It has been over a month since I last opened my laptop to write something. The last month was full of chaos, fun, and a lot of learning. It started with Bangalore and work, then moved on to Kerala. In this post, I want to write about my experience in Keralam, and maybe later I will write separately about Bangalore. I’ll try to keep this in chronological order so that I can recall the places I visited and the things I did.
12th March, 2026
I had shifted to this BnB near the airport in Bangalore because my flight was at 8 AM. Funnily enough, I was also supposed to give a demo session for a big event at the office on the 12th, but due to my travel, I had to cancel it. My lead was kind enough to allow me to go even though this event was a big deal. As usual, I couldn’t sleep the night before I traveled and just stayed awake sitting on the terrace. It was a nice, cozy place, and I loved the vibe.
I left the place at 6 AM and went to the airport. It was a rather short flight to Kochi, taking around 40-50 minutes. Yash was coming from Mumbai and was supposed to land around the same time.
Both our flights were on time, and we met at the airport. We had booked a self-rental Jimny that was delivered to us at the airport. Thus began our vacation in Kerala.
The first day was a bit of a buffer, so we had limited time in Kochi. Nevertheless, we explored almost everything there. First, we went to Fort Kochi. It’s a small area with Portuguese and British architecture, and to reach it, we had to take a ferry. Now, I had taken ferry rides before, but this was new because we had to take the car along with us. After reaching the other side, we started exploring the place, which reminded me of Pondicherry because of the vibe and colorful buildings. There were paintings on the walls which added to the character of the place. We explored some cafes and finally had lunch at the famous Kashi Art Cafe. Since it was already afternoon, we went to our BnB and decided to come back later at night to explore more. At night, we first went to Jew Town, but most of the shops were closed. Since Fort Kochi was nearby, we went there again. This concluded the first day of our trip.
13th March, 2026
The plan for the next day was to go to Munnar but visit the Athirappilly Waterfalls on the way. The main attraction was the journey itself. I had seen Abbey Falls in Coorg earlier, but they were quite small, and they didn’t allow anyone to go near the bottom. Here, I went right to the base, and it was amazing. The sheer volume of water falling from such a height was a beautiful sight. After spending some time there, we started our journey to Munnar. The roads were winding, and the views were breathtaking. We reached Munnar quite late, around 8-9 PM. I asked Yash not to wake me up at midnight to celebrate my birthday as I was exhausted. At first he said no, but later he agreed.
14th March, 2026
I woke up at 6 AM since I had gone to sleep early. I replied to the birthday wishes from friends and family and then left to explore the resort. The view was breathtaking. There was also a giant chess set that I tried out. After breakfast, we went to explore Munnar. First, we visited the Mattupetty Dam and did some boating. From there, we went to a tea garden and saw how tea is processed. There was no cake shop nearby, so I just got a carrot cake and cut it in a tea shop 😛. On the way back, we stopped at a viewpoint and watched the sunset. This was one of those birthdays where I didn’t even realize it was my birthday for most of the day.
15th March, 2026
The next day’s plan was the Kolukkumalai sunrise trek. We booked a jeep, and it was supposed to start at 4 AM. There were some issues at the starting point with the management, but somehow we got our jeep and went to see the sunrise. The drive to the top was scary but fun. Finally, there was a 1km trek on foot to the peak. Upon reaching, the view was phenomenal. I had never seen a sunrise like this before. We stayed there until 7 AM and then returned to the resort to rest. It was our last day in Munnar, so we went to the Lockhart Tea Garden in the evening and explored a few other places. This completed our stay in Munnar.
16th March, 2026
This day was also a full day of travel. Our next stay was in Trivandrum, which was 8 hours away from Munnar. We also decided to see the Jatayu Earth’s Center before heading to Trivandrum. It is the world’s largest bird sculpture and is dedicated to women’s honor and safety, following the story of Jatayu from the Ramayana. The detailing was remarkable. We took a cable car to get there. After that, we just went to our stay in Trivandrum as it was already late.
17th March, 2026
This day was for Kanyakumari. On the way, we saw a lighthouse and decided to check it out. It was definitely worth it. This lighthouse was near Kovalam Beach, and the view from the top was amazing. Kovalam is one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen. I wanted to go into the water, but we had to leave for Kanyakumari, so I decided to come back the next day. In Kanyakumari, we went to see the Vivekananda Rock Memorial and the Thiruvalluvar Statue. There was also a glass bridge over the Indian Ocean, which was a new experience. We stayed there for the whole day, saw a cat on the beach, and watched the sunset before returning to Trivandrum at night.
18th March, 2026
This day was dedicated to Kovalam Beach. We reached there in the morning and spent some time in the water. After almost an hour, we came out and had breakfast at the Beatles Cafe. From there, we went to see the Aazhimala Shiva statue nearby. Then we went back to get ready and check out from our stay. This was our last day in Trivandrum. In the afternoon, we visited the Padmanabhaswamy Temple, India’s richest temple. To go inside, you have to wear a dhoti, so I bought one there and tried it for the first time. It turned out to look quite good (as I was told by many of my friends). After the temple visit, we left for our next destination—Kollam.
19th March, 2026
Varkala Day!! It was about an hour away from Kollam. We took the coastal road where there were backwaters on one side and the ocean on the other. It was a beautiful drive. Stopped at a couple of places on the way and then reached Varkala. The place is famous for its cliffs and beaches. It was scorching hot, but I still went into the water. We had lunch at one of the restaurants on the cliff, did some shopping, and then left for Kollam for a Mangrove forest boat ride. When we reached there, Yash realized he had left his wallet in a shop in Varkala. Skipping the boat ride, we rushed back to Varkala hoping to find the wallet. And we did! The shopkeeper had kept the wallet safe and returned it. How often does that happen? In general, the people in Kerala were very kind and helpful. It was already too late for the boat ride, so we just stayed in Varkala for the evening and decided to go boating the next day.
20th March, 2026
This was the last change of stay for the trip. We left Kollam for Alleppey but did the Mangrove forest boat ride that we had skipped the day before. The weather could’ve been better as it was starting to get hotter, but it was still a nice experience to be in the backwaters and see the mangroves. After that, we left for Alleppey. It was about a 6-hour ride, and this is when the exhaustion started to kick in. By the time I reached Alleppey, I was down with a fever and hoped to get better so I could enjoy the next day. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, and I ended up sleeping the whole day on the 21st. So Alleppey was left unexplored. But that gives me an excuse to visit Kerala again.
Okay, that’s it for the recap of this trip. It was quite fun, and I would definitely recommend visiting Kerala. Now, I am in a good mental space to start working on new projects. There are still a lot of things I need to write about, but I am still unwell and will try to write in the coming days as I recover. For now, tata!
