Interlaken - Jungfraujoch

3 days!!! Fell in love with the place and willing to fall in love again with the person I went with😉.

Yay, I made it! I was still alive after 2 days of glacial weather at Lucerne and Mount Titlis! I told myself that I could sustain! Thus continued my journey towards the serene town of Interlaken which was more calm compared to the Lucerne city. By now I had stopped checking on the route maps, directions, train timings, food and everything w.r.t sightseeing. My proficient husband was quick enough to figure out on anything and I could simply rely on him considering past days' experience 😉. 

The journey bliss!

Image from the train glass panes.

The train journey to Interlaken was most definitely serene but an interesting fact was that a Chinese lady was mesmerised with my dimply charm😁. And the lady clicked a few pictures of me & my husband and showed it to us. Also complimenting me for my smile😊. My Mr still considers it to be the most beautiful pictures of us till date😄 but unfortunately the copies did not reach us. Must say, I was awestruck with the views! Even a heedless person like me can take amazing pictures there! Such is the nature from every which way, and is absolutely beautiful all around. The greenery, lakes all along, the distant mountains and the waterfalls! Oh yeah! the lakes are green in color. It is said that it is because of the suspended particles in the water coming from glacial melt and then the suspended solids reflect light making such unique water color. The train journey in Swiss is an experience in itself ☺.

The comfortable stay!

The bridge.

Hotel Rossli was 10 mins walk from the train station but the huge luggage I pulled strained my ice cold arms. In this short stretch I walked, there was a bridge crossing a beautiful green lake with the distant ice capped mountains behind to add to its beauty! The receptionist , a tall guy (John, I think..) welcomed us and was commendable for the information he passed onto us. The room was a basic one compared to Ibis at Lucerne but the wooden stairs and flooring made the difference with the noisy footsteps. Then again the window view was great with the greens, mountains and the paragliding scenes! Continental breakfast here was OK and we used our ready to eat packets for dinner meal as there was microwave facility. There was a food truck near the bus station where we used to eat burgers & sandwiches almost regularly. The joyful owner of the food truck was a kind-hearted lady who gave us some extra garnishing and cheese in the various delicacies we tried😋. I personally found those food trucks more mouth watering than any typical Swiss restaurant.

The cruise!

View as we sail..!

Coming to our next activity, we planned to cruise from Brienz to Thun. It was a round trip, sailing in a mini-ship and return by train from Thun. It was a couple of hours free trip as we had Swiss pass. We waited for the boat to arrive all excited about the open top journey! We were about 8 people sailing together, so the huge boat running at a pleasant pace gave us the much needed privacy. One end of the boat had horns of Swiss cattle and the Swiss flag flying high. There was a bar and restaurant set up inside the motored boat and I think we ordered coffee, some fries. The view on either side was so colourful & soothing to the eyes, with waterfalls from the mountains, few houses here & there, sheep & cattle grazing atop those mountains. We clicked lot of pictures until halfway and then laid back on the sunbathing recliner chairs for the rest of the journey! Men and their camera to capture nature is so annoying when it is overly done. After a few stern looks, the camera took the back seat and our spicy entertainment started😀. Not to forget, this is where we took our first "titanic" photo😍. 

Posing while cruising! 

Another interesting view was the railway track on the mountain edge, amazing isn't it! I thoroughly enjoyed each moment of that evening. Like they say, every memorable journey has to come to an end, we arrived at the Thun station. We waited at the train station for the last train of the day to arrive. It was getting dark and shops closing, thankfully we got to eat some burgers from the station bakery store. Thus the lovey-dovey cruise activity ended as we reached Interlaken by Train😍.

Railway track on the mountain edge!

Paragliding in Interlaken ost!

Hill top pathway.

The next morning, we planned to go Paragliding in the beautiful Interlaken Ost. We were picked up by the paragliding pilots from the hotel and we were taken to a hill top of about 1000 mts. The lush green hill top which felt like an awesome shooting spot. It was windy! I loved being there, posing, clicking pictures, selfies, secluded, humming wonderful rom-com songs, dancing to it, just the way I wanted to spend my vacation! I was all OK until we actually took off but then OMG!!!..the fall!!! I cannot forget that moment in my lifetime. I was shit-scared! It was mad to shout and get off the ground! My heartbeats skipped and I was gone I thought😨! Pilot Jerome made me comfortable while we were just flying straight but the moment he used to glide down a little, I was like wo wo woo..! The fact was that the pilot had to glide and come down to the huge green fields. The pilot made a video of my shouting and clicked few pictures up in the air. The fun shouting video is super hit that my Mr continues to watch it even now and it leaves us in tears of joy😂. The lakes, buildings, junctions, railways, market, monkeys on the mountains...my pilot showed me every distinguishable places as well as my Mr flying ahead of us. Though I enjoyed the beauty around with the mountain rocks at one side and the lake city with the greens on the other side, my acrophobia somehow made it's way through. My Mr was shooting a video of me landing and I was happy seeing us alive 😅. One super scary, yet fun and yet another first time experience to cherish😀. 

Paragliding view!

Trummelbachfalle!!! 

Meadowy entrance.

Cave like passage.

