My TripAdvisor Review No.607: Vazhachal Falls, Kerala.

Laidback Gently Flowing Waterfalls.

Compared to the Athirappilly Falls, the Vazhachal Falls is a very laidback gently cascading waterfall which tumbles down the rocks in a leisurely manner. Nevertheless, it is in a very beautiful setting at the edge of the lush green Sholayar Reserve Forest with lush green trees all around and a lot of monkeys to give you company. There is a fencing along the flowing water so as to prevent people from venturing on to the slippery rocks. The falls are in full force during the monsoons.

Vazhachal is upstream on the Chalakudy River and we had to drive up another 5 km from the Athirappilly parking area along a very narrow but well paved road. The road was so narrow that we had to literally squeeze past the cars coming from the opposite direction. The forest entry charges are common for both the falls. Vazachal was less crowded than Athirappilly on the Sunday when we visited. There were some snacks and coffee shops near the falls.

Date of experience: December 2019

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My TripAdvisor Review No.606: Athirappilly Falls, Kerala.

The Niagara Of India.

Not so well known as the Niagara Falls, but no less beautiful is the Athirappilly Falls in the interior forests of Kerala. It is the largest waterfall in Kerala and cascades down the rocks from a height of 80 feet in three separate plumes. The force of the showers are quite strong and it is not advisable to stand or swim in the pools at the base. Just to feel the spray on your face and hear the roar of the falling water gave us a good idea of the forces of nature.

The falls lies on the Chalakudy river which flows down from the Western Ghats in the higher reaches of Kerala. While driving down from Thrissur we had to turn left from NH-544 and drive on SH-21 which goes to Valparai. As we drove east the road became narrower and we were surrounded by the dense jungles of the Sholayar Reserve Forest. It was a picturesque drive, passing through a landscape of lush green trees, winding roads and small hamlets. We had to pay parking charges to enter the Falls and beyond. These charges are valid for the Vazhachal Falls as well. From the parking lot we had to walk down to the base of the Athirappilly falls which was easy, but walking back up the steep incline was quite tiring.

There are some restaurants near the entrance of the falls, but being a Sunday all of them were crowded and we decided to have our lunch on the way back to Kochi, as we had not brought a picnic basket like the locals.

Date of experience: December 2019

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My TripAdvisor Review No.605: Cherai Beach, Kochi, Kerala.

Picturesque Strip Of Sand.

Cherai Beach is located on Vypin Island north of Fort Kochi. It is a narrow strip of sandy beach stretching for about 10 km on the western side of the island. On the eastern side of Vypin Island are the backwaters making it a very picturesque place between the placid waters and the deep sea. Many coconut trees dot the island and can be seen all along the beach.

During low tide we could walk along the beach and we saw some people swimming, but during high tide the breach almost disappears in some stretches. During the rainy season it becomes hazardous to swim here, and we did not see any lifeguards patrolling the beach. We did not see any signs of water sports activities either.

At one point along the beach there is a platform and promenade about half a kilometre long where many of the locals come for an evening walk. There is a pay-and-park area and many restaurants lining the road just opposite this part of the beach. Further down south the beach becomes wider and there are many holiday resorts across the road. Some of them lay out deck chairs on the sand for their guests to enjoy sun-bathing in the colder months from November to February.

Date of experience: December 2019

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My TripAdvisor Review No.604: Toit - Pune.

Bangalore Pub Culture Comes To Pune.

Toit, one of the top pubs of Bengaluru opened their doors in Pune’s Kalyani Nagar about a year back. It is located just after Bishop’s School on East Avenue near the Ramwadi junction on Nagar Road. It has a large enclosed parking area with valets to assist.

We went on a Saturday afternoon and were surprised that we got a table of our choice quite easily. Normally crowded on the weekends, they don’t accept bookings, and you may have to wait a while to get a table. The open air restaurant is quite spacious and has very nice décor, paintings and wall hangings which perk up one’s mood and appetite. They have an enclosed dining hall as well.

