Travel Explorer Magazine (AUTUMN/WINTER 2016 EDITION)

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the highlight of our holiday, Serenity (as its name suggests) was an oasis of calm, offering spa treatments, tours of the local spice gardens, sumptuous dining, elephant rides, and numerous quiet corners to get completely lost in your own reverie. It was almost a wrench to say goodbye the following day, had we not been returning to our Kovalam haven for a few more peaceful days and nights before flying home. Bliss. The main reason we were able to drift into such a wonderfully lazy week in Kerala, dipping a toe in its calm waters, is because we had already plunged full-bodied into its depths four years earlier. As ideal Kerala is as a location for kicking back, soaking up the rays and sampling the cuisine, it’s a richly diverse playground which must be explored. So permit me, kind reader, to take you back to Christmas 2012, when my personal Keralan love affair first began. You see, an admiration of Kerala runs in my family. And then came the food. Shibu was something of a culinary wizard, crafting a wide range of meals to suit all tastes and dietary requirements. Fish, prawn, sea salmon, egg and chicken curries were favourites, as well as the south Indian staples of dosas (large pancakes made from fermented batter, stuffed with a variety of vegetarian and meat-based fillings), and idlis (soft savoury lentil and rice cakes, perfect for dipping into rich sauces). Those of us seeking culinary masterclasses were able to get hands on in the kitchen at mealtimes, to be taught the tricks and nuances of Keralan cookery. A blissful excursion to Kanam This daily cycle made for a very restful holiday to drift through. In fact, had we not planned a 48-hour trip upstate, the vacation may have slipped by altogether under a sleepy haze. At the mid-point of our week, we climbed aboard our hired minivan to take an inland excursion north to the leafy hills of Kerala’s Kottayam district. Our four-and-a-half-hour journey – with pit stop at a roadside café – took us through a series of towns. Elections were fast approaching in Kerala, and poster after poster of local government candidates aiming for a seat in office lined the way. The beaming faces of male and female candidates demarcated the electoral regions as we passed through. Home to India’s largest politically aware and active population, Kerala’s landscape has long had a strong left-leaning, Communist make-up, with the Indian National Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF), and the Communist Party of India-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) being alternatively voted into power since the late 1970s. The destination for our one-night excursion was Serenity at Kanam Estate – a beautiful 100-year-old building once owned by a Keralan rubber planter family which has since been converted by boutique hotel developer, Malabar Escapes, into a luxury five-bedroom retreat. Quite possibly A family pilgrimage Standing on the porch of a north Keralan tea estate, a warm breeze whispering through the rolling Nilgiri hills below, a strange feeling came over me. It was almost like coming home. The rounded peaks of the Wentworth Estate – part of the Harrisons Malayalam Limited empire – with its uniformly manicured groves of tea bushes spread out in front of me like an emerald patchwork quilt. All was blissfully silent, apart from the sound of my family engaging in hushed conversations as they wandered around the hilltop bungalow behind me. The manager of the estate, Mr Raj Kumar, had been kind enough to invite us to have a cup of tea in his home – the very house my grandfather, Alec Reid, used to live in when he managed the plantation between 1948 and 1958. Like many Brits, Alec left our fair isle for Kerala in southwest India in between World Wars I and II, seeking adventure in the East. The state’s tropical climate, proud and industrious people and rich natural resources were understandably attractive to my grandfather and his peers, just as they had been to colonialists throughout the previous five centuries. Standing on the porch which used to be his, the late December sun in the sky, I could see why this pocket of India meant so much to my grandfather. This was the sixth day of my family’s two-week Keralan pilgrimage – my mother had organised the winter trip for us to see first-hand where she had been raised by my grandparents. Our journey kicked off with a 20-hour, three-legged journey via Manchester and Dubai. We finally reached Kochi where we were to spend the first few nights of our trip. As the most densely populated city in the state, it was quite an eye-opening journey from airport to hotel, offering up sights of some truly seat-of-your pants driving and bustling shopping districts. The Malabar House Hotel in Fort Kochi couldn’t have been a more welcoming pit stop for tired travellers. Its luxurious rooms, complete with four-poster beds, were topped only by the open-air central courtyard where we were treated to some extremely fine fusion cooking. Continued on page 32....
INDIA NEWS India is famous for its colourful festivals, diverse culture and wide range of options for visitors. Whether you opt for a group tour, a private tour or an independent self-guided holiday, we recommend keeping up with the developments and checking festival dates which can really enhance your trip and of course our team can help advise accordingly. OUR RECOMMENDATIONS Here are some top tips for your next visit to India. DIWALI FAST TRACK TO THE TAJ MAHAL ORANGE COUNTY, HAMPI Known as the Festival of Light, Diwali is the largest event of its kind in India. Diwali centres around the family, so booking accommodation in small family-run guesthouses or homestays can make a visit to India at this time particularly special. Some of the liveliest celebrations can be experienced in Delhi, Varanasi and Jaipur. Make a day trip from Delhi to the Taj Mahal on the new state-of-the-art ‘Gatimaan Express’, now the nation’s fastest locomotive, transporting you to Agra in 1 hour 40 minutes. Located only 4kms from the UNES- CO World Heritage Site, visitors to Hampi, can now be ensured a more comfortable stay in this newly opened luxury hotel. AUTUMN / WINTER 2016 | TRAVEL EXPLORER | 31
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Travel Explorer Magazine (AUTUMN/WINTER 2016 EDITION)

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