Richest Lord of Earth!!!!

Day before I made the trip to Tirupathi with my parents. This trip was long overdue and I am happy that we could make it this time. It’s needless to say that it was a divine experience. Even though it was relatively less crowded day, then also we encountered long queues of devotees. It was a sea of humanity immersed in devotion to Lord Srivari waiting patiently for its turn to have a glimpse of Lord Almighty.

I am happy that I could accomplish this journey and have darshan of the richest and most benevolent Lord of Tirumala.

Kumarakom

Last year same time we were in Kumarakom. When I planned this outing, I had no idea what was in store for us. I chose a resort by doing lots of research on the net. My two colleagues with their family also joined for this trip. We were able to get train tickets also on very short notice.

We reached Ernakulum at 4.00 AM early morning. Resort had arranged a pick up taxi for us from Ernakulum Railway station. Before proceeding we had hot cup of tea and coffee per our individual preferences.

As we started nearing Kumarakom, we could see things more clearly as daylight was more pronounced. Endless stretch of water, lagoons, coconut trees, small boats. Everything seemed so majestic and soothing. We were mesmerized by the landscape and were totally amazed by the absence of city noise and bustling, that we are so accustomed to.

Now came the most surprising part. The taxi guy dropped us at one of the banks on water . He said rest of journey to the resort will be covered by motor boat. Little Kuhoo was so much existed by all this. Even though she was feeling sleepy, she was having lots of fun, particularly because of boat ride. The motor boat dropped us the resort to enjoy rest of our trip amid coconut trees and lots of natural beauty.

Resort had well appointed rooms and lots of open spaces for fun and exploration. My wife was happy with Food hygiene and Quality. We had booked one day Boat safari as part of this trip. This was the most amazing part of Journey. Nobody can imagine the life on these house boats. Strongly built as per every rule and norm of tradition, held together by coir ropes without a nail in sight, the houseboat redefines luxury with its shining wooden floors and luxurious amenities. Moreover, immerse in the amazing, never-ending, display of nature’s magical performances on the sundeck. Two experienced boatmen navigate you through tranquil stretches of Kerala’s favourite backwaters. A personal chef well-versed in tantalizing Kerala delicacies and seafood delights will be at your beck and call with choicest gourmet delights.

We had experience of life time on the House boat. The only thing which pinched me was the detorating state of Vembanad lake. It was full of weeds and silt. It needs to be regularly cleaned and de-silted to retain its original glory and charm. This will benefit both the locals and nature lovers.

Dilli Darshan!!

Day 1:

We landed in Delhi at 7.00 in the evening. We were completely taken aback by the cold chill which greeted us at the air –port. We had to wait for our baggage for over 30 minutes, courtesy Air deccan. A low cost airline at the cost of service is not a good idea. We were lucky that Meenu’s brother and jijaji were there to receive us. It avoided unnecessary hassle for Taxis.

First day we decided to venture out with Didi’s kids. The kids were very enthusiastic to join us for some sight seeing. We boarded Delhi Metro to reach Central secretariat. I was very much impressed by the Metro train service. It was some kind of unbelievable experience traveling in this train. The ride was so fast and yet so comfortable. Kudos to Mr. Sreedharan and his team for this wonderful job. During my stay in Delhi I didn’t miss any opportunity to use this train.

From central secreterait we reached Jajpath. Every time I see this majestic setting I just marvel at the view of Rastrapati bhawan flanked by North and south blocks. The whole view of Rajpath with India gate at one end and Vijay chowk at the other is breathless.
We were prepared to view the Mughal Gardens. We were informed that its entrance is from the backside of the parliament. As we were already late we dropped the idea for some other day. More about Mughal gardens later in Delhi Darshan series.

I must confess that I am some kind of walkohlic( what ever it means!). I love traveling on foot. Others who accompany me have to pay the price for this habit of mine. We almost covered full Rajpath from India gate to Rastrapati bhawan twice on foot. It was too much of ask for kids. They started complaining of stress in there feet. There were pacified by liberal dose of coke, lays, kurkure and some other unbranded snacks.

Lastly we went to Janpath for some shopping experience. My wife really enjoyed this phase of day’s travels. She couldn’t believe her eyes at the sheer variety of nik naks available on this street. It was almost dark when we decided to give relief to our burning stomachs. We feasted on kachouries and samosas to our content. All in all a good day for Delhi darshan.