When two fashionistas decide to have a vale of time amidst the tropical murmurs and boastfull options,summers and beaches seemed like an instinctive concordance.Goa seemed a little shopworn.Baga beach and banana rides in hot,scorching time of the year would wear-out our tan and pleasure.Coorg seem good amidst greenery and all but we wanted to have fun at the beach,the one which wasnt repeated too often atleast in our travelouges.Kerela backwaters along with ayurvedic rejuvenation seemed to hit the bullseye.Both of us are deeply meditative and love the greens and always add a tinge of spirituality in all our vacations.Destination was set and we did have a brief about things we would do in a weeks time.Amongst coconut,palm trees and Malabar coast with water sports,oil massages and herbal baths,we sure were gonna were-out our year-long crib of stress and stuff.We decided on a roadtrip instead.Started from Hyderabad ar around 4.00am in the morning all fresh and pumped up with Lakme Sunscreen lotion,shea butter lip balm,exotic summer colours nail enamel,lipgloss,beauty accessories,essential oil and colourful clothes.We love lenin,alright.Also organic fabric in cobalt blue,sea green,white and bright yellow and saffron red colours.Right from flip-flops,to floater sandals nothing that would remind us of a ballroom or work-clothing.Beaded neck-pieces,body wash and great country and blues music.We love louis Amstrong,bob Marley,buddha bar and Zen music anytime!and ofcoure Kyra likes bollywood numbers so we did have a mix of hindi,telugu,tamil and some regional folk numbers.Eating light with fruits and sandwiches and loads of fresh and aloe water we embarked our much awaited journey.
Singing,gossiping,reading Harpers Bazar and the ilk apart from ‘The Secret’ which is our bible we reach a dhaba on a highway around 10.30pm.Munching on the authentic punjabi butter-paneer and rotis with a whole glass of rose Lassi we were all ready to do the hop back and drive to our very exciting destination.Inspite of finding cute guys on the way,we made a pact of no carpooling or hitchhicker to our very generous nature and did maintained it so with full committment.
Took two good days to reach where we had to by stopping for food and essentials.Though a spot in the inetrim of the journey seemed to boast of its supernatural,haunted nature,we curbed our adventerous spirit for now and took a different route instead of venturing into this so called haunted highway.Highways are famous for that anyway,spilled trucks and weird crying noises,we didnt stop to look but continued our journey without delving into such curiocity.
We then reached this resort.So cosy and warm unlike the snoberry of swish hotels.We did feel so close to nature and our primitive self that was so untouched by vanity.We started to see the real beauty inside and outside all the more.For a moment what we have to deal with on a day-today basis,the pressure to stay ahead of competition esp in our fields seemed to have placated at this very junction.We were more welcoming what we had to experience.
Language was a barrier since we both were North Indians only able to speak toota-phoota telugu but very good english.So we decided to communicate in that language.We were aware before hand about the do’s and don’ts of this place so half battle was won.We did manage to communicate in English with above average success.On the day of arrival we decided to take a day off and cool off a bit.Eat authentic kerala cuisine,walk around and take pictures and of course pour our hearts out chatting up!
Next two days were action-packed!We were at the Kovalam beach kayaking,surfing,skiing and of course sun bathing.Patches of coral reef and so close to the nature in this watery ride was just what the doctor ordered for a tropical summer.We usually returned to our resort around 6.00pm in the evenings,watching the famous kathakali performances in colourful masks and garbs.We felt so close to our Indian culture and proud at the same time musing the variety of folk dances,music and natural beauty we got.Like paradise was created on this very land.The quiet and secluded blue waters of kovalam beach and line of coconut trees.We learned that Kovalam means a groove of coconut trees.Our evenings would end checking out the jewellery and cloth shops spread across the waterfront and good food.
The next morning was our favourite thing to do!Oil baths,massages,meditation and yoga!yayie!We learned some good details about herbs which are available locally and we could use it for our well being.We also learnt some techniques from experts in yoga that could be practices anytime we were feeling out of sorts.
We ended our week long stay visiting the southern most lighthouse beach and enjoyed the lush greenery taking a backwater cruise.When we were back and started packing we took a little time to reminsce the good times close to nature,people,earth and our culture and felt so enriched like it make our aura stronger making us feel so very good about ourselves and satisfied with our journey and the awesome memories we would keep referring atleast till we make yet another exotic ,fun and meaningful journey!
Cracker-barrel philosophy - Vaishali Adwant 