Honeymoon in Kerala and Goa. We said ''whoa!"

 How we planned our honeymoon

Going on a Honeymoon is one-of-a-kind experience . Shortly after I got engaged and the wedding date was set, I began to seek a perfect honeymoon destination in India.

After  exploring several  options online  and chatting with my would-be wife, we finally decided to visit God's Own Country, Kerala.

I booked a customized Kerala tour package and on the advise of one of my close relatives, decided to  visit Goa as well (not included in the package) while coming back from Kerala.

The places we decided to visit in Kerala were Kochi, Munnar, Kumarakom, Periyar and Mararikulam. I wanted to include Athirapalli Falls also on the itinerary but dropped the idea as we had included Goa in our trip.

There were two options available to visit Kerala, either by plane or rail. Because I like trains, I decided to take the second option. 

I booked two confirmed First Ac tickets in Delhi-Ernakulam Duronto Express (the longest running Duronto in India) well in advance. 

A memorable train experience!

I got married in the first week of December 2012 and soon after we left for our honeymoon. The train's scheduled departure time was 9.35 pm from the Hazrat Nizamuddin Station and we reached there almost an hour earlier as our home is situated in North West Delhi,  almost 25 kms away from the station and there is lots of traffic on the roads in the evening.

 

My wife had her dinner at a food joint located outside the station. I was expecting dinner to be served in the train so I just had a few snacks.  

We boarded the train and were pleased to learn that we had been given a  Coupe for 2 passengers. The  Coupe was a pretty comfortable one. The toilets in the Coach were also neat and clean.  

The train left on time.  As, I didn't have my dinner earlier, I waited for the dinner to be served and checked with one of the pantry staff about it. I was told that they won't serve dinner as the train starts late at night, but gave me an option of having Bread Omelette instead. I was feeling hungry, so I requested them to prepare Bread Omelette for me. Within a few minutes, the food was served and it was quite delicious. I thanked him with a smile. 

We spent around 42 hours  on the Delhi-Ernakulam Duronto Express train,  traveling  a distance of approx. 2,600 km. We managed to enjoy the beauty of some parts of Karnataka and of course Kerala but missed out enjoying the scenic beauty of Igatpuri, a popular hill station in Maharashtra, Goa and some other picturesque regions as the train passed through these states at night. After a long but comfortable and memorable train journey, we finally reached at the Ernakulam Junction.   

Romancing nature in  Kerala  

Ernakulam

  

I called the tour  organizer and in a matter of minutes, he arrived. Soon, a pre-booked car (Tata Indigo) also arrived and I and my wife set off for KTDC 's Bolgatty Island and Palace Resort.

 

After reaching the resort and completing the formalities, we checked in  to our room that was in the Marina Block (Main Block and Mansion Block were other two blocks). We could see the beautiful backwaters from our room and also the world class Kochi International Marina which provides berthing facility and other services to yachts. 

We were advised by our driver to visit Marine Drive to enjoy a boat ride in the evening. As we were tired after a long train journey, we initially were reluctant to visit the place but then decided to go there. We reached there a bit late and most of the boat rides had ended by then. We took a walk around the place and after spending almost an hour there reached back at our resort.  

Munnar

The next morning, we set off to Munnar which is a famous hill station in Kerala and known for its tea gardens. On the way, we spent some time at a Spice Garden where we got an opportunity to see various species of plants. A tree house was also there. We skipped the elephant ride as we were getting late.  

We reached Munnar in the evening. We had booked our room in KTDC's Tea County Resort. It's a huge and probably the best located resort in Munnar. We had requested for a Candle Light Dinner in advance and the staff had made full arrangements to make our dinner a romantic one. 

The  deluxe  room where we stayed was very spacious and had an adjoining balcony. During our stay in Munnar, we visited several picturesque spots like Top Station, Metaputty Lake, Echo Point etc. We also visited the Botanical Garden and  Kanan Devan Hills Plantations Pvt. Ltd. Company's Tea Museum, the country's first ever Tea Museum. 

 

We spent two nights at the  Tea County resort and then started our journey to the Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary to experience something different.

Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary

We arrived in the afternoon and got to Aranya Niwas, an authentic jungle lodge located inside the Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary.  

We enjoyed the famous boat ride in the Periyar Lake. Our tickets for the boat ride were booked by the lodge staff while we were still on the way towards the lodge (I got a call from them and they asked me the convenient time slot).

  

We could not see many animals because it was afternoon and the best time to watch the animals was morning or evening.

Still, the ride was a very memorable experience as the  Periyar lake was very picturesque.