The staff and service were helpful, friendly and courteous. There was a separate menu for Food and Drinks. Their draught beers are their speciality. Toit’s mission is to make the world a happier and ‘boozier’ place, and they brew their own draught beers with only natural ingredients; imported malts, the hippest of hops, and the most eukaryotic of yeast. One can ask for a sampler of their six main varieties of beer which costs ₹300.

From their beers we ordered their Tintin Toit and Toit Weiss, and Stray Apple Cider and Fresh Lime Soda for the ladies. Both the beers had their unique flavours which were excellent, and the cider was tart and fruity. We had Onion Rings with a sweet and spicy dip, and a plate of ‘Dip-it-Ah’ as starters. The hummus of the Dip-it-Ah was shaped like an ash-tray with olive oil in the centre and the celery stick pieces and carrots cut to look like cigarettes. So we enjoyed some ‘smokes’ with our drinks and onion rings!

For the mains we had a ‘Pototo and Green Mango Curry’ with Appams. The curry was a spicy coconut based tangy gravy which went very well with the appams. We also tried their vegetarian ‘Farmers Market Salad’ which had some caramelised walnuts to enhance the taste.

We quite enjoyed our lunch outing and would like to visit again and try out the non-vegetarian preparations as well.

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My TripAdvisor Review No.603: Guruvayur Temple (2), Kerala.

Temple Dedicated To Lord Krishna.

Guruvayur Temple is a temple dedicated to the Hindu god Lord Krishna. The presiding deity of the temple is a four armed version of Vishnu, worshipped mainly in Kerala, as Shri Krishna in his infant form.

The temple opens at 3 am in the morning, and there are daily five pujas and three circumambulatory processions of the deity on an elephant, and finally closing at 10 pm at night. There are special timings for senior citizens from 7 am to 8 am and then again from 4.30 pm to 6 pm, without any entry fee. We decided to go for the evening darshan but still had to wait in the queue for about half an hour. We were allowed to go in batches and we joined the general public once we entered the temple. We had a good darshan of the Lord. We had a good minute to view the idol and it indeed seemed that he was blessing us.

There is a strict dress code we had to adhere to. Men can only wear dhotis and nothing to cover the chest. Ladies can wear sarees or salwar kameez, but not jeans or shorts. Cell-phones, cameras and other gadgets have to be kept in the lockers outside for a small fee.

After darshan we went to the Prasad Hall where we were served a holy meal which consisted of a banana, some upma and glass of some sweet nectar.

Date of experience: November 2019

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My TripAdvisor Review No.602: Punnathur Kotta (Anakotta), Guruvayur, Kerala.

Elephant's Fort.

Annakotta literally means Elephant's Fort. Earlier it was known as Punnathur Kotta because it belonged to the local rulers, the Punnathur Rajas. After the demise of the last Raja the property went into receivership, and was purchased by the Guruvayur temple committee who relocated all the temple elephants here in 1975 from near the Guruvayur temple. It is about 2 km north of the temple on the Ponnani Road in an enclosure surrounded by a compound wall. There is a spacious pay-and-park area just outside the enclosure.

The small sanctuary is quite well kept with a lot of greenery and trees. There must be around 50 elephants if not more living and feeding here. The elephants are well cared for here. They are given an elaborate bath, lots of greens to chew on and in most cases shelter under the shade of a tree or a covered enclosure. Some of them were not in very good health and were being nursed by their keepers. Some tuskers were in musth and had to be kept restricted in double chains. Some elephants were subdued and pensive while some others were restlessly swaying from side to side. Each one of them seemed to have their own character and personality. One tusker was very friendly and stretched out his trunk to greet me. We almost ‘shook hands’. We went away with mixed feelings towards the poor elephants, who have feelings and emotions just like us humans.

This facility is also used to train the elephants to serve Lord Krishna as well as to participate in many festivals that occur throughout the year. One can also donate for the elephants welfare by doing Gajapooja (elephant worship) or Anayoottu (feeding elephants) as a form of offering to Lord Ganesha (the elephant god).

