more to life...: Nelliampathi

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Nelliampathy-Athirapally Trip, Feb 16-17, 2008

We were planning to go on a car trip for a long time after I brought Mahalakshmi (my car), and finally we got the chance on Feb 16 and 17. We planned to go to Nelliampathy and Athirapally. The night we stayed on one of our friend’s house.

Two interesting things happened. One: My friend was fined because he was driving his new car without his seat belt, and I was left off because I was driving my old car without my seat belt; some of the few benefits of owning an old car – it is not mandatory to drive with seat belts for cars manufactured before 2000. Secondly, the trip went well till day 2 when returning Mahalakshmi showed her true colour; she stopped and wouldn’t start. After pushing her for nearly 1 km and the third time, she finally stopped. And voila, right in front of us was a Maruti service station. After parting with Rs.1500/= we arrived home 2 hours late.

Route: Coimbatore = KK Savady = Kozhinchamparai = Nemara = Nelliampathy = Trichur = Chalakudy = Athirapally.

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Sunday, January 14, 2007

Team Bike Trip – Nelliampathy – Jan 7, 2007

As with all Saturday mornings, my miniscule brain was thinking about where to go for the weekend. Just then, Ganesh (my team guy) told that he is going home to Kerala for the weekend, and my roaming profile went into overdrive. We hatched up a plan to make a trip. A short and sudden meeting with the team guys happened and we decided that we will go on a bike trip to Nelliampathy on Sunday and return on Monday afternoon (before that I had to make them swear that they will return to work on Monday night).

We left on Sunday morning to Vadakancherry where Ganesh told he will meet us and from there we will go to Nelliampathy. Roads are exceptionally good till the foothills of Nelliampathy. The trip was uneventful except for the puncture to Anand’s bike tyre and the stopover in Pothundy Dam. New roads are being laid in hills of Nelliampathy, hence the ride was both adventurous and aching. If you planning a painless ride to Nelliampathy, better go after June 2007, the roads should be complete by then.

There are 2 must-see places in Nelliampathy – Seetharkundu and Mallampara. Seetharkundu is a great viewpoint. Legend says that Rama, Lakshmana, and Sita lived here. With we Hanumans being there, I started to believe the tail, sorry tale. Mallampara is the highest point in Nelliampathy and offers a great view of all the hills.

The best way to see both places is by jeep. You can hire a jeep for Rs. 500/= from Nelliampathy to Mallampara. The jeep accommodates around 8 persons. Beware, the jeep ride is bone-rattling. I bet it can relieve any severe degree of constipation.

We spent there till late evening and had a very chilly and scary ride back to Vadakancherry in the night. Ganesh gave us a scare in-between saying that the hotel guy in Vadakancherry won’t allow us to drink, but scare turned to joy when we saw the hotel guy himself carrying bottles.

The next morning, during breakfast, the guys got a real taste of Kerala. Akathi, Mohan, Andrew, Karthick, and Alex opened their eyes as wide as the plates on their table on seeing the girls coming out of a tuition centre in the same complex. They were already making plans fast for the next trip - same place, same time. I, as usual, had to reluctantly behave very mature.

All in all the trip was great and safe, and the guys enjoyed it thoroughly.

Route: Coimbatore = Palakad = Vadakancherry = Nelliampathy = Coimbatore (300 km approximately). Accommodation at Vadakancherry. Total cost: Rs. 350/= per head approximately including food, stay, and petrol.

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