Post lunch, it was time to witness the most amazing glacier waterfall hidden inside a mountain! This waterfall is approximately 20 minutes by bus from Interlaken. The place is near a small town of Lauterbrunnen and the bus stop is right in front of the meadowy entrance. It will cost about 10 Swiss Francs per person. It is said that the glacier water comes with such force that it has carved it's way through a huge mountain! It has been a tourist spot, well maintained with a lift till halfway, stairs and passageways to the view points. It has about 10 floors which we have to climb in and around the mountain to get the falle view! We did not take the lift as we wanted to enjoy our climb up the stairs viewing the valleys. There's a lift at the centre and stairs at both ends. Whichever end you choose to take, it could be different in terms of views. The beauty is that we can see the next floors from the passageways and it gets misty when the water sprinkles. Also, it gets scary😨 as we enter cave like passage as you climb up the stairs with few artificial lights. Then there are small openings from where we can see the milky waterfall already. As we reached the top floor, the noisy waterfall gets so near that one can enjoy the water splashes and is insane to look down the falls! It is certainly a unique experience. One can never even imagine the existence of such a waterfall, having seen the regular ones all through their life😊. Overall, it took us about 2-3 leisurely hours to get back to the entrance along with the photo-shoots we did. 

 Mid-way falls view!

Before we signed off for the day, we did hop few shops in the Interlaken market the same evening. Owing to the cravings of our Indian taste-buds, we then dined in an Indian restaurant before we signed-off for the day😋. We crashed hoping for the skies to clear up for our next day's mountain excursion. 

The Jungfraujoch alps!

Jungfrau alps!

Jungfraujoch is an absolutely amazing alpine attraction, at an altitude of 3454 metres. It is located in between the Monch and the Jungfrau mountains. The Cogwheel train journey to the Europe's highest train station is like travelling in a fairy-snowy land with super exotic ice clad views! The tunnels to climb up the alps gets pitch dark, yet there's an amazing view point mid-way wherein the train stops for few minutes. My Mr jumped out of the train at the view point which worried me until he was back abode. Seasonal crowd was expected and most of them are Indians or Chinese. Having said that, we did not feel out of place at all and got accompanied by our own people. We did not get seats and thus we were standing all the way up. The steep ride journey added up to our romantic memories😉. Do not forget your shades!!! One cannot handle the light reflection while it is sunny. It takes about 2 hours to reach the Jungfrau station via Lauterbrunnen or via Grindelwald. The altitude leaves you a little dizzy as you reach the top station. Thankfully, I got some coffee refreshment to energise myself. 

After relaxing for a while, it was time to take the lift/stairs to the 360° panoramic view point at the terrace of the station building. I was so excited to be at the top of Europe! The view takes your breath away! The misty alps and the moving clouds look so near to you. There was something called Snow fun park area for the snow activities which was very much visible from there. Sledging, skiing, snow boarding are some of the fun activities to name a few! To continue this big time experience is the walkaway from this building to the Ice Palace wherein we get to see some huge ice sculptures to admire. Also the walkways leads us to the multimedia shows and to the informative exhibition. Multimedia show had a big screen wherein they show us the mountain peak ranges, storm experience and much more. Exhibition was intended to learn few facts about the place and it's history. There are many restaurants as well as chocolate stores with the history briefing of the chocolate making. Of course you can buy chocolates here but it's pricey! 

Skiing!

Oh yaas! I played in the snow very much like a child, throwing ice balls at each other, buried my legs in the snow, mostly posed for pictures with such majestic backdrop of ice which was so much fun and I still rejoice recollecting those memories. Coming to the snowy activity, we did sledging together. Sliding over the ice on a sledge was superb😍! The fun part was that if we don't hold the sledge in proper position, it used to slide us to the corners of the sledging runway. Obviously, as beginners we did experience the fun with lots of laughter😂. 

Sledging!

Having such wonderful memories to carry, we boarded the last train of the day to get back to Interlaken. Must say, Titlis and Jungfrau is unique in it's own way. In Titlis, we enjoined the ROTAIR panoramic view as well as the cable car. In Jungfrau, it was the Cogwheel train experience. Thankfully, the weather at Jungfraujoch did not disappoint us as we were skeptical about the visibility and it's operation. With such discussions in an Indian restaurant that evening, our Interlaken days was ceased😊.  


Yet another secluded town of Gstaad stories coming soon😉! 

Lucerne - Mount Titlis !!!

Swiss tales!!! Summer!! May 2015! 

Feb 2015, my then fiancee was on phone! He was very keen to know about my dream destination. I wondered a little, but very soon realised that it was about our honeymoon. I reluctantly replied "oh, like you're going to take me to Greece or Switzerland😉 !". Then came a huge hearted response "most definitely, if we can plan now!". I ignored at first thinking about the budget, but this conversation got into reality very soon! NZ was in his mind considering Queenstown adventure sports. Merely, the glaciers had their share of luck to get us land in Swiss😀. Honeymoon to Switzerland fulfilled my childhood fantasy😍 !!! We planned 8N 9Ds vacation to the beautiful city of Lucerne and the serene towns of Interlaken and Gstaad.

It was Emirates flight from Bangalore to Dubai and then to Zurich. Hey, I boarded my first flight only then. I was anxious about my flight, the distance away from my parents, with a partner I've known only for some months! I felt some kind of a jolt in my stomach while the flight took off. I held my Mr's arms very tight to overcome my anxiety while he laughed at it. But he also made sure that I was comfortable like a good husband😊. After a few hours of talk came this huge flashy Dubai airport! Our transit to catch the Zurich flight was through a metro, one can imagine how huge the airport could be! My cautious husband did not sleep throughout our journey. He was watching out for the bags we carried having known my excitement about the honeymoon😝, though I asked him to sleep while I was awake. Duh!! once we boarded the flight to Zurich, probably the only time I was awake was when the non-veg meal was served in the flight. But the meal quantity in the flight was disappointing😞 given that I had a lot of expectations about my first meal in my first flight.

