We started our journey on a pleasant Tuesday morning. An Indian Airlines’ early morning flight took us to Coimbatore Airport and sure enough, a cabbie was waiting to take us to Club Mahindra Lakeview, Munnar. One step in the resort and the fatigue of 5 hours in an Indica went Poof! 
A beautiful steward welcomed us in with sandalwood ‘tika’ on our forehead. My wife fell in love with its heavenly aroma. The cottage we were put in was nothing but beautiful. An amazing view at the Munnar Lake was so refreshing, we completely forgot how tired we were. Instantly the shutterbug inside me took over and I started clicking. Munnar is situated 1,800 meters (5,906 ft) above mean sea level and the temperature during our stay remained between 15 o - 21o Celsius.
P.S. my wife likes winter and cold places. She now loves me more for I brought her here.
At night we headed to the resort restaurant for dinner. The buffet served had all luscious items that belonged to various cuisines. The chef did a wonderful job, we ate more than we could. After dinner, a 15 min spent in a relaxing swing was a prize we considered.
Looking at valleys in darkness we realized how small Munnar was. It’s a very quiet hill station and its beauty lies in the tea plantations all around. 
Perfectly crafted in a symmetrical shape and size that is unbelievable. I wondered if a ‘Copy + Paste’ was used. Watching Local females plucking tea leaves was a pleasant sight. I was told that Kerala is a female dominating society. A female takes care of the home and most part of business, if any. It was apparent with one visit to the local market. Females man the counter and males help them. Not possible in North India, I thought. But hey, that would boom the business, a naughty thought suppressed the former. I shook myself and headed towards a shop only to come out with two bags full of local snacks, cashew nuts and a pack of forest honey.
Next morning we headed to Mattaputty Dam, 
some 50 odd Kms from the resort. Activities Manager at resort provided us with a Mahindra Bolero (Ahem! We had already started feeling privileged) and with it our guiding angel, Mr. Anil. Anil, the resort guide, took us to even small hidden places where we otherwise could not even have dreamt to visit. An ‘easy to miss’ small cave on the way was lovely and Ravi volunteered to take some shots of me and wife together. It was there when I realized that wherever we go, we don’t come back with shots that featured both of us. Thanks to Anil, this time we have decent number of our shots. At Mattaputty Dam, we went to a speedboat ride in the beautiful lake and quite amazingly, the driver became my best friend in a jiffy. He took us to the middle of the lake and did some 
superb stunts. What was astonishing was a fact that he handled his boat with one hand at top speed and clicked my SLR camera with another at such an ease. Later back at our room, I checked the shots he had taken and they turned out to be the best of whole trip. Not to forget, he volunteered himself to help us with no expectations. Another thing I loved about Kerala. People here are so friendly and eager to help others, even outsiders like us.
If people of Kerala are good, wait till you go out on a road trip. Roads are amazingly well built, clean and fun to drive. One could hardly found a hole or patch on roads. I wondered if Mr. Lalu Prasad Yadav had taken over the charge of Keralite roads for once he announced that he’ll make Bihar roads as smooth as actor Hema Malini’s cheeks. I better avoid making any controversial statements.
Back at resort, we indulged into various activities at Activity Center. For the first time I played 
Carrom with my wife. Speaking of games, the resort had a ‘gian
t chess’ and ‘mini golf’. Chess was fun to play and we burst into laughter as my naughty wife cheated a lot and finally beat me. It reminded me of movie ‘Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets’ in which Harry, Ron and Hermoine played Giant Wizard Chess. Sadly, the one we played, didn’t possess any magical power.
After 4 days (and at least 5Kgs extra weight, thanks to Mr. Head Chef), we bid goodbye to lovely people at Club Mahindra Lakeview Resort. Checking-out took all of 5 Mins and was undoubtedly the faster I have ever been to. A combination of professionalism and caring hospitality is a rare find and I was delighted to experience it. We took a cab to head towards Club Mahindra Backwater Retreat, Ashtamudi. This beautiful resort is situated in Kollam district in Kerala. Ashtamudi means ‘eight armed’ and is named after eight arms of the Ashtamudi Lake. Even though it took us 7 tiring hours to cover a distance of 300Kms, the effort was totally worth. Situated right on the starting point of backwaters, it gives a feeling of an island.
If cottages and th
e view at Munnar were beautiful, Ashtamudi was astounding. Sea started just 15 steps from our cottage and we were thrilled by excitement. A hammock right in front of our cottage made me and my wife run like anything to grab it first. Rain welcomed us as we gulped in to gr
asp as much natural beauty as we could by eyes. I was lost in some thoughts when the kid hidden inside my wife had woken up to some mischief. Completely wet, she took me to swimming pool. I was dumbstruck for a while as I saw the beauty of two water bodies in front of me. Never in my wildest imagination, I had thought about diving in a pool so close to sea. Definitely the best dip I have ever taken. Well, let me correct myself – ‘second best dip’, falling short only to the one I had in River Ganges at Rishikesh while river rafting. Ah! That’s another story.
Next day 
we were invited to take a ride in the resort’s own cruise boat ‘Breeze’ and it gave us an opportunity to look at the magnificent backwater. Small villages around it, people engrossed in da
ily activities and using small boats for conveyance was an amazing sight. ‘Breeze’ took us to a 3.5 hrs trip round trip around an island and I did not miss a single shot. They even gave us an option to take cruise for private trip and have lunch/dinner serve on board while the cold breeze fills in.
A visit to Kollam market was all my wife wanted as soon as we had landed here. She had heard a lot about the speciality of south Indian gold ornaments, Silk Saris, cashew nuts, and spices and wanted everything. Well, I had to stop her for I did not own the Airlines and economy class fliers are allowed only 15kgs. But who can beat wives in an argument? Heck! I gave in, praying for check-in counter attendant to be considering and kind or at least ‘married’. Cottage arranged an Indica cab and we left for Kollam. The local driver took us to Govt. Cashew Shop for authentic quality and priced Cashew Nuts. After that he showed the way to the second biggest Sari Shop of Kollam. We bought 3 beautiful Silk Saris for an amazingly low price. Being Onam festival just round the corner, the rush was huge and so was the discount. What a bargain!
We stopped to have a hearty meal at a local restaurant. There is something special about Keralite cuisine that makes even simplest dishes a treat. A very common dish, Fish Fry never tasted this good anywhere in North India. South Indian chapatti “Parota”, made it taste even better. It was only here I saw peas being used in chicken curry. I didn’t mind them. I think coconut oil has done the same wonders as olive oil has done for west.
Delicious food gave us enough 
power to be utilized at Kollam beach for Running around. Waves here being so huge, making it dangerous to bathe 
and fun activities. What a pity! But not for my Camera. Shutter kept blinking and handycam kept rolling. We also got an opportunity to visit Quilon Lighthouse. Close to 200 revolving steps later, we reached the top and met with an extremely beautiful view of Kollam City covered with coconut 
trees and water. Watching water colliding with lighthouse’ boundary and creating a splash was very soothing.
7 days later, we boarded an Indian Airlines flight back home. And thankfully, the lady on check-in counter was ‘married’ and accepted our 4.5kgs extra baggage without any issue. ‘Travelling ke side effects’ uprose as we stepped in our home. Dirt all over and displaced stuff made us shudder. We threw bags at a side and started cleaning. On second thoughts… let’s not get into all that.
Post cleaning, both of us lay down on bed and thought… What a trip it was!
3 days later, me and my wife were chatting over a cup of coffee. gobbling Keralite local snack, 'Shakravaratti', she exclaimed! I think it was a good decision. I couldn't be more happier.
