Elephant Shower and Bath Thekady Kerala

Elephant ride and Shower  is one of the important things to do in Thekady, Kerala, India.  Timings for Elephant ride is from 9am to 6 pm. Situated in Avanchal in Thekkady. It is small 10 acre area granted by government outside the forest land. As per locals, yester years poachers are now converted into animal friendly mahots.

Besides Elephant ride and shower there are multiple other tourist attractions in same premises

1. Spice garden tour
2. Musical Fountain
3. magic show
4. Kathakali Dance 
5. The mahot also asked us about elephant hair - As per the folk lore - Its auspicious to wear Elephants hair in the finger ring.

Bang opposite is the Tribal dance show organized in the evening by Government tourist board of Kerala.

I would recommend you to reach there early in the morning around 9 am to this place. Since its less crowded and early birds always benefit. We were located in the Green court home stay just minutes walking distance from the Elephant ride center.

To do or not to do - Initially I was personally not keen or might be scared of sitting on the elephant. On insistence of my husband and the hotel owner somehow i did agree. Since the hotel owner was local he got us discount of Rs 100 each. The package now priced at Rs 900 each - included Elephant ride, Elephant bath followed by Elephant shower. 

The sun rose in the sky and i woke up surely with some butterflies in my stomach. Our son was all excited.

We reached the camp around 9 am. If you are with kids - i would recommend you to carry some snacks for them as this activity takes around 1 hour.

As we were the early birds we were privileged to see multiple elephants getting ready for the days work. Starting with bath, shower, scrubbing of back and ears, some wholesome break fast of coconut tree leaves and rice,. Once the elephant was ready the mahot placed the seat (some kind of bed covered with plastics sheet) on his back. That also included iron rods which will provide you support during the ride.

We were asked to go and stand on the mounting station which is around 1 floor high. Yes, You really feel scared when the elephant approaches near you and the mahot asks you to mount on its back. I was under the impression that the mahot will accompany us on the elephants back. To my surprise, he was walking on the ground. Some how we sat on the elephant and then for first few minutes I was just chanting gods name. 

Once all of us were sure that the Ele wont just go mad and run here and there - we all started enjoying the ride. The mahot took us around the square shaped coconut trees garden. The ride lasted for around 15 minutes. At the end of the ride we were allowed to stand with the elephant and take some snaps. I would like to mention this that we were able to enjoy this at our own pace, simply because we reached there quiet early before it becomes to crowded.

Elephant Bath - After completing the heroic deed of climbing the Mount Everest someone comes and asks you to cross the Atlantic Ocean. How will you feel at that time ? Well I had same feelings in my mind when we were asked to proceed to the elephant bath area. Its a small artificial concrete pond where one old elephant was resting. The mahot was cleaning its ears. As per my imagination - we holding a pipe in our hand and spraying water on the elephant. Well, the mahot asked us to change the clothes and get in to the pond. Thank God, our fear to come near the elephant had reduced a little bit after elephant ride. The man asked us to pick up the brush and scrub the elephants body. This reduces the fear in your mind and the elephants doesnt not feel you as stranger. It really did work out. It was really amazing to see how my son sat on the elephants back on his own and scrubbed it.Then came the time for elephant shower - my husband abhi tried it first. Our son was really scared. At the end came my turn. I was quiet confident, all the butterflies in my stomach had gone to collect some pollen on the flowers. I climbed up the elephant back using its leg as foot rest and the elephant showered fresh water with his trunk on me. No words to describe how i felt. Wowwwwwwwwwww....

A definite big YES if you have second thoughts regarding visiting the place. YES do visit it, its fun.

Chinese Fishing Nets

Chinese Fishing Nets in Kumarakom, Kerala, India is one of means of fishing.
Using local products like fishing nets and Bamboos mechanics fundamentals applied by local fisher men to make their day to day life easy. It is about 20 meters wide and 10 meters in height.
While heading towards Kumarakom from Cochin you need to pass a big bridge over the Vembanad Lake.
One can see lot of Chinese Fishing nets installed on the banks of these shallow water lake.
These nets are lowered using the lever and pulley mechanism for very short time. The fresh catch fish in the low lying backwaters is caught in these nets.

