Bijapur.

BIJAPUR, is located in the northern part of karnataka state in India , though very dry and arid region and mainly Muslim dominated region , it  is home to  the famous GOL GUMBUZ  monument, which is the mausoleum of Md. Adil Shah  ,once sultan of  bijapur.
   We were on our road trip from Mumbai to Northern karnataka region and Bijapur  was likely our first stopover....we had prior booking at Kstdc  hotel  Adil Shahi, which is well located on the main road in the city ...it was 31st Dec 2016 evening when we checked in there.....should have been a buzzing night but that city was too sleepy and lazy to party the night away....On to our way to bijapur  we had short stop at Wineyard at Sholapur. ..just so so impressive  to touch and feel the tempting grapes at the farms and offcourse to mention the Pomegranate fields...small bushes , holding almost 100 fruits...loved to see it all .
We had plans to drive off another 65 kms from bijapur city to Almatti Dam site to enjoy the musical fountain on R . Krishna  but we were bit late ....the show ends at 7.30pm....though the road is good from bijapur  to Almatti but we were too tired to take on the idea , instead go off to sleep early ......
Next morning, we woke up to wish each other a very Happy New Year ....beautiful sunshine and simple breakfast, we wished to do the local  sightseeing before heading out off to Almatti Dam and then to HAMPI.....
1st on our list for sightseeing was GOL GUMBUZ. ....it was hardly some 7/10kms from the hotel we stayed last night but the people were so non cooperative that they tried to miss guide us ...some said that it's just walking distance, other showed a wrong route to reach the place ....Just crazy!!!old city and no traffic norms  and we went round and round to finally reach the location. ....it was just splendid monument well kept ....sprawling gardens inside, but need to walk a lot and if wished , can climb the stairs to the top of Gol Gumbaz but shoes r not allowed inside the monument. ....
After that we visited the BARA KAMAN ...awesome architecture. ..the arches still stands perfect  till this day but it stand amidst busy market place and so difficult to park once private vehicle....Next it was beautiful  SHIVGIRI  darshan ....awesomely huge Shiva statue adorning the city of Bijapur by the highway....after our darshan ....we now took onto our drive off to Almatti Dam and Hampi for the night stopover.
Soon after we left Bijapur city  the sunflower fields and bajra fields by the highway just made me mesmerised and I had to make a stop to enjoy few minutes amidst those Sunflower fields. Lovely experience  indeed.....So we continued our journey to the World of granite  ie HAMPI.

OUR VISIT TO PANDHARPUR VITTHALA TEMPLE.

Pandharpur is the main centre of worship for Vitthal,  believed to be a form of Sri Krishna  or Vishnu and his consort Rukhmini. It is the most visited temple in Maharashtra.
The warkaris  start marching from their homes to the temple of Pandharpur in groups  called Dandi  , to reach on Aashadi  ekadashi  and kartiki  ekadashi. A holy dip in the Chandrabhaga river, on whose bank Pandharpur resides, is believed to have power to wash all sins.
    My experience at the temple :
It was our 1st trip there ....basically we were on our road journey from Mumbai to North Karnataka region ...so before we reached Sholapur , took a short diversion for darshan there ....we were not aware of the system there ....according to court rules in Maharashtra  , darshan at such big pilgrimage sites need to booked prior ONLINE for closer darshan of the diety  there....since  we did not have prior booking had to be satisfied  with only Mukhya darshan of the Lord ...online bookings for darshan has to be booked 3 days prior to visit ....we requested a lot to convince the authority there but they were very adamant. ....anyways, any ter darshan of Vitthala and then Rukhmini  , we continued our journey towards Sholapur and onto Bijapur for our 1st day break or night stopover on 31st Dec 2016.

OUR VISIT TO TRIVANDRUM CITY.