Lucerne city!

A freaking cold evening in Lucerne! 
We arrived in this beautiful city from Zurich by train. The train journey already got me the scenic views that I had dreamt of all my life! The huge landscape with the lush green grasslands all around will definitely catch your eye at first. From the time I landed at the airport at Zurich, I got goosebumps again and again due to the chilly breeze. All I could feel was the ice cold weather and the huge travel bag I carried! I was all packed from head to toe. The very first thing I remember telling my better half was that I was going to die in this weather😟 ! Day temperature was around 10 to 15 degrees on an average and it got colder as the day ended. During night, it would be 3 to 8 degrees. My thick skinned husband enjoyed every bit of this weather from day1 in style😜. But it took me a couple of days to get adjusted to this icy chilled weather. 

Ibis Styles along the Friedenstrass was 5 minutes away by bus from the main train station. As we checked in, the most useful thing we found for the given weather was the coffee maker placed in the reception area. After we check-in and got ourselves comfortable, we planned to take an evening walk in the city. The accommodation was good with a nice cozy cushion bed😉, a digital locker for safe keeping, a table with the reading lamp, mini fridge in which we kept the juice bottles we carried from the airport coop store and the bathrobes-wardrobes😀. Highlight of the accommodation was the huge window opening to the city's snowy weather and the distant icebergs! Also, there were few complementary ladybug chocolates lying on the bed which tickled our tastebuds with Swiss flavours! The complementary breakfast here was a thing to remember with its widespread continental varieties😋. 

The walk..

Kapellbrucke (Chapel bridge)

Wow😳 !!! The Lake!!! One can feel the calmness around having a lake amidst the city, the quacky ducks, the roving boats, the white ships, the long bridges across the lake, distant ice covered mountain views, the huge trees and benches along the lake, the tall stone buildings, ufff..I could see my breath as if am smoking! Btw, most people around will be smoking and hence cigarette butts are the only waste you can find in Swiss streets. The Kapellbrucke (Chapel bridge), a covered wooden footbridge walk across the lake felt pleasant with our very first few snaps in the city! Just like a Bollywood movie, we did find a guitar guy playing some romantic tunes in the european city, who earned a coin from my huge hearted Mr😉. As we took a long walk in the city, we found Indian restaurants nearby for our meal and food was something we need not worry about in Lucerne. Day light would be there until it's 9-10pm and post that it would be dark. The strasses (Streets in German) in the city used to be empty and all stores closed by 4pm. We had to walk back to the hotel at around 10pm while it was dark in the silent streets. The gang of 3-4 tall men smoking cigarettes stared at us which scared me a little, but we reached safe to the hotel. 

The journey to Engelberg which is 40 mins away from Lucerne gives you some huge grassland views with a few houses here & there that are placed at an elevation, along with some Swiss cattle & sheeps. The misty weather kept the roads wet! It was snowing when we reached Engelberg! My very first snow experience was no less than a fairytale😊 I stretched my arms as I looked up the sky and rounded with joy! I rushed to my husband and took our first snowy snap! I thought I'd freeze but nothing of such sort happened. The thermal wear along with my denim and a waterproof jacket with the hood, trek shoes, hand gloves worked all fine! Just to have a nostaIgic feel, I had carried a monkey cap as well😉 . Frankly, no fancy caps can better the warmth of a monkey cap😀 ! Umbrella is one thing we missed to carry which is important to take snaps while it is snowing. We exchanged our excursion vouchers with the actual tickets at the valley station. In case you need few necessaries like rain coats, umbrellas, jackets, goggles etc., they are very much available at the station. 


Snowy summit to TITLIS!

Mountain gondola ride!

Excursion to Titlis is a real treat😍 ! It was snowing throughout our journey up the hill. As we walked towards the TITLIS Xpress stands, it got noisy as the huge solid chains moved to pull the gondola. It was a queque system on first-come first-served basis. As we boarded while it was snowing, our view from the cablecar was murky due to the water droplets running all over the cablecar. So we had to wipe the misty glass planes to get some views. The snowy trees along the ride added to the alps beauty. It was frightening when the cablecar used to swing a little while moving through the connecting bridges or while stopping. After reaching a certain altitude in the cablecar, our journey to the summit continued in the TITLIS ROTAIR which happens to be the world's first revolving cablecar! It revolves 360° during the 5 mins journey from the middle station. The rotair gave us a stupendous panoramic view of the Swiss alps while taking us to an altitude of over 3000m. At the top, it's just magical and pure bliss! 

View from gondola!

TITLIS Cliff Walk!!!

TITLIS Cliff Walk!

