Kerala Vacations

Visalam

Visalam is at the top of our favourite hotels in South India. It is owned and run by CGH Earth. The building is a 1930s Art Deco palace in the fascinating village of Kannadukaithan, close to Karaikudi in Tamil Nadu, about 3 hours drive from Madurai.

The website tells the story of this Chettiar mansion, a gem amongst the many derelict palaces which make up the village. The history of the Chettiar merchants who built Kannadukaithan and the 73 other villages which make up the Chettinad area is a sad and romantic one. Hundreds of years ago, after suffering a tsunami, the merchants moved from the coast inland and built 94 villages on the dry plains. The community thrived, becoming rich through trade with the East and through careful speculation. After the last war their finances collapsed and now most of the community lives abroad and their palaces lie abandoned, or the home of just one or two remaining family members. The mansions and palaces are wonderful examples of every architectural style, littering a beautiful but abandoned landscape.

Visalam has been retored using the highest quality materials and craftsmanship, reviving the ancient technique of egg white plaster for the walls. There are 15 rooms round a central atrium, all huge, with high ceilings, vast bathrooms and many with a balcony overlooking the garden. If there are only a few visitors, meals are taken round a large table in the traditional kitchen where the chef is happy to discuss the food and what he is currently doing. The food is fiery traditional Chettiar dishes, althoug less spicy options and some western dishes are available.

The swimming pool is large, has good furniture and there is a small refreshment cafe to one end. All of the staff display the usual CGH Earth qualities of attentiveness, a genuine desire to please and a cheerful smile. A committment to the environment and the surrounding community makes this a splendid base to explore the lost land of the Chettiars.

 

The new season has started!

The new season has brought its usual round of things to do, amongst them sorting out the huge number of new hotels which are springing up everywhere, especially in Fort Cochi and the Backwaters. We need to make a short list to visit on our next trip in November.
There have been some changes in ownership, which makes a hotel as good as new in the way we need to take care that standards are good and it comes up to scratch.
The very expensive Radisson is now the Zuri, and just as expensive, the Kayalorum and possibly the Keraleeyam have also changed hands.
Feedback from customers continues to be good. The party from Italy who came to do yoga were happy, as were our latest travellers from the UK.
When asking for feedback, it doesn't make good writing when all the customer says is "It was all fantastic!" but that is what we have got lately. I can add a "Narayan was wonderful, and Mr Kumar looked after us really well" from Ms Lawrenson, a few "the houseboat was really wonderful"s and one "The hotel in Munnar was freezing cold and a bit tatty." We won't be using that one again.

Small Hotels and Homestays

The Government of Kerala has made the decision to encourage the development of small home stays and local places to stay rather than allowing the larger chains a free hand. The previously quiet and undeveloped area of Marari Beach is going to be developed and there are plans for some larger resorts along the coast there. This will change the area enormously, but there is little danger at present of a concrete wall going up all along the beach. The Tsunami made people very cautious about beach-front development, and most of the buildings will be well back behind the small palms which front the sand.
During peak times accommodation in the better-known hotels is very difficult   to find, and indeed, for most of the year there is a dearth of rooms in larger hotels.
Travellers often prefer the thought of small, more intimate places to stay, and in these Kerala abounds. Some are famous across the world: PhillipKutty's Farm on the backwaters, Malabar Escapes and Serenity, and others which have only three or four rooms but offer the standards of luxury of a five-star hotel.
We are sometimes asked to book homestays, and where we can we will, but we, as agents, have problems with the smaller businesses which have mushroomed in places like Periyar and the backwaters.
We need to be absolutely sure that bookings don't get lost, that we can make email contact and that payments are acknowledged. Unfortunately, some of the newer business people are not as efficient as we need them to be and "Home Stays" don't live up to expectation.
There are a number of very small places which we can use with confidence, and we do book these for customers who want a getaway, or to get closer to the way in which people live in Kerala. This number is growing all the time and the home stay experience is just one which makes Kerala really special.

India is sleeping!