It was our Diwali holidays and we wanted to visit a portion of kerala state which we earlier had missed visiting....Our agenda , this time was a stay a kovalam beach, visiting Poovar Island,  having darshan at Padmanabhaswamy temple, Suchindrum temple and BHAGAVATHY AMMAN TEMPLE in kanyakumari besides Ponmudi and local places around Trivandrum.
   We had our booking at Hotel Sagara, kovalam  near to Vizhinjam light house. The hotel is worth paying for....it was quite dark by the time we checked in but I was quite impressed by the property. ...I stood in the balcony of our room and could hear the sound of the waves hitting the shores....but had to wait till the break of dawn to feel the real beauty. ....After the sumptuous dinner of malabari  parathas and chicken preparation with black pepper (very locale of the region) , we just went off to sleep........
My mobile alarm rang at 6.30am, I just pushed off the room curtains .....omg the sea looks so so beautiful, felt as if I opened up my window to the sea....just loved it ......Had framed sea by every hour as it kept mesmerising us .....oh , this hotel had a kerala ayurvedic spa too and definitely  a session is in our card before we say good bye to this place.
    We had our booking for darshan at Padmanabhaswamy temple prior . ....our driver said that it will be easy for darshan ....we were well prepared with saree and Dhoti for my husband, this time....even churidar is not allowed....people here follows strict norms....the queue was too long but when time started it moved very fast.....though it was my 2nd visit to Trivandrum but my first visit here.......I was mesmerised by the Golden idol of Vishnu lord in Nidra  position. ....oh the pillars , the bed of the inner sanctum, all in pure gold and magnificent craftmenship. ...Earlier had heard so many stories regarding this temple and today I am here ....I said to myself , feeling blessed.
Next had the agenda to visit NEYYAR  DAM at the foot of the western ghats built over Neyyar river.....it's quite a drive out to the place thru ' dense jungle areas.....some construction work was on to at the site so I personally didn't feel like climbing to the top of the floodgates  of Neyyar dam but my husband  went up and it was really very beautiful. ....Went to see the Aquarium just next to Neyyar Dam. ...
After seeing Kovalam beach , we had no interest to visit Shanghumukham beach. ....I just loved enjoying the kovalam beach. ........
Shopping :Being at trivandrum, shopping is alway at very traveller's  agenda. ...Had the opportunity to collect lots of cloves, which a local product,  my favourite POPPY BRAND  UMBRELLA and my ever  loved KASAVU SAREES OF KERALA.......
       Since lots of construction works are on all across Trivandrum city ,still not a pleasure driving across .

Our journey from Trivandrum to kanyakumari by road.

Trivandrum to kanyakumari is about 92kms via NH66....approximately 3hrs +depending on the traffic...
ROUTE :
   TRIVANDRUM -KOVALAM -MARTHANDAM -NAGARCOIL - SUCHINDRUM -KANYAKUMARI.

As one reaches kovalam the road really narrows down and the traffic really bothers too much ....hardly people follow any lanes and overtaking is very common here....this madness continues until the border of kerala. Though the road conditions are good only it's too narrow with several twists and turns...Once Nagarcoil is reach,one can feel the surrounding  changing over ie the beauty of Trirunelvelli. ....big lotus ponds ...rice/paddy fields and the simple village life all across.....Nagarcoil churches are really beautiful and catches every eye ,which passes by.....As one enters Tamil Nadu state ,the roads become wider but not in very good state.
Our first stop over was SUCHINDRUM THANUMALAYAM TEMPLE......visiting south Indian temples , one need to follow the dress code strictly to have a darshan there....ie saree for ladies and Dhoti for men with bare upper part.
We  were prepared from before hand so had not much problem. ...The temple architecture is very beautiful like madurai. ...We opted for Tulsi mala or garland for vishnu idol and pan mala for Echaa purti  Hanuman ji  idol inside the main sanctum of the temple  ....this is the only temple where Shiva - Vishnu -Brahma  resides  together ....Saw the musical pillars inside the temple .....the corridors around are so so beautifully carved in black sandstone .....but no cameras are allowed....so it was just our silent prayers there before we headed for kanyakumari. ...it's surely our luck that we could make our darshan there as soon we came out of the complex the doors of the temple closed for the day until evening.....being in southern most part of India and not enjoying coconut water , .....I just wanted it .....now  it was approx  11kms to reach kanyakumari. ...by the time we entered kanyakumari town the weather got bad , with few drizzle. .....this was my 2nd visit to kanyakumari. ...felt very sad to see the town so dirty....anyways, now had the agenda for Vivekananda Rock  and BHAGAVATHY AMMAN  TEMPLE darshan which is also a shaktipeeth. ....