The tower at the top station was linked to the Europe's highest cliff leading towards the adjacent alps. The view from the highest suspension bridge, the Titlis Cliff Walk was stunning! It was scary when I took a look down the cliff, made me feel like I was having a big fall down the alps and getting lost in the snowy mountains, finding no help😟 . Otherwise it felt filmy to me with all the romcom songs that I was humming😍 .  Snow, snow, snow..all you can see is the extravagant snowy alps around, snowy xmas trees and the cablecars on the solid ropes. Most people were awestruck looking at the glorious glaciers, I think 💭! You can turn around and see all different kinds of posers (including us), be it couples with crazy enthusiasm or the bunch taking selfies. I thought my boring-poser husband came up with a lot more innovative poses than SRK😀 . Me being just a few days into married life, discovered a whole lot of my happy husband. While we played in the snow throwing snow balls at each other, some were busy making snow men.


The station at the summit had a few floors with each having chocolate stores, gifts stores and instant photo studios with remarkable costumes, while the top floor was for the Panorama restaurant. Another interesting place is the Ice cave with music and neon lights all around. One can pose for pictures with the ice carved creations like a giant Toblerone! Titlis Ice Flyer was closed due to snowy weather conditions. This ride will cost you a few extra Swiss Francs or Euros, but I believe it will be one nerve-wracking experience considering it's an open flyer ride down the alps. After having some hot beverages at the Panorama restaurant, our journey back to the ground station started with a hell lot of memories about our many first-time experiences! 

Ice cave!

The Lion Monument!

After relaxing for an hour in Ibis Styles, it was time for our evening walk to the famous dying lion in Lucerne. The Lion Monument signifies the loyalty and bravery of the swiss guards during the french revolution. One can see that the lion is injured after being speared around his shoulders, keeping his head bowed. There's a pond beneath which reflects the lion, amongst the water lillies. We sat here for some time chitchatting and snacking. It's good if you can learn about the history behind this monument, otherwise there's not much to do at this place. But I must say, evening walks in Swiss are like wandering in wonderland😊 . 

This is all I've got to share about Lucerne. Our next destination by train was the beautiful town of Interlaken where we had some more of first-time experiences! 😊

To be continued...



Added information,

>> Swiss Travel Pass is the best choice for worry free travelling. 
It includes, 

• unlimited travelling throughout the country by buses, trains and boats. 
• discounts on trips to mountain excursions.

We opted for weekly pass since we planned for 8-9 days vacation. Thus, it depends on your plan and days of travel. 

>> We got our customised package booked by Thomas Cook. Below is the list of documents provided by Thomas Cook along with some guideline for our travel.

• Hotel and excursion vouchers
• Swiss travel pass for 7 days
• Travel insurance
• Flight booking and visa copies .

>> Local maps makes our life easier with necessary directions for our travel. As I recall, we used to get the city maps from the hotel reception. Most importantly, we always talked to the hotel staff/receptionist for the necessary information on our planned activities. Also to check on bus/train timings. 

Dudhsagar - My very first encounter with the leeches!!!

Mid Sept 2016!! 

The very first time I heard of this place is during Chennai Express movie release, being an avid Bollywood enthusiast. The picturisation at this spot induced a desire in me to watch and experience this wonderful creation of nature! Also, Dudhsagar trekking was in Mr Husband's Go-To list ever since he had seen the pics of his close friend's drive to this milky waterfall. Having had a history of booking and cancelling the trek to this place a couple of times, he didn't want to miss it this time around!

I sensed a chance to visit this fall, but the narration of the plan sounded like a horror movie! I was filled with questions like how to trek in the rain amidst jungle? how harmful are the leeches? will there be any wild animals? will I be able to complete 8kms one-way? how slippery can it get? where do we stay? how about the bathrooms and the (obvious 😊) food? So with lot of skepticism, I decided to go ahead be it whatsoever! My Mr doubted my decision as he asked 10 times if am cent percent sure, but I was all excited to experience this new adventure! Frankly, my Mr was horrified to take me along and warned me of the most adverse scenarios. Yet the fearless me did not care😀 !

The trek was quite well organised by Gulliver Adventures And Travels. The plan was to,

• Reach Whistling Thrush Homestay at Castle Rock by Saturday morning in a mini bus. 
• Get ready and head to the starting point of the trek in a gypsy. 
• Trek 8 kms one-way amidst the jungle and reach the view point to witness the waterfall. 
• Have packed lunch provided and get back to the accommodation. 
• Bonfire in the evening and halt. 
• Sunday morning start back to Bengaluru having lunch in some Khanawali at Hubli.

All set with the backpack for the Weekend adventure! We were asked to join at the nearest pickup point on a Friday Evening. The night journey started in a not so comfy mini bus. The organizer Abhay was kind enough to leave us the front row seats with the drive view! It had already started drizzling by the time we left Bengaluru. The driver took a break for his dinner and to fuel up at Tumkur road highway petrol bunk, where we got to exchange few words with the other fellow mates. There were only 3 ladies including me out of 20 in the group. The mini seaters were not so comfortable for healthy people like me😀. Yet it was fun with the comforting shoulder beside. I was asked to shut up and get some sleep so that I prepare myself for the big trek.

Whistling Thrush Homestay!

Watta morning it was, with the cool breeze touching my face, the huge trees and the greenery all around!!! The road looked as if it is given a shower and welcoming us. However, I wanted to forcefully sleep to avoid my morning emergencies until we reach homestay. Finally after a lot of confusion about the route, we reached the homestay. The very first thing I was introduced to, was the leech there so that I shout if any of them sticks to me and people would help to get rid of it😀. The Whistling Thrush Homestay was surrounded by lush greenery. It had only 4 rooms with each accommodating 4 people. The rooms were decent with the beds, a mirror, a table and chairs, a bathroom with good water supply. However hot water was supplied to the rooms in buckets as there were no water heaters. There was a stream right behind the back doors of the rooms and there was a huge ground covered with grass in front of the rooms. Coming to the roomies, we ladies were put in a room. One lady had come with her son (mostly just passed out of his schooling) who stayed with us. Me and my Mr had got just one backpack and thus he used to shuttle between the rooms. 