Suchipara Waterfalls Vythiri Kerala

Suchipara Waterfalls in Vythiri, Kerala India is one the several waterfalls in the Wayanad district of Kerala. This waterfall has water flow almost through out the year as recommended to us by the Local people. We happened to visit this waterfalls in the month of November post monsoon season.

Its around 12 kms from Kalapetta - small district in Wayanad. Even though the distance is 12 kms, it takes around 1 hr to reach the place by car due to the twisted ghats in the hilly region. On the way you can enjoy the tea plantations and nature at its best. The waterfall is open for public from 10 am to 5 pm. Since its The forest department employees are constantly available through out the place.

Tips for Parking and Lunch

On reaching the place, you need to park the vehicle in the parking area. The ticket counter is just next to the parking area. After collecting the tickets you need to walk towards the entrance of the waterfall. Even though the entrance gate looks near, its long walk down the mountain to reach the waterfalls. Therefore its good idea to get some quick food from the road side stalls - egg or 2 minutes maggi, to keep your tummy full.
Important -

• Dont forget to book your lunch after coming back.
• If you havent carried spare clothes or towels to wipe yourself then its good to buy from the local stalls

The final destination is around 30-40 minutes walk or trek down the steep rocky mountain. One needs to be careful if you are with kids and family. Towards the end you can hear water gushing with full force.
The huge waterfall is pleasant site for your eyes after long trek down the mountain. Like all tourist you also get tempted to enter the flowing water.

Vythiri, Wayanad

Vythiri, Wayanad is one of the famous hill station in Wayanad, Kerala, India. Vythiri is located on the Western Ghats mountain range. From mountains covered with Eucalyptus trees to tea plantations, it has got the best nature can offer. What more can you ask for - one of the best waterfalls in India. Suchipara waterfalls.

How to reach Vythri =

Vythiri being a 6-8 hrs drive from Whitefield, Bangalore. Leaving early hours is recommendable as one can skip traffic. A breakfast break at Ramangara Kamat Lokaruchi is stomach full. From Mysore you have head towards Gundalpet and then take left. You will first hit Sultan Bakery where you can enjoy lunch.

You will first hit Wayanad, then Kalapetta and ultimately Vythri.

Things to do in Vythri -

• Tea plantations
• Hiking or Trekking
• Spice garden trips
• Waterfall - we covered Suchipara water fall
• Lake and boating
• Spice shopping

Coconut Country Kerala

Kerala, India is known as coconut country. As Italy is famous for Olives, Kerala is famous for Coconuts and its products. Coconut tree is also known as Kalpavriksha, in costal parts of India because of its ability to amply provide for human needs.
It ranges from food to coir products.  Heres picture of coconuts getting dried. These will be churned in the mill to produce oil. Few of them will be shredded, packed in tin and exported abroad.
Each and every part of coconut tree is used for some purpose or other.
To name a few

• Coconut - coconut water, oil, food, savouries, currys etc
• Leaves - Roofs, Brooms, 
• Tree trunk - coir products - matresses, artifacts etc
• Coconut shell - fuel, artifacts

Kerala cusine is dominated with various food recipes prepared from Coconut and rice.

Each household in Kerala must have big garden in back yard with lots of coconut trees.

Local Life in Kumarkom Kerala

Any article on Kerala, India is usually talks about the backwaters and its scenic beauty.
My take on ""What makes the place beautiful is its local life !!!"
So thought of devoting this article on the Local Life in Kumarakom.

The localities stay in small houses lined on the banks of the lake. Their staple diet is rice and freshly caught fish from the lake. The rice is grown in the paddy fields located on islands. One can spot the paddy field workers working in the fields while enjoying the boat ride. Since their farms and houses are located on different islands they use small boats to commute to and fro.

