwater tourism , adventure tourism, eco friendly tourism, cultural tourism etc.

Hill Stations

Munnar : Located 1600mts above sea level. It’s One of the prime tourist destinations in the country. Unending Tea Plantations, Neeakurinji(a flower), rajamala,echo point, mattupetty etc are some of the must go places in munnar.

Neliampathi and Ponmudi are the other hill stations in kerala.

Beaches

Cherai Beach  – It’s Simply awsome

Backwaters and Houseboats

A Visit to kerala without a ride in houseboat in the backwaters is a great loss.You can visit these backwaters.

Wildlife Sanctuaries

Palaces

• Pathmanabapuram Palace(trivandrum)
• Bolgatty Palace(cochin)
• Thripunithura Palace(cochin)

These are the Most common places of tourist attraction in kerala(yea ive surely missed lots). This list can be useful if you are planning for a normal short trip to kerala. If you like to explore the wild beauty with adventure then wayanad is a place to check out. Meenmutti waterfalls, Kuruva Dweep etc are some places you can check out in wayanad.

Since i just made a mention about waterfalls then through my mind it flashed about athirampilly waterfalls(how can i forget that). Lotsa Bollywood movies have been shot here(eg: guru).This is also a must watch out.

Amusement Parks:

• Veega Land
• Dream World
• Fantasy Park
• Baywatch

So enjoy your stay in kerala