 At present, India is "asleep". The monsoon and the recession have meant a very quiet time for everyone and a holiday for the drivers and boat crew. There are some good deals to be had on holidays, and soon the festival of Oonam will bring a lot of domestic tourists to Kerala, especially the backwaters where the Nehru snake boats will undertake their annual race.
These teak boats are huge, long and thin, and paddled by up to 100 rowers. Villages enter teams and there is fierce competition. There are ladies boats too, and everyone has a loud and frantic time. It often rains and the boats can sink and getting wet is part of it. The crowds are fuelled up on beer and excitement, and it is generally choas, but enormous fun.
This year some of our lucky clients will be seeing the race from the houseboat, which is a great improvement on the stands.
Oonam, or harvest is essentially a family festival in Kerala and the high spot is the traditional feast for which everyone gathers in their homes or temples, and everything stops for 10 days. After Oonam the weather begins to get cooler and dryer and the tourist season begins again.

Short video on YouTube

More about the houseboat cruise

Pottering about the backwaters is one of the most relaxing non-activities you could think of. The day starts with an early breakfast, and Rajeesh excelled himself here. Iddly, appam, toast, sambal, relishes, curd, the unavoidable omlettes and, best of all, banana pancakes with coconut. (Not all at once, but something special every day). An active morning spent watching the world go by is followed by a huge lunch, taken by a bank in the middle of nowhere. The world can be mesmerising, as in the banks and the palms floating by or the lake stretching out to the horizon, or exciting, as in a combine harvester travelling on canoes, exotic bird-life or hundreds of ducks being herded to market by men punting dugouts. In the afternoon a trip is usually planned to get visitors off the boat to allow the crew to clean. This might be to a temple or church, or a trip into town. Back ot the boat for tea and biscuits to begin the hard work of cruising until we moor in a quiet spot to watch the sunset and wait for dinner.
As the sun goes down the wildlife of the night wake up, and some effort might be needed to avoid flying things. The crew know where to moor to avoid the mosquitoes, but there are other things which fly around. The small lizards which live behind the lights do a good job at keeing the smaller creatures down, but occasionally we suffer a huge cockroach, which hunts around the bamboo roof. We are assured that it can't get into the bedroom, which turns out to be true.
Dinner is the usual challenge to the stomach, five curries, fish or chicken, delicious breads and rice.
The cooks on the houseboats of Kerala is legendary, and with Rajeesh we seem to have found a cook who excells even in this company. None of the cooks are chefs by training, just local people who have learnt to cook the local food, which has great importance in the culture. With a peculiar range of allergies I was a particular challenge to Rajeesh, but he rose to it, and above it. The best hotels cannot match his chappattis or iddlies, and the banana pancackes will live on as one of my "exceptional dishes of the world" memories.
By far the worst thing about a houseboat cruise is getting off it.
Below are pictures of Captain Sudhakaran, Cook Rajeesh and Raveendran, crew.

 

Fort House Hotel, Fort Kochi

Fort House is situated right on the waterfront near the ferry terminal in Fort Kochi. about ten minutes walk from the Chinese Fishing Nets. It has recently been refurbished and the new rooms are spacious, overlooking the pretty garden and with verandas or balconies. The bathrooms are fitted to a high standard and clean, although a measuring error led to our toilet being rather high on the wall!
Meals are served on the jetty which gives a wide view of the inlet and the boats which go in and out of the port, from huge tankers and cruise liners to small fishing boats. On the other side of the inlet the inexorable progress of the container port grows daily, but it is some way away. We watched dolphins swimming in and out during breakfast one day, and the jetty is a cool place to relax in the evenings. The food is most successful when traditionally Keralan, but dishes such as pasta are acceptable. The service can be erratic, but is inevitably cheerful, helpful and polite. The laundry arrived perilously late, but was beautifully ironed and finished.
Fort House is a quiet island in the bustle of Fort Kochi and represents good value.

Shalimar Spice Village, Periyar

The Shalimar Spice Village at Periyar is an elegant resort which is well established. It is about 6Km from the wildlife santuary and Kumilly Village, and is located in a steep valley which gives all the tranquility possible, a cool and welcome stop after a journey or the heat of the coast.

The rooms and villas are dotted over the steep site- travellers with mobility problems would do well to check- and are traditionally built and spacious. There are large verandas and the Elegant villas have huge doors leading out onto them. Bathrooms are large and well-equipped, the bath robes being especially useful for the uphill walk to the pool. This is shady and cool and has good loungers and fluffy towels, and is amazingly cold when you first get in! There is a recreation room by the pool with television and an impressive library as well as games.