PONMUDI -THE HIDDEN HILL STATION OF SOUTH INDIA.

Ponmudi,  is the tiny little hill station about 56 kms from Trivandrum city .....though not much heard amongst tourists visiting Kerala...but truely worth visiting .....mainly known as Eco tourism site.
   As one starts his/her journey,  can feel the freshness of air immediately after leaving the city limit and as one takes on the climb up the hill roads. ...the twists and turns all across single roadway, never allows the vehicle to speed up.....but surely  gives the essence of country side ....the tall coconut , betel nut  trees, small houses amidst the paddy fields  , is truely a travellers delight. ....the innocent charms of the locales busy in their daily cores of life....the local temples spreading the essence of burning ghee lamps , just makes ones soul uplifted.....the journey just had began.....
  Now began the RUBBER ESTATES of kerala....obviously, we had to make a stopover for a while ....as I kept framing them on my lens from outside the fencing ...our driver insisted me to enter the Rubber estate from the entrance gate instead to have a closer look of the dropping of the juices that forms the main ingredient that later after processing becomes usable rubber ......it's really fun to pull the juice which looks more like a rubber string as it comes in contact with the atmosphere. ....
Now we were about to enter the Ponmudi  Eco tourism site ....after paying the entrance  charge , we head along ....but this stretch is a drivers/person sitting behind the steering wheel's  delight.....Need to be very very careful....one mistake and u r surely down off the hill.....Now there r 22 steep hairpin  bends to reach upto the topmost point of the Ponmudi hills. ....the air offcourse got very chilled and dense jungle stretch  and a narrow steep  climb up.....I took to the front seat of our SUV  vehicle to film the exciting climb as the surrounding beauty...omg , our driver , who is a localite  instead of taking care of his steering wheel was gazing at my camera and off he slipped to the side of the slopes of narrow road....thank god , we averted  an accident instead I made him stop  and moved to my backseat instead.....I told him to concentrate on his driving and not to keep speaking over the phone ....Each of the bends where very very steep and quite tricky. .....now slowly , the scenic hills started showing up amidst the thick forest cover ......tea plantations are alway a delight to watch .....so had a couple of stopovers and finally  we were now on the topmost point of Ponmudi hills.......Saw a small resort type eatery only ....very well maintained. ....the chilling winds swapped my hairs across my face.....the hills are a facinating place for hikers, trekkers and rock climbers......Just loved the serenity and peace and offcourse the freshness in the air .....Just perfect for a day camping /picnicing but need not spoil the clean surrounding. .....this place offcourse have a great chance of development further....only requires more interest and intension of the govt.
We very much enjoyed the drive upto the top  of Ponmudi hills.

POOVAR ISLAND -THE MINI MALDIVES ON INDIAN SOIL

The name POOVAR ISLAND,  might sound quite unheard off to tourists .....But I can bet ,  that it's rightly  called Mini Maldives  on Indian soil.
It's located some 17kms from Kovalam,  in Trivandrum City of Kerala. The location is a perfect getaway for both honeymooners as well all adventure enthusiasts.  Now it's amongst the most sort after destination,  because of its floating resort at the mouth of Poovar river as it merges  into the Arabian Sea.