Homestay food hut!

Everyone freshened up and were all assembled in the breakfast area within an hour. Idly-chutney and upma was OK. Few leeches started climbing onto our shoes as we ate breakfast. The gentlemen were prepared with the tobacco powder. I was told that leeches hate the tobacco smell and was asked to put some on my shoes. Also on my socks so that the leeches don't intrude. Quite frankly, I was the most scared one in the group, before starting the trek. 

The water bottles we carried were almost empty after breakfast and there was no bottled water available😟!! My Mr asked me to fill the drinking water kept in the homestay jugs and I had no choice but to fill. A co-trekker there suggested me to fill hot water which convinced me a little. By the time we started in the jeeps, I was deeply horrified with the thoughts of leeches and getting sick by drinking the water I had filled😟 😟.

Trek starting point -
Green fields and misty weather!

There were only 2 jeeps and it's capacity was an adjusting one. However, I comfortably sat on my Mr's lap. Beside was an uncle who had given me the tobacco powder at the breakfast area. He started interrogating my husband about the trekking places visited and their grades. The bumpy drive for about 10-15 mins took us to the starting point of our trek. Since it was drizzling, the muddy road was slippery. We were asked to walk on the tiny streamlets where the probability of the leeches getting to our legs would be less. I decided not to get behind and that I would trek with the guide without getting lost in the jungle.

Misty jungle!

Bamboo bridge!

There was a bamboo bridge to cross during the first stretch of our trek. There were few houses and acres of lush green fields on the way which then led us to the narrow pathways into the misty jungle. The weather was awesome with the cool breeze and slight showers, but most of my concentration was on my legs to see if the leeches had made their way!!! The fear of leeches actually kept me in pace with the other people. My Mr was impressed with my pace, yet annoyed with me cribbing about the leeches. I could not keep myself calm seeing any sized leech on me. Having got to know that the leech senses heat and the first person walking in the path is much safer than the rest following his footprints, I decided to get ahead 😉. There were leeches falling from the low hanging branches of the trees as well. 

Jungle stream crossing!

The trek became a little scary as the forest got thicker & thicker. The steep pathways were slippery. Heavy rains had created small streams which we had to cross by holding each others hands making a chain so that nobody is drowned. The mud caked pathways got our foot immersed in it. At some point, I had to give up checking on the leeches. 

Stream which we could not cross😟

Then came the bolt from the blue! Due to heavy rains the bridge halfway through the view point was flooded. The water current was so much that we could not even think of crossing it. The guide reluctantly declared that we cannot go any further as the bridge seemed like broken😞. We waited for about 30 mins to see if there's any hope of the water levels subsiding, but there was no luck. Everyone was very disappointed for having to discontinue the trek😞😞 .

I got used to the environment by the time we started walking back to the starting point of our trek. The rain had stopped, so we got a chance to click few pics on our way back. We got some kind villagers offering us the much needed tea. The hot tea was a treat in the chill cold weather. We got back to the homestay in the same gypsy at around 3:30 PM.


Guess wot! the steaming hot lunch was ready by the time we arrived. The hungry us hogged the delicious veg meal with papad, pickle, fluffy puris, palya, rice, sambar and the happy tummy was satisfied😋. We had to freshen up and crash for a nice nap. I had 2 leech bites with the utmost care while my Mr was bleeding with 6 leech bites😨 .

After a nice nap, we woke up by 6 in the evening wanting some tea-coffee and snacks. By the time it was dark, bonfire party was on! People danced crazy!!! We enjoyed watching them as we waited near the kitchen for the chicken meal. The food here felt homely and it was always served hot. There were 3 wonderful ladies preparing dinner for us and the men served. The chicken curry, chapatis, rice, sambar, rasam were too good and tasty😋 ! After some chatting with the fellow mates and discussing the next day's plan, we came back to the rooms.

The falls!

The jungle path to the falls.

The next morning breakfast had the very popular Avalakki (Poha) with the grated coconut on top😋 !!! After the breakfast, we headed towards a small waterfall nearby that was suggested by the homestay guys. The mini bus took us to the spot in about 5 mins and we had to walk 4 kms till the falls. As the leech scare started again, we almost ran upto the waterfall so that leeches do not get any time to get onto us. WOW!!! The view, the water splashes and the rocks were mesmerizing amidst the jungle!!! It felt like we are in "The Jungle Book" location😀! It was pure nature with the chilled weather. I call it the scariest walk of my life😨 , but it was all worth it the moment we saw the waterfall! We spent good 30 mins sitting on the rocks with our legs dipped in the cold water. It is a must go place if you ever get to Castle Rock😊 . This was like a wonderful consolation prize as we failed to witness the actual Dudhsagar falls.

As the waterfall was close to the homestay, we thought of walking back on the wet roads along the huge trees. So, me and my Mr left the place a little earlier than the others, but we had asked the driver to stop when he finds us on his way back. The walk here turned out to be memorable for both of us and we relish it whenever we recall the nicest walky-talkies of our lives😊 .