The restaurant menu is not large, and offers a mixture of continental and Keralan dishes. At quiet times the service can be a little overpowering, and the restricted a la carte choices would make a long stay here monotonous. Breakfast was good, and again, the service active!

The location of this resort makes it a good choice for a night or two for those who don't want the hustle and bustle of the resorts close to the wildlife sanctuary.

GRT Temple Bay

GRT Temple Bay Occupying 46 acres close to the Shore Temple at Mamallapuram, the GRT Temple Bay is a very attractive resort of chalets, groups of rooms, villas, individual houses and rooms, some with sea views. They boast a quarter of an acre of swimming pools, one giving an uninterrupted view of the beach, the other large pool surrounded by new rooms at the back of the property. The best way to get around is by golf buggy, and if you start to walk anywhere a cheerful driver will pull up and offer you a ride. Our room faced the beach and the noise of the surf during the night's high wind reminded us that we were within feet of the bay of Bengal, and we woke to a dramatic view from our huge picture window. The room was large and luxurious with a terrace equipped with chairs and a rack to dry swimming costumes. Unusually for India, there was a kettle for tea and coffee along with snacks and a mini bar. There are two restaurants, a grill and the main restaurant which serves a buffet as well as a la carte options. Food was speedily delivered and the breakfast buffet one of the best we have encountered anywhere. The staff are efficient and helpful, and it is difficult to fault this resort, at least at the end of the season when it was admittedly quiet. The new rooms towards the back of the resort provide more intensive hotel accommodation, and it will be interesting to see if the greater number of visitors impact on the high quality of what is at present on offer.

The Fishermen's Village at Marari

The Fishermen's Village is one of the new resorts along this fast-developing coastline. It is set back from the beach and consists of new bungalows with a sea view and rooms built further back across a sandy garden. At the time we stayed there it still had a raw, unfinished feel, the reception being in a shed-like structure adjoining the restaurant. The rooms are large and air-conditioned, reasonably furnished and clean. Once we had mastered the skill of turning the hot water on outside at a stop-cock, the shower was good.
There is no pool, and swimming from the beach is not recommended on account of the strong current. There are loungers under the palm trees on the sand and staff are available to deliver drinks etc. while you sit in the shade or sunbathe. The local fishermen inhabit the beach yards away from the hotel frontage, and can be seen going about their daily business.
We were there at the end of the season and the hotel was very quiet. So much so that our evening meal was taken alone in the open restaurant in a monsoon downpour and thunderstorm. We got wet at first, seated at the edge of the room, and had to suggest that we moved to the staff, who were happy to leave us there. Taking pity on the chef, we asked for what was good that day, and were served a very acceptable meal of fish and vegetable curry with rice and chappatti. The meals came from the kitchen under a large umbrella, carried by Jason, who was frightened of the thunder and put his hands over his ears at every roar.
The service was prompt, helpful and very efficient, and made this resort a good alternative to the more expensive places along this beach. Sitting on our veranda watching the storm made an exciting end to the evening.

The Fort Heritage Hotel, Cochin

The Fort Heritage Hotel is a beautiful restoration of a 17th Century Dutch Palace in the centre of Fort Kochi which opened in 1997. It is run by the KTDC, and the visitor experiences some of the most frustrating aspects of the management during a stay here. The rooms are large, set round a central courtyard, and there are balconies to sit out on and take meals if you wish. The courtyard garden is a little scruffy, but spacious and cooler to eat in than the gloomy dining room.
Our suite was amazing value. It has a sitting room, huge bedroom and large bathroom with polished teak floorboards and rafters and good furnishings. There was  a fridge and television, efficient air-conditioning and enough space to run a ballroom dancing competition! Our balcony was large and furnished with two tables and chairs and shady enough to sit out on for most of the day. The curious pastiche paintings of an oriental version of European 17th Century scenes are almost worth a special visit.
Service was friendly and fast and for the most part very efficient, apart from in the mornings when breakfast, which was unexceptional, was haphazard.
The Fort Heritage is let down by its lapses into apathy and the food, which is poor. It's place in the centre of Fort Kochi makes it quite possible to take advantage of the lovely rooms and impressive architecture whilst eating elsewhere!