The next day we shopped at the market in Kumili  (Thekkady)and bought some spices and  Ayurvedic  products and moved on to Kumarakom which is known for its backwaters and houseboats.

Kumarakom

In  Kumarakom,we stayed on a houseboat which was a unique experience and enjoyed the  boat  ride in Lake Vembanad, the longest lake in India and the biggest in Kerala. Several other honeymooning couples were also seen enjoying the boat rides. 

 

The boat ride began from a backwater canal and in the evening we went back to the same spot. The boat ride in Lake Vembanad gave us the chance to discover the famous backwaters, greenery and  relaxed  village life up close. During our stay, all the food was freshly cooked and served on the houseboat itself.  

 

 

Mararikulam

We left Kumarakom  with happy memories and headed towards Mararikulam, a sleepy beach town in Kerala. Here, we stayed at the Abad Turtle Beach Resort. Marari beach is one of the most secluded  beaches, I have ever visited. The beautiful resort in addition to other amenities had small ponds,  a  butterfly garden and an organic vegetable farm. Our cottage was a short distance from the private beach and we could hear the sound of the waves. 

We spent as much time on the beach as possible, enjoying the peace and tranquility and clicking on the pictures.

Our continuous travels made us tired and exhausted. An Ayurvedic relaxation massage at their spa helped us rejuvenate.  

    

Back to Ernakulam

Our  marvelous journey through Kerala was drawing to a close. We spent one night in Mararikulam and from there, we were back in Ernakulam. 

The departure time of our train was at night, so we had ample time to visit tourist attractions such as St. Francis Church which is among the oldest churches to be built in India by the Europeans in the year 1503, Fort Kochi  Beach, Mattancherry Museum  etc. 

After visiting these places, we arrived at the Ernakulam  Junction in the evening to board the Marusagar Express for a night train trip to Madgaon Junction in the south of Goa.

 

We thanked our driver for his services and met with the Tour Manager present at the Station. We expressed our gratitude for the efforts he had put into making our  honeymoon in  Kerala, a  wonderful experience. 

 

We got on the train and after some anxious moments regarding the confirmation of our wait-listed tickets and the allocation of berths, made our way to the Coupe in the first AC Coach. 

Mesmerized by Goa

We arrived in Madgaon around 11:00 am on the following day and went to the Railway Guest House located near the station.

On the first day of our stay, we visited  the  Calangute Beach which is one of the most popular beaches in North Goa. As we were walking towards the beach, a stranger approached me and told me about a new hotel, offering free drinks to guests as a part of its promotion. Sensing something fishy, ​​I convinced him that I will meet him after visiting the beach. He gave me his mobile number and kept insisting that we should avail the free offer. We finally got rid of him and went to the beach. It was crowded with lots of Indian and foreign tourists. We enjoyed  delicious sea food at a nearby shack and after spending a fun filled evening, returned back to the Guest House. 

My  main reason to  include Goa on my itinerary was to visit the Palolem beach which is considered the most picturesque of all the beaches of Goa. I had read about it and was waiting for an opportunity to visit the place. And the opportunity had arrived.

It took us approximately one hour from our guest house to get there by car. The road was nearly empty with some vehicles and plenty of greenery.

Palolem  beach was  truly gorgeous with mostly foreign tourists present there. We hired a boat to go to Honeymoon Island, a small, secluded and yet magnificent beach. On the way, we got a glimpse of Dolphins also. 

The boatman also showed us Butterfly Island, once again a secluded but magnificent beach. 

We spent a lot of time  on the Palolem beach . While returning back, we also visited Colva Beach. However, compared to Palolem, it was less attractive.

It's a small world!

After spending almost ten days away from home and exploring different places in Kerala and Goa, it was time to return back. We boarded the Rajdhani Express from Madgaon Station. 

For the return journey, I had booked tickets in the AC 2 Tier Coach.  As we reached our berths, we found an old couple occupying the other two berths.  They were also from Delhi and returning back after spending their vacation in Kerala. We started the conversation and soon developed a rapport with them. 

After completing a journey of almost 24 hours, the train reached Nizamuddin Station. They left for their place and we came back to our's.  

After almost two months, I got a call from an aunt of mine. She told me that the couple we met on the Rajdhani Express was none other than her brother and sister-in-law who, at a family meeting, had talked to her about their experience of the train and she realized that they were discussing about us . 

Since then, we have met with them on a number of occasions and whenever we meet, we fondly remember our train journey.

 

There were a number of places in  both Kerala and Goa that we were unable to visit on our honeymoon. We will certainly  explore them whenever we have the opportunity to visit these two immensely  beautiful Indian states again.