The memorable walk!

It was time to pack our bags from the homestay and take group photos. We thanked the homestay guys for their warmth and the homely food and waved goodbye to them. We were hungry by the time our journey started towards Bengaluru at around 12 PM. The apples we got from home and the fried groundnut near a railway crossing saved us. Antakshari competition till the lunch time was the time pass! The driver missed our Khanawali at Hubli with his own confusion about the route😞. We did stopover at a small shop to buy some more snacks and water bottles. At around 4 PM, we got one eat-out on the highway which was OK for the sake of it. As we continued our journey crossing a place by name Bankapura close to Haveri, my dear husband recalled Bahaddur Gandu (a Kannada movie) as the story of the movie happens to be in that place! After another stopover for refreshments and my Mr's story telling, we reached Namma Bengaluru late in the night😊.

The troupe!

Dudhsagar..so near yet so far!!!

Thekkady & Vagamon!

It's May'16! 
It's my Birthday month!! 
It's our First Wedding Anniversary!!!

Me and my husband had many reasons to celebrate this time! After our honeymoon, this was our first vacation where it was just the two of us. Long drive was the plan!!! Thinking of the very first long drive in our new Hyundai Verna made me super excited! My husband had a 2-week long break before joining another company and thus we planned a week long vacation to a hill station considering the heat in May. I was more than happy to take a break from the busy days at work. This was our time to cherish the year long togetherness😊!

Long drive!!!

God's Own Country, KE-RA-LA was my first thought! But my traveller husband had visited this state for about 3-4 times already before marriage. He didn't want to revisit the well-known spots, so he searched for an offbeat location from his treasured collection of age-old paper cuttings. Vagamon was the place that caught his eyes and asked me to look up for more information. The lush green meadows with a combination of pine forests at Vagamon looked like a good match for our expectation of a lazy vacation. Gavi is another hill station nearby which is known for it's scenic beauty untouched by the mighty hands of modernity. The nearest town Thekkady in the Idukki district is popular for it's rainforests, wildlife, spice plantations and the Ayurvedic spa. Hill stations and wildlife sanctuary across the Periyar lake sounded perfect!

There you go planning! Route map!

• Bangalore --> Krishnagiri --> Dharmapuri --> Salem --> Karur --> Dindigul --> Theni --> Kumily (Thekkady) 
• There is a nice 6-lane national highway until Dindigul, followed by a good 2-lane road to Thekkady. The road gets curvy only in the last 15 kms of the journey.
• Thekkady is around 510 kms away from Bangalore which will take about 8-9 hrs journey along with a couple of hrs for breakfast+lunch+tea/coffee. So you need an entire day to drive till Thekkady and halt for a night before you head to Vagamon the next morning.  
• Vagamon and Gavi are close to 40-45 kms away from Thekkady which takes about 1 and a half to 2 hrs drive on the hilly roads. 

The Monday Morning!!!
Luggages ✅
Shades😎 ✅
Water bottles ✅
Fruits and Snacks ✅
Car pillows ✅
Camera ✅


Let's go!!! Woohoo! How often do you get a beautiful Monday morning without having to think about work 😎. The 6 lane NH, the views and the early morning breeze touching my face gently felt so good. I was hungry by 8 AM and as planned, we stopped at the famed Saravana Bhavan near Krishnagiri. The hot Pongal with raitha 😋 and Idly-vada-sambar was a good start for the day! The drive continued with the music, the leg pulling conversations, the Sun and our search for the tender coconut which we hardly find in Tamil Nadu highways. Luckily, we found the small size tender coconuts to quench our thirst, just before we reach Dindigul for lunch. I wanted to eat light so that I keep myself awake and talk to my driver husband till we reached our destination. The Restaurant at the highway junction with a bypass to Theni (I don't remember the name) was decent enough for the meal. And the cold butter milk saved us from the heat.

The 6 lane fun ended as we took the bypass road to Theni but the road was good nonetheless. After a couple of hours journey, we entered Kerala at around 4.30 in the evening. We witnessed a small waterfall besides the curvy road where we clicked the first Selfie of our trip😊. Checking for the Elephant Route Resort directions, we were a little suspicious on the narrow path we were asked to take from the main road, until it lead to the resort. We booked this accommodation through Goibibo app for a better deal, so do check!

Elephant Route Resort.

We were received at the resort in a very traditional way with the flowers, garland, decorated pooja thali and the much needed welcome drink of course! The suite accommodation had a large area with the open glass view to the green fields which was awesome! The clean white and red combination bed covers had this cute kissing ducks made out of white towels♡. The balcony with a table and chairs tempted us to order some evening snacks to the room itself. We were hungry and tired after the day long journey. By the time we freshened up, our snacks order was at the doorbell. We sat in the balcony listening to the elephant trumpets and ate the decorative snacks with refreshing coffee.

A bit of relaxation and then we walked towards the nearby elephant feeding area that also had Kathakkali as the cultural event for the evening. The elephants were noisy, the young ones were too cute. Even the big sized ragi balls looked so tiny for those mighty mammals. After watching them getting fed, it was time for us to feed ourselves with some tasty food. So we went back to the resort restaurant, although with a bit of skepticism about the coconut oil used for cooking in Kerala. The food was OK with the north Indian style roti, curry and fish finger. Returning to our room balcony, it was time for us for a quick memory test! Revisiting some of our past moments was fun! Trust me, husband's have poor memory, so be sure to feel more superior!!😀

Elephant camp!