Date of experience: November 2019

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My TripAdvisor Review No.601: Igguthappa Temple, Kakkabe, Kodagu, Karnataka.

Second Call From Lord Subrahmanya.

This was our second visit to this temple. Lord Subrahmanya had fulfilled many of our wishes after our first visit so we had to come back. The deity is known as Lord Igguthappa by the Kodavas. He is considered to be a provider of food and the one who fulfils his devotee’s desires. During the harvest festival, paddy is first harvested in the fields belonging to the Lord, and only then the people of Kodagu celebrate the festival.

The priest here meets each individual devotee personally and gives them his blessings. Even though we could not speak Kannada he got across to us very well and it felt good to talk to him and get the blessings of the God. He then took us to the kitchen where we received the ‘Maha-Prasad’ in the form of a full meal of rice, sambar and a sweet dish.

The temple is located in a very natural and beautiful setting, surrounded by hills and forests. It is definitely a must visit if you are in the South of Kodagu, and if you are a believer of the Hindu traditions.

Date of experience: November 2019

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My TripAdvisor Review No.600: Ganapathy Bhavan, Guruvayur, Kerala.

Good Ghee Roast.

The restaurant is centrally located on West Nada road very close to the Guruvayur Temple. It is a fairly clean and spacious purely vegetarian restaurant.

I asked for the menu card but they did not have one, and the waiter asked me to look up the common black-board with all the items and their prices. We first ordered Masala Dosas followed by Ghee Roast. I found out that Ghee Roast is nothing but a Plain dosa made with ghee instead of oil.

The items were tasty and prices were reasonably cheap.

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Date of visit: November 2019

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My TripAdvisor Review No.599: Elephant Camp Sanctuary, Guruvayur, Kerala.

Home Of The Temple Elephants.

This is where the Guruvayur temple elephants are housed after they have performed their temple duties. It is about 2 km north of the temple on the Ponnani Road in an enclosure surrounded by a compound wall. There is a spacious pay-and-park area and a lot of school buses were parked here along with private cars. Nearby schools send the kids on a picnic cum nature tour.

The small sanctuary is quite well kept with a lot of greenery and trees. There must be around 50 elephants living and feeding here. Some of them were not in very good health and were being nursed by their keepers. Some tuskers were in musth and had to be kept in double chains. Some elephants were subdued and pensive while some others were restlessly swaying from side to side. Each one of them seemed to have their own character and personality.

One tusker was very friendly and stretched out his trunk to greet me. We almost ‘shook hands’. We went away with mixed feelings towards the poor elephants, who have feelings and emotions just like us humans.

Date of experience: November 2019

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My TripAdvisor Review No.598: Guruvayur Temple, Kerala.

Dwarka Of South India.

Guruvayur Sri Krishna Temple is a temple dedicated to the Hindu god Guruvayurappan, who is a four armed version of Vishnu, worshipped mainly in Kerala. He is the presiding deity of the temple who is being worshipped as Shri Krishna in his infant form.

The temple is very well organized and functions like a well oiled machine, opening at 3 am in the morning, and there are daily five pujas and three circumambulatory processions of the deity on an elephant, and finally closing at 10 pm at night. There are special timings for senior citizens from 7 am to 8 am and then again from 4.30 pm to 6 pm, without any entry fee. We decided to go for the evening darshan but still had to wait in the queue for about half an hour. We were allowed to go in batches and we joined the general public once we entered the temple. We had a good darshan of the Lord, and I could see his shiny black eyes looking piercingly back to me through the dim light. We had a good minute to view the idol and it indeed seemed that he was blessing us.

There is a strict dress code we had to adhere to. Men can only wear dhotis and nothing to cover the chest. I took off my shirt before entering and carried it with me. Ladies can wear sarees or salwar kameez, but not jeans or shorts.