HISTORY:
     Poovar is a small village  situated in Trivandrum on the coast of Kerala.  It marks the end of the territory  of kerala.  It lies close to Vizhinjam, which is a natural harbour. The village has been an ancient trading center of timber, spices, ivory and sandal wood.
  The so called poovar island  is off the mainland ,  in between the poovar river and Arabian Sea.  The beach is quite a spot hidden away from usual hustle bustle of the city life. The remoteness of Poovar  makes it a fabulous place for solace and solitude.
The sunkissed golden sand beach, verdant  coconut  palms on both side of the river creates a magical experience  and above that the sail across the Mangrove jungles makes it stand out of the  experience of other backwaters drive of kerala.

My experience :
     The first time I came to know of this place from a feature on Travel XP channel  on TV ,  I made up my mind to add this destination to my list of Destinations in India .......But whatever  I saw in TV programme, this destination proved much more to my expectations.
  I &my husband  though planned a visit to Poovar Island during our Dasherra vacation but due to some serious engagement, we had to drop the idea ...then luckily  my husband got 4 days official Diwali holidays and we just couldn't  spare this opportunity to visit Poovar. Though everything had to be planned at the last hour, for which our expenses shoot up but nevertheless  , it finally  happened ....We got out airtickets to Trivandrum, booked hotel at Kovalam as well poovar island  and a vehicle for 4 days to go around as  ,besides Poovar Island, I planned for  Ponmudi hill station and Suchindrum temple, Nagarcoil-Marthandam  as well Kanyakumari  to my itenary for 4 days Vacation .
   It was 28th Oct 2016,  around 8pm that we landed at Trivandrum airport,  since our vehicle was waiting  outside , we did not spend much time as we had to head for Kovalam, which is quite far away from city limit..... We had our booking at a star hotel at Vizhinjam Port side of Kovalam beach. ....We were quite exausted  also , by the time we checked in the hotel....then it was just food and off to sleep as the next morning we had our plans to head for Poovar Island.
   Morning , when I woke from sleep , I was mesmerised by the view of Kovalam beach from my hotel balcony ....I felt that my door opened up to the waters of Arabian Sea. .....After breakfast, we left for Poovar around 9.30am.....Poovar is not very far off from Vizhinjam Port ...but the road is quite narrow with lots of traffic and no divider. ...so can't drive fast in this route...the journey is just picturesque. ...net and tidy village all across ...home looked quite wealthy. ...finally we reached Poovar Island  resort gate...As  we had our prior booking  , so not much headache, from here we were ferried to our Island resort ,almost 20 mins sail across....
(3/4 resorts are there at Poovar Island,but prior booking is must specially during holidays )........we were but mesmerised. .........
Then comes the cruising in the Poovar....it's bit expensive, as 1hr cruising charge 3500 rs....but if one skip off the cruising , might repent later on ,that's my personal experience.  Even my husband was not ready for it when he heard the cost....some people go in for 1.5hrs , 2hrs , 3hrs and the price keeps varying.
     The best part of the trip was the cruising thru the poovar backwaters , then the mangrove jungles and then the open sea to the Golden Beach.....
    These were simple motor boat that sailed across ....very thrilling and adventurous as it sailed thru the mangrove jungles,where some shots of Anaconda movie was picturised as per the locales and that's how it became so popular destination.
I was so so excited that my camera kept clicking away one after another.....Just loved the Golden beach , which disappears in the Arabian Sea at high tide....Standing on the Golden beach,  the Arabian Sea waves looked so so scarry. ...it's so so huge...
Unfortunately,  the weather turned bad all of a sudden and we had to leave the Golden beach. ...when it started pouring heavily ,everything became so scarry,  .....even the current of poovar river  increased 3 / 4 fold....we just rushed back to our resort to enjoy our night stay there...maybe I can't explain my feelings during our stay .....I didn't feel very very comfortable as the rooms gets a floating feeling though