My love for the cute baby elephants continued the next morning as I saw the mahouts giving them a nice shower. After the morning walk in the green fields, we returned back to the resort for breakfast which had both continental and Indian varieties. We settled the resort bills and thanked the resort staff for a pleasant stay before starting to Vagamon, the hill station.

Tea plantations on the way to Vagamon.

The journey on the hilly roads amidst the beautiful tea plantations had excellent views! We did stopover in couple of places to click some pictures, which is a must! The journey was good but some stretch of the road was under repair. We were concerned about a specific steep U turn we had to take to reach our destination. Luckily, we did not miss the turn. Ugh!!! Adrak Summer Sand Hill Resort boards were found which lead us to the resort without much confusion. Each resort we had booked left us so excited at the very first look of it. After all, the resorts were booked by me😉! While we checked-in, I glanced few book shelves in the waiting area near the reception. More than the rooms here, we liked the place around and the food got better comparatively. The resort was artistically beautiful with a pond, a small bridge across the pond, ducks, swings and the pine forest view from the back door of Nalukettu-3 (our room). The traditional Kerala style entrance to the rooms added to the looks! 

Typical Kerala style entrance.

Nalukettu-3, our room!

Pine forest.

Misty evening!

Once we settled in, I was all ready for the photo shoot 😍! My Mr was already hanging around with the camera for the nature clicks. But then, it was time to capture his beautiful wife😜. The weather was getting cloudy as we clicked pictures in every nook and corner of the resort. There you go! It started raining cats and dogs by lunch time. We ran up to the resort restaurant, where we were assisted to a window side table with the pond view. Like I said, the food got better with the hot Schezwan Fried rice, hot side dish, lemonade😋. Due to heavy rains and misty evening, we couldn't get out of the resort😞. Yet, we managed to take a walk in the dense Pine forest behind the resort. It was too scary for me in the misty weather and it felt like there's a ghost hiding in every distant tree 😱. I din't want to go any further after certain point and pulled my reluctant husband back to the resort. It was getting dark as well. The tourists here had littered the place which felt bad😟. We ate snacks, drank hot coffee and sat sometime watching the rain just outside the reception area. Even with the poor visibility, I could see that our white car was fully covered by mist. The boredom sitting in the room made us make few calls to our friends. There was no Airtel network at all and my lucky Docomo network worked here at the hill station pleasingly for once! 

Vagamon Meadows - Mottakunnu.

Lake view!

The next morning, it was time for some more scenic views of Vagamon. The Vagamon Meadows, locally called Mottakunnu (I think it roughly translates to Bald Hills in Malayalam), is a well known shooting spot. There's a minimal entry fee of about 30 bucks per person. One will surely feel close to nature with the lush green meadows all around in a windy climate. Ideal place for lovers to sit & have a romantic talk, kids to jump around, foodies to munch on some snacks, for hours together! If you further drive down the hill, there's a beautiful eye-catching lake amidst the tea plantations, where you can do some pedal boating. The wooden bridge across the lake connecting the tea plantations makes it a nice little place for photography 😍. 

Orchidarium.

Vagamon Orchidarium filled with varieties of orchids, roses and other plantations is a nice location to spend an hour or two in the evening. The small hillocks, pond and the wooden benches in the lawn will surely get you relaxed. One can buy varieties of plants and nature products like honey, spices, tea powders etc. There's a small cafeteria for refreshments and it has lovely views especially on a misty evening!

Suicide point meadows!

Suicide point is another location to your list of sight seeing here. The point where you start walking towards the Suicide point is very similar to the meadows. Though we spent some time here before we started back to Thekkady, we could not walk all the way to the view point. One might argue that you find meadows literally in all the hill stations. But the lack of crowd here gives the much needed privacy for couples 😉, solitude for wanderers and a perfect shot for photographers!

BLUE EYES !!!

After two nights of wonderful stay at the foggy hill station, we got back to Thekkady for our anniversary celebration! Driving back through the same hilly roads surrounded by tea plantations, we reached the Forest Canopy Resort. This was the luxurious of all the resorts we stayed in so far and is exorbitant in its pricing. The reception area itself was so beautiful with its modern architecture. The hospitality here impressed me a lot, with each and every staff doing a "Namaste"🙏 every time they see their customers, which is a very warm gesture. The resort was placed on a hilly area which had narrow pathways and steep turns, with some beautiful cottages built by the side of those narrow roads. There are shuttle services and our cars are not allowed to be driven in these pathways. "The Blue Eyes-Jacuzzi Villa" is the accommodation we stayed in which had a private Jacuzzi and steam bath 😊. It had the best in class interiors and was unique in every way. The balcony was the best part here with a mind-blowing view of the dense forest surrounding us. The stay was worth it for all the facilities and the luxury it provided. It had a large gym area, swimming pool, basket ball ring and a badminton court. Indoor sports room had Table Tennis, Carom, Ludo, Chess, Foosball etc. Before the dinner, we relaxed in the pool for sometime. Having booked such wonderful resort, we both felt that we should skip our planned visit to Gavi. And we did 😊.

Hill top Blooming Cherry!

Meen Pollichettu!