After darshan we went to the Prasad Hall where we were served the holy meal which consisted of a small elaichi banana, some upma and a glass of some sweet flavoured syrup. After keeping our steel utensils in the washroom we exited the temple.

Date of experience: November 2019

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My TripAdvisor Review No.597: Mammiyur Mahadeva Kshetram, Guruvayur, Kerala.

Temple Of Lord Shiva In Guruvayur.

This temple is as important to visit as the Guruvayur Shree Krishna Temple. Legend has it that Lord Shiva was in deep meditation on the banks of the Rudratheertha where the present day Guruvayur temple is located. Gods Guru and Vayu descended upon this site with the idol of Lord Krishna which was being tossed around on a banyan leaf in the flood waters of Dwarka. Lord Shiva suggested to them to consecrate the idol there itself and he moved over to the other side of the river, which is where the Mammiyur Mahadeva Temple is now located.

Only Hindus are allowed inside the sanctum sanctorum, and there is a strict dress code. Men can enter wearing only a mundu, and bare chested, whereas ladies can wear saree or salwar-kameez. There is a footwear stand where one has to leave their shoes and slippers. Devotees can purify themselves in the temple pond, known as Rudratheertham, before entering the temple.

Temple timings are:
Morning: 4.45 am to 12.30 pm.
Evening: 4.45 pm to 8.30 pm.

The main deity is Lord Shiva in the form of Uma Maheswara. Lord Vishnu is also there in another sanctum as well as the idols of Parvathi, Ganapathi, Subrahmanya, Ayyappa, Bhagavathy, Naga, and Brahma Rakshassu are also present. The temple is well looked after and has a regular stream of devotees from morning to evening. Cameras and phones are not allowed inside the sanctum and there are lockers to deposit your clothes and valuables. One cannot park in front of the temple and there are security guards to ensure that, but we could park a little ahead on the roadside and in the side lanes.

We had a good darshan of the deities in the temple and felt blessed after visiting.

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Date of experience: November 2019

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My TripAdvisor Review No.596: Amaragiri Malekal Tirupati Temple, Arasikere, Hassan District.

Temple Of Lord Venkataramana Swamy or Lord Balaji.

The temple is located about 2 km from the town of Arasikere in Malekal village. It is dedicated to Lord Venkataramana Swamy, also known as Lord Balaji. Legend has it that Sage Agasthya got the darshan of Lord Balaji after praying here for 800 years. Later the ashram of the sage was abandoned.

The actual site where Sage Agasthya performed his penance is on top of a hill called Malekallu. Many many years later a temple was built here by a ruler of Chitradurga who found the idol of Lord Balaji buried under the earth. This is the temple known as the Amaragiri Malekallu Tirupati, and one has to climb 1200 to reach it. The statues of both Lord Venkataramana and Goddess Padmavathi are installed together at the hilltop temple, whereas the idol of Lord Govindaraja Swamy is installed at the temple at the foot of the hill, where the ruler discovered the idol while digging for a pond to supply water to the village.

Many devotees of the nearby places visit this temple instead of going all the way to the main Balaji Temple of Tirupathi, and hence it has come to be known as Chikka Tirupati by the local people.

Date of experience: November 2019

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My TripAdvisor Review No.595: Swathi Delicacy, Kunigal, Tumkur, Karnataka.

Good Watering Hole On Mangalore Highway.

This is a good place for travelers on the Bangalore-Mangalore Highway, NH-75, to stop for some refreshments and a cup of coffee. It serves mostly South Indian Pure Vegetarian dishes, tea, coffee, cold drinks and ice-creams.

We stopped here one morning at 8 am for breakfast and coffee, and it was so crowded that I thought it is the only restaurant on this highway, like an oasis or a watering hole. Anyway there was sufficient seating as there were at least three different halls to choose from. There was also an open playground for kids, sufficient parking for more than 50 cars, and clean washrooms with soap dispensers and napkins.