Kumarakom, Kerala

Kumarakom- Back water lake destination in Kerala, India. It is located at 40 mins to 50 mins drive from Cochin Airport.
Since its surrounded by the Vembanad Lake all over. Choosing to  stay in house boat or hotel facing the lake is the best option. You will love enjoying a cup of tea or coffee or might be beer, watching the silver lined coconut trees  on the banks of the island.
The activities are as follows:

• Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary
• House Boat Stay
• Boat Ride in the Back waters

Best time to visit Kumarakom is from October to February. 2nd week of December to 1st week of January being the peak season where all the rates are doubled up.
The scenic beauty of Kumarakom can be described in no words. Therefore adding more pictures to this post makes more sense.

Coir Industry, Kerala

If shopaholic do visit Kerala-Allepey / Allapuzza, never miss chance to visit the Coir market near the Allepey beach. There are lot of whole salers who have small outlets to sell the coir items.
From Door mats, to carpets, to car floor mats there is everything and anything available in different shapes, sizes and colors. You need to just choose one of your choice.

Rates - yes you need to bargain. Definitely you will get it cheaper then those available in the Hi-tech malls. Still you can make same more savings by arguing on the rates.

Lighthouse, Bypore, Kerala

The Lighthouse in Bypore, Kerala, India is one of the tourist attractions for Calicut city. If you are standing on the Bypore Pier, one can sight the Lighthouse on the opposite side.

The Lighthouse becomes operational immediately after the sunset. It high volt lights glow after certain interval to guide the marine traffic in the Arabian Sea. Bypore Port being one of the oldest port for trade with the middle east.

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Sunset at Bypore Pier, Kerala, India

Sunset at Bypore Pier, Kerala, India, is one of the few tourist attractions at the off-beat Bypore Beach in Kerala.
The Bypore Pier is 2 KM long bridge build in the Sea. It was used in olden days by the fisher men and is means to hold back the severe sea currents. As of now the main tourist attraction is for watching the sun setting in the sky.

Our visit to the Bypore Pier was on crowded evening in December month. Most of the crowd was due to tourist in Bypore and the locals who had returned back from Middle East or other countries for vacations with family. The Pier is accompanied with half km Beach. There are some local vendors selling some junk food, icecream, chips and Colas on the Beach.

We also spotted some local fisher men catching shell fish on the banks of the Pier.

Shell Fishing, Bypore, Kerala

While our visit to the Bypore Pier, Kerala, India, we saw some localites mingling in the piers steep rock banks. Initially we were quiet surprised to see why they are trying the dare devil stunts. Later we came to know that they are fishing fresh shell fish. Some of them had actually got down in to the sea waves splashing on the sharp rocks to catch the shell fish. Few had brought buckets from their home else were carrying it in plastic bags. Saw some girls selling the locally caught fresh shell fish to the visitors of the Pier.

Elephant Pooja/ Worship, Kerala , India

Along the way from Bypore, Kerala, India to Kumarakom, Kerala, India we spotted a Elephant Puja / worship being performed on the road. We had almost reached Cochin, Kerala, India by evening.

My 2 year old son is interested in the Elephants. We decided to stop the car and have a close look at the ceremony being performed across the road.

There were three elephants standing in front of the decorated bamboo entrance. There was mahout - elephant trainer sitting on the head of each elephant. The elephants were decorated with several jewellery items and flowers. Each elephant had a numbered plate tied in the neck. Seems they were belonging to some local temple.

Bunch of local musicians were standing in front of these elephants and playing the music. There were couple of ladies carrying a plate with lamp and other worship accessories.

The entrance poles were decorated with Banana and coconuts. Its said when in Rome behave like Roman. As we were in Kerala, the locally grown crops such ass Banana and Coconuts is not only visible in the food but also used for decoration.