Road surfaces are uniformly good; the teenager's cheek is replaced by a baby's bottom - smooth and silky. Having said that, NH66 does suffer from diversions due to roadwork, especially from Alappuzha to Kochi. Even then, the diverted stretches are not too bad; in similar situations in Maharashtra, driving on diversions felt like riding the Rover on the moon. Many roads here are just two-cars wide - small ones. Good flow of traffic, luckily for me. However, since, in Kerala, the townships practically sit in each other's lap, the NH66 seems to be flowing through one massive town hundreds of kilometers long! It's a totally different driving experience, I tell you.
Kerala drivers are skilled, and often very disciplined. But there is a significant section who are always on overdrive. Overtaking seems to be Steven Covey's Segment I for them - Urgent and Important. They could easily have been enrolled in Ben Hur's chariot race, that is if you can imagine a Mallu-looking Charlton Heston.
Pedestrians are never on the road in Kochi, except to step out at zebra crossings. And cars DO stop. I swear I saw it with my own eyes! I also stopped once, rigidly clenching my teeth, fully expecting the bus behind to goose me, but it didn't.
Today was a hot day and sightseeing consumed energy. Although we left Kovalam at 7.30am, we clocked into our Aluva (near Kochi) place of stay only at 6.30pm. A pretty long minute on the road, but I was less tired than I thought I'd be.
In short, I liked Kerala roads. Let's see whether I change my opinion tomorrow when we go sightseeing inside the old city of Kochi.
Sunrise at Kovalam (6.00 am)
Sunrise is not over the sea here, this being the west coast. However, the lighting is great. We thought we would take a small dip in the morning, but at high tide, the sea was rough, rampaging over the whole beach. Even the much-touted Russians were inserting a gingerly toe and jumping back as if the wave was a doubtful dog, frothing at the mouth. We therefore decided to get ready and start our northward drive at 7.30 am itself.
Breakfast at Varkala (9.30 am)
Before we started on our trip, there had been a debate as to where to spend the night - Kovalam or Varkala (they were just 50 km apart). Kovalam had won, because the beach was easily accessible, unlike Varkala where the hotels and restaurants were at the head of a cliff and the beach was way way down. Too much work for senior people like us. Nonetheless, we wanted to check it out and stopped there for breakfast.
It was a Monday, so the area was not very busy. More foreign tourists than Indian ones. After ages, we had continental breakfast at Sea View restaurant, while gazing at the eternally empty eyes of a sea that is just waking up to the start of a work-week.
Jatayu Earth Centre (12.00 noon)
Now, this was a total egg-in-the face for us. Just goes to show that we should do proper research before starting to drive. While visiting Varkala, I saw a poster of the JEC, with a cool statue of Jatayu erected on a hill, and decided to drive past and click a few quick ones. An hour's drive in a transverse direction brought us to the spot, but - ye gods - this was too sophisticated a place! First we had to pay for parking, then we could see a long line at the ticket counter, and further we learnt that one has to take a ropeway up to the statue. The arriving visitors had that steely-jawed look of people determined to make a day of it. We simply didn't have the time, and drove off towards Alappuzha (aka Aleppy). Still, if you are interested, here is a pic from the internet.
Pandalam Palace (2.30 pm)
We chanced upon this place in passing. Wiki tells us that the Pandalams were a royal dynasty from the Pandyas, and they came to Kerala seeking refuge from the Nayaks.
The palace and the temple buildings have the typical Kerala unassuming look, as opposed to Tamil temples. The palace part was closed, so we could only photograph the outsides.
But first, a cup of coffee, for I was feeling jolly sleepy. Kerala does that to you.
Lunch at Alappuzha (3.00 pm)
Aleppy is famous for the backwaters and houseboat journeys thereon. The two of us had already experienced it a decade ago, so passing through Aleppy was a sort of deja vu, a hiccup in the hippocampus, you might say. In short, a very pleasant drive through the stagnant lakes. The red and white lighthouse still stands sentinel since 1862.
We found a allegedly Arab food joint, the Razi Arabia, and had beef mandi (Panna) and veg noodles (I).
Rashid's flat at Aluva (6.30 pm)
A home away from home. We drove from Alappuzha, through Ernakulam, to the locality of Aluva, around 20 km from the old Kochi town, where our friend Rashid has a nice spacious flat. Being out of town, he kindly made it available to us. It was as good as a swanky Air BnB. Rashid's co-brother staying nearby had stocked up the place and threatened to arrive tomorrow morning with veg breakfast.
Our friend from Muscat, Viju, came to meet us here. We subsequently ended the evening with karimeen, egg-masala and parathas, the go-to food in Kerala.
Tomorrow we continue to be in Aluva/Kochi for local sightseeing.
Photo credits: Panna Rashmi Ray