We had idli dipped in sambar. The idlis were jumbo sized and the sambar was hot and spicy and quite tasty. The filter coffee had a good aroma and was rejuvenating. Service was OK and prices were reasonable.

We stopped on the way back also and this time I had the button idlis.

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Date of visit: November 2019

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My TripAdvisor Review No.594: McDonald's, Channapatna, Bangalore-Mysore Highway.

Pit-Stop On Mysore Highway.

We least expected a McDonald’s outlet outside the small town of Channapatna, in the Ramanagara district, on the Bangalore-Mysore highway. Well there it was, just ahead of a Bharat Petroleum Fuel Pump on the left hand side of the road, on the way to Mysore.

After refuelling at the BPCL pump we parked our car outside the restaurant and first used their clean washrooms. Then we ordered a Spinach and Corn Whole Wheat Burger and Coffee combo and waited. I was a bit surprised at the amount of time it took them to serve it for the two of us. A masala dosa at an Udupi restaurant would have taken half the time, and cost half the money.

The coffee was watery and the burger not substantial enough for us. Luckily we had some cracker biscuits in the car.

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Date of visit: November 2019

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My TripAdvisor Review No.593: Srivar Hotels, Guruvayur, Kerala.

Comfortable Rooms, Excellent Breakfast, Near The Temples.

We stayed at Srivar Hotels during our two day visit to the Shree Krishna Temple at Guruvayur. It was centrally located near the market and there were a number of restaurants within walking distance. The Shree Krishna Guruvayur Temple as well as the Mammiyur Shiva Temple were within a ten minute walking distance on either side of the hotel.

The air conditioned room allotted to us was a bit small but very cosy and neat. There was a study cum side table at one end of the room. There was a cupboard and side tables next to the bed. The small washroom was well kept with modern plumbing and towels, soap, shampoo, moisturizer and toilet paper were provided.

Morning tea or coffee and a vegetarian breakfast was complimentary. We particularly enjoyed the unlimited breakfast served on the terrace. We had a choice between typical Kerala dishes like Wada with chutney, Idli with Sambar, Appam with Kadla curry followed by tea/coffee, or a Continental breakfast consisting of fruit, corn-flakes with milk, bread/toast with butter/jam followed by fruit juice. We were well served by two lady attendants.

Service and amenities at the hotel were excellent. There was parking available in the small compound for about 8 cars, with a security guard at all times. The only problem we had at the hotel was that the air conditioner and the mini-fridge were not in proper working order. Luckily the climate was not too warm and we had a pleasant enough stay at Srivar.

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Date of stay: November 2019

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My TripAdvisor Review No.592: Vaango (Restaurant), Mumbai International Airport.

Quick Service Dinner.

Vaango is located at the Mumbai International Airport. Since we were to board a flight soon we decided to have a quick dinner at Vaango, which seemed to be the best bet for a quick and economical dinner, since we were sure we would get another dinner on the flight.

I ordered a Lemon Rice and my wife had a Curd Rice. Service was not as quick as expected, but it was sufficient to keep our hunger pangs at bay, and it tasted good. Price was OK.

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Date of visit: June 2019

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My TripAdvisor Review No.591: Smoke And Bones BBQ, North Vancouver, Canada.

Not For Herbivores.

We were a mixed group of vegetarians and non-vegetarians. The latter had a good choice of BBQ dishes to choose from but the choice for the vegetarians was very limited. So we had a pow-wow after ordering our drinks of Dad’s Root Beer. My companions decided to have a Portabella Mushroom Burger each, and I had a Smoked Chicken Sandwich. The Mushroom Burger was more expensive than the Chicken Burger.

We liked the ambiance of the restaurant and the service girls were friendly and helpful. The interiors had the looks of an old style bar and barbecue of the Wild West days. There were barrels and tall bar stools, and shelves lining the walls with liquor bottles in the bar shelves and books and decorative items on the other side.
The burgers were juicy and quite a mouthful. Service was quick, but the prices were on the higher side.

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Date of visit: August 2019

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