Kumarakom – An Evening by Backwaters : South India VII

None can argue against the aptness of title – “God’s Own Country” – bestowed to the beautiful state of Kerala. Every nook and corner offer immense scenic beauty and eye-catching views. The state has hills, beaches, and forests – something for tourist of every taste and like. It was in this state that we spent the Christmas vacations of 2016 and enjoyed thoroughly. One of the stops on the whirlwind tour of the state was Kumarakom. The village of Kumarakom is a cluster of little islands on the Vembanad Lake and is part of the Kuttanad region. The bird sanctuary here, which is spread across 14 acres is a favourite haunt of migratory birds and an ornithologist's paradise. Egrets, darters, herons, teals, waterfowls, cuckoo, wild duck and migratory birds like the Siberian Stork visit here in flocks and are a fascinate the visitors.

We reached our resort - Backwater Ripples by about noon and checked into our room. It was a great facility located in the middle of nature. The check-in was smooth and professional. Since we were a bit early for the regular check in time so had to wait a bit but they did provide a room earlier than scheduled. As we moved out of the reception office there was an entourage of staff dressed in traditional clothes ready to escort us to our room. They were armed with musical instruments and we were taken to the room with a lot of fanfare. It was definitely a perfect start to the stay. The room itself was pretty well placed and had all the necessary equipment and facilities. There was a large window overlooking the gardens and covered most of the wall. We quickly freshened up and were ready to explore the resort.

To start the stay we visited the restaurant for some lunch and were pretty impressed with the quality of North Indian food in this South Indian paradise. After lunch, we toured the expanse of the resort to familiarize with the facilities. The entire resort bathed in lush green shower and lawns spread far and wide. On one end there was a big hall for organizing events. As we moved to the other side, there was a big swimming pool which shared its boundary with the lake itself. The entire set up gave an illusion as if the pool was carved out of the lake. The lake itself was barricaded to some distance from the shore to prevent any accident. There was a watchtower on the lawns beside the swimming pool which provided a great view. From there we proceeded to the play arena and picked bicycles. It was a long time since I had laid hands on a cycle and hence it was an exciting ride around the resort campus. After about half an hour of cycling, we gave up the idea and decided to take forward the stay as planned – through relaxation in the lap of nature.

We headed straight to poolside, ordered a lemonade and climbed the watch tower. There were some great moments on top of the lake that we stole from the world and had good fun. Then as the evening progressed, we stepped down to the lawns and picked a bench – going by the relaxation theme. The offered us a one-hour boat ride on a seating based houseboat. However, we’ve had a much better experience at Alleppey that we did not want to undermine the memory. Over steaming coffee, we saw the sun setting down the horizon. The reddened sky across the limits of the eye proved to be an awesome picture. The lake itself is so huge that it almost seems like being on the sea beach. There was a cultural show which was performed in one of the platforms to keep guests engaged while they enjoyed the nature. However good it was, it failed to divert our attention from the evening activities in lake and glory of nature. Later we had our dinner and enjoyed the lakeside for some more time before retiring for the day.

Next morning we had a lazy start and we woke up by 9 in the morning. Post breakfast on the lawns, we readied up and checked out of the resort. Next destination – Cochin was awaiting us!!

I know this was a shorter post as this was a resort destination included in the itinerary to enjoy some moments of leisure with no irks and rush. As planned there were limited activities squeezed into the scheduled. To assuage your curiosities, here are few pictures to give you a glimpse into our experience.