I've got to say, Meen Pollichettu at the Blooming Cherry restaurant was one of the most delicious dishes I've ever tasted in my life 😋. We surely cannot forget it's taste for the rest of our lives. It was a (I believe) King fish slice covered with the thick red paste of spices, wrapped in the banana leaf and roasted. My mouth was watering as I saw the dish getting closer and closer to me as the waiter walked towards us. You can see that I couldn't even wait till my hubby reached out to his cellphone to click its pic. Trust me, everything we ate here was yummy! The restaurant is placed at the hill top, so we get nice views of the greenery, the pool and the outdoor play area. The staff were so courteous that they made yummy appams specially for us for the breakfast. Overall the food made me think of staying at this place for a couple of days more😉.

After an over night stay at Blue Eyes, it was our Anniversary morning! It felt so special, one year had flown so fast. We just wanted to relax for the day and enjoy each others company, without wanting to cover all the sight seeing places out there. My husband was in no mood to drive, yet the Periyar Tiger Reserve was a must visit for having come so far. So we asked the resort staff to make the booking for the famous boat ride in the Periyar lake for the noon slot, followed by a spa appointment in the evening. The day started with so many memories of the past year, like how we were decked up, the rituals, the celebrations, the moment we tied the knot, the wedding delicacies, the photo shoot, the gifts etc. Everything we recalled made us smile with joy, after all, it was a year well spent! We had a small private garden in our accommodation where we sat sipping some nice coffee, taking calls from family and friends. And then it was the Jacuzzi time!!! We had a duplex sort of an accommodation where the ground floor had a private Jacuzzi plus the steam bath. For the first time ever, we experienced the Jacuzzi & its promise to get you relaxed! It felt like a massage, extremely relaxing, at times ticklish and fun! We spent a good hour and a half in the Jacuzzi before heading for the lunch.

Boating!

Scenic Periyar Lake!

Post lunch, the resort staff gave us the photocopies of the booking made for the boating. Tickets can be booked online as well as at the counter directly! There are 4 slots in a day with each cruise lasting 1 and a half to 2 hours. There are limited seats, so the chances of making direct bookings at the counter is less, especially during peak seasons. I suggest you don't miss this beautiful ride, go for an online booking in advance. The seats are on a first-come-first-served basis. Parking and camera charges are extra.

Wild Buffaloes.

Birds on the skeletal remains!

The entrance to the Periyar Tiger Reserve was crowded and yet we made our way to the parking lot inch by inch. It rained as we walked towards the boating area. The smell of mud felt pleasant as we stood under the huge trees, watching the boats come closer to us, finishing their earlier ride. While we waited for the ride, my husband told me the story behind how this Periyar lake was formed, when the Mullaperiyar dam was constructed amidst the dense forest decades ago! The big boats had a good covering for shade. Rains vanished as we started to sail with the life jackets on. The skeletal remains of the trees that protrude from the water add up to the scenic beauty. The ride was awesome and we got to see wild boars, spotted deers, elephants, wild buffaloes, monkeys and birds. No Tigers 😞, though it was close to evening. There are jungle camps to actually experience the wild life. My nature-lover husband clicked as many snaps as he wanted while I enjoyed the ride thoroughly, considering it was so calm amidst a beautiful dense forest.

Later in the evening, we bought some home made chocolates, banana chips and Ayurvedic massage oil as a takeaway from this place! After snacking and relaxing for a while at the resort, there was a phone call from the spa reminding us about our appointment for the evening. The Ayurvedic full body massage was disappointing😞 for its hype I had heard of in Kerala, but the steam bath was good for consolation. I think the masseuse was a newbie to the job, the inexperienced hands could not do any better. While I waited near the pool area, my husband came back with an even more disappointed expression and we laughed as we shared our experiences humorously😀.

Anniversary pastry!

Dinner time!!! It was a Black Forest pastry for our anniversary! 😋 Blooming Cherry staff surrounded us for the celebration. As we cut the cake, they wished us and clicked a few pictures for us. Yet we badly missed our family, so dialed them immediately, sharing the happenings around us😊. After that, the yummy tummy food came, which we leisurely had for a couple of hours, relishing each and every dish we ordered, the mocktail, the rotis, the curry, the fish, the biryani etc.

It was Saturday morning and time for a long drive back to Namma Bengaluru! We appreciated the Blooming Cherry restaurant staff and the chef for the amazing food they served. And also the hospitality of each and every staff at the resort. I had my own complaints towards the spa, which the staff was very sorry about. Upon settling the bills, we started our drive back home and reached Bengaluru by late evening to face the weekend traffic 😄.

The memorable first long drive!!!


Additionally,

Periyar Boating

• Entry Timing : 0600 hrs – 1800 hrs
• Boating Time : 0730, 0930, 1115, 1345 and 1530 hrs 
• Periyar Tiger Reserve entry fee : Rs. 35 (Indians) & Rs. 300 (foreigners)
• Boating fee    : Around Rs. 225.00 per person.
• Cameras : Rs. 25 (still) & Rs. 200 (video)
• Vehicle entry : Rs. 50
• Online booking link : http://www.periyarfoundation.online/
• Carry ID Proof for verification at the Entrance Check Post.
• Report at the Entrance at least an hour prior to the Boating time. 

Elephant Route Resort, Thekkady : http://www.elephantroute.com/
Adrak Summer Sand Hill Resort, Vagamon : http://www.summersand.in/

Forest Canopy, Thekkady : http://www.forestcanopy.in/