Gavi Tour

Tour - Thekkady, Lake Palace 2017 Aug 29-31

Hi Friends,

I am really new to blogging. Had a couple of test posts before, but dropped the idea. I am a bad writer. We had many tours like this in the past. Just a feel that I should document these trips.


Praveen, or PK as he is widely known, is the master brain behind these tours. He plans these trips everytime he comes down from HongKong.

This time our destination is Lake  Palace. According to their site http://www.lakepalacethekkady.com:

"Lake Palace, a former summer palace of the King of Travancore, is situated on an island in the middle of the Periyar Lake - 20 minutes by boat from the mainland. Located inside the Periyar Tiger Reserve, this is where the British Viceroys and Governor-Generals used to take time off from the world to listen to the call of the wild. This lakeside jungle resort with 6 rooms and antique interiors within the Periyar Tiger Reserve is ideal for guests to watch elephant herds playing by the lakeside or take a trek across the jungle in the trail of the majestic tiger. Life couldn’t get any more royal than this."

So.. That's it.

Our trip is from August 29 to 31. We will start from trivandrum at around 5.30 in the morning. Please stay tuned to the updates...

29/08/2017

Hi... We are going to start the journey... Praveen picked Subesh and came at 6.10.. A slight reddish cast has hit the sky.. Ther was a shower earlier. Now the climate is clear.. 

सुहाना सफर और ये मौसम हसीन... 

.. ... 

6.50 @Venjarumood. Slight drizzle. 

7.16 Chadayamgalam. Jadayu Rock

7.55 Enath bridge

8.45 Breakfast @Kaipattoor, Pathanamthitta.

10.30 Another breakfast halt...  

At around 2.30 we reached Lake Palace. A beautiful Palace amidst lush greenery, surrounded by Thekkady lake. Am writing this at 6.15 pm. The drizzle has not yet subsided. A cool, serene atmosphere. Very silent. The music of rain, wind and the birds... As if trying to say something... I know what they are focusing on.. Or is it just me? 

Well, anyway, feels so good to be here. Alone. Others have fallen asleep after the simple but tasty lunch and the Payasam. 

This drizzle... Love it. But at times is a bit messy. Hope tomorrow is not as wet. I want to roam around the place. Have to take some photos. Have to bring home some everlasting memories... After all,  what is always left is memories... 

Sometimes I think. What are we, if not for memories? We are made up of memories. In others hearts, we are a memory. What if we lose our memory? Will we still be we? No. Think about it.. 

Just some wild thoughts from a melancholy mind... 

The drizzle is a bit heavy now... It is 6.35pm. Praveen brought me a nice sweater. Sitting in the cozy chair outside the room, enjoying the nature, the cold has begun to penetrate deeper through it. Am shivering from the chilly wind. My teeth have begun chattering... But,  let it cool me down... 

Why are they still asleep? 

I forgotten to tell. Four of us are here. Praveen, Subesh, Ajith and myself. Praveen and Ajith are tired due to the driving. There was a thick mist for over 50km. A mist so thick that we could hardly see what is in front of the vehicle going in front of us. I have not experienced such a thick mist. Hence we could drive only slowly. That was a very nice experience. But couldn't enjoy the scenery though... But there is a price to everything. कुछ पाने के लिए कुछ खोना पड़ता है ना? 

I really wish that I could show you some pictures. But the net connection is so pathetic here...

Ok. Ok. I know. It is September 3 2017 midnight. We have already returned from the trip on 31st August. Tooo lazy, as I always am. I was an early sleeper. But not anymore. Just a month ago, I couldn't imagine myself up broad awake at this time of the night. Not sure whether I should go consult a psychiatrist... or atleast someone who could counsel me out of this scar in my heart.. Sometimes I fear I am having OCD. Well... चिंगारी कोई भड़के... तो सावन उसे बुझाए ...  remember the lines... fits well into my story.

I have again drifted away from my tour.. Couldn't help it. But my mind is very agitated. It is not recovering... What to do?

Well, lemme put aside all my thoughts and stop boring you. Here are some photos taken by me. I don't have an SLR. It is just a Canon SX40S. A 35x Super Zoom. Most pics are shot in manual mode. Cropped and adjusted Levels in photoshop.

See the mist... It was just wonderful. Except for PK, the one driving the car.... He was having a hard time seeing through the mist...

Some views from the boat on the way to the Palace.

Now... The Palace

We reached around 2.30. The story I have told you earlier in this post. After lunch, the three of them went for a nap. Me, as usual, sat in the verandah, looking at the trees, enjoying the cool breeze, drizzle and the sounds of the nature. I was very proud of being able to sit without any thoughts. With a clear mind. Like meditating... But not any more. I couldn't sit like that. Too many memories... crowding my head.. overwhelming and bringing me to my knees... Bringing tears... But here I can cry. Nobody is seeing. At 7.00 pm I went in and woke them up. We are not here to sleep through the beautiful evening...

After freshning up, all of us had a nice chat. A long chat with old school memories, anecdotes etc... At 9 we went to dinner and again continued the chat till 1.00 am. The we went to sleep. At 6.00 am I woke up. Had a quick fresh-up and went out. It was not raining. A very pleasant climate. The sun was behind the clouds... This day we had a boat ride. The boat moves very slowly between the tree stumps. Only an experienced driver can drive safely through these waters because of these stumps.

The rest of the day was spent by chatting about a gazilllion things below the sun. The rest of the time was spent on taking pics in different poses of PK. This time I got the pics right. Last time, my camera goofed up and set the image resolution to the minimum, spoiling all the pics of their usability. I had clicked some amazing pics, but due to the ridiculous 640x480 resolution, it was unusable. Why do they ever give this resolution in their cameras?

See the reflection in the still water... Really nice. This effect you can only see in the early morning when there is no wind blowing and no boats to make ripples...

I love these following 4 photos...

2 Action Photos...

Some more pics worth showing...

A night-view of the palace..

So, that is it. We started back at 9.00 am on 31st. And reached home at 5.30. Lot of block along the way. All the way down the mountain road which is twisting and turning, I sat with my eyes shut tight. Even then I was getting a bit dizzy and tired. Even after getting on level road, the condition sustained. I could become normal physically only on the next day.

Mentally, I am not normal. That is obvious from the fact that it is 1.30 am and I am still wide awake.
Dear, I am writing this for you. Are you reading? .. ...     .. ...      .. ...