Kerala Day 7 - Teapot tearoom

Enroute to Jew Town on the morning of our last day in Kochi, we stopped by this quaint cafe, which true to its name, holds some hundreds of teapots in different colours, shapes, sizes and material.
As if that was not enough, the tables were old tea cases, there were sketches of teapots and teacups on the walls, old photos and pictures from tea estates - and for a tea lover like me it was heaven.

Teapot
Peter Celli Street, Fort Cochin
Kochi, Kerala 682001
0484 2218035

More about this place in The Hindu

Kerala Day 6 : Fort Kochi again - Brunton Boatyard

Another one of those hotels done up with a colonial air about it - right from the Armoury Bar to the terracotta tiled reception, the Burma teak furniture to the antique accents, I was absolutely in love with this place. With a bent for bright colours in decor, I was surprised that I loved these earthy colours so much - I felt transported to another time. I loved the little eco friendly touches around the place like the small mul hankies kept in the washrooms to dry hands instead of using paper or electric blowers.


Another highlight of Day 6 was a Kerala sadya on banana leaf at this place Sarovaram in Kochi - I absolutely enjoyed the food there, possibly the best meal for me in the entire trip. If you are in Kochi, do not - i repeat do not miss an opportunity to have a meal here.

Resources:
Brunton Boatyard
BTH Sarovaram

Kerala Day 5 - Houseboat Cruise

Day 5, we left Munnar early in the morning, driving down the hills to Kumarakom - which was a four hour drive. With a frisky toddler, a four hour drive can easily seem like an eight hour drive, you know what I'm talking about!

The temperature difference from the hills to the plains was a bit too much to take, especially after we were spoilt for the last few days by some crisp chilly mountain air.

The backwaters were as lovely as I'd seen them in pictures - just that making sure Atri didn't try any adventure sports jumping out of the boat kept me busy enough not to enjoy much of the scenic beauty. The extreme humidity and heat was also a big deterrent in making this an enjoyable experience for me.

We were served some good Kerala vegetarian fare by the in-house chef and the AC on full blast managed to help us get a good night's sleep - apart from the two hours that Atri decided to stay awake in the middle. I don't blame him though - given that he was being subjected to sleep in a new bed in new surroundings every day, he was behaving as best as he could!

Kerala Day 4 - Munnar Post Office

The best thing about Munnar town apart from the spice and tea shops was this beautiful post office. Its board was garlanded by these vibrant bougainvilleas, and there was no way I was leaving the place without capturing its beauty.

This was our last day in Munnar and I went around the town for some last minute purchases in the Kannan Devan outlet - the High Range brand Strawberry Preserve is to die for.

Kerala Day 3 - Driving around Munnar

Whenever I hear the word Munnar - it will always bring back memories of crisp cool mountain air, miles and miles of tea plantations, shiny silver oaks, tall eucalyptus trees and winding roads.

The tea lover in me was at peace here - three days of bliss - driving around to the various points, tea stores, tea museums, spice plantations - life seemed just perfect. The light showers that came down each afternoon was the ultimate gift of nature - cooling the air and releasing the fragrance from the fertile soil.

The 20 km drive from the resort to the town was hardly anything to complain about, when we could enjoy scenes like this on the way!

Kerala Day 2 - Cochin Club

I woke up bright and early in the morning - went exploring the premises where we stayed the night. The Cochin Club is over a century old. The rooms are beautiful with colonial furniture and the complimentary breakfast was served in style in their dining room. The yellow walls with the tiled roofs bathed by the morning sun, the birds singing their morning songs, the salty breeze from the ocean outside the window, made it one of the most beautiful mornings I had seen in a long long time.
We highly recommend that you book yourself into this charming piece of history on your trip to Fort Kochi - you'll love it!

My only regret was we barely stayed in here for 12 hours as we started our drive to Munnar at 9 am on Day 2.


The Cochin Club
St. Francis Church Road,
Fort Cochin,
Cochin - 682 001. Kerala, INDIA.
Ph:91-484-2215140
Ph:91-484-6598994
Ph:91-484-2216211
Email:cochinclub@sify.com

Kerala Day 1 - Dinner at Fort Kochi

We left Hyderabad late afternoon on the 30th, and airports in both Hyderabad as well as Kochi are located quite a distance from the main residential areas - so we reached Fort Kochi around 8 pm - checked ourselves into the Cochin Club and headed out to Malabar House for dinner at their fine dining restaurant, Malabar Junction. The eco friendly decor and the old world ambience coupled with the small lamps hanging from the frangipani trees more than made up for the humidity.

Their menu was made up of Kerala fusion cuisine, which was a new taste for us.

The Malabar House
Malabar Junction - The restaurant
Fort Cochin
1/268 – 1/269 Parade Road
Fort Cochin 682001
Kerala
India
Tel: 0091 484 2216666 / Fax: 0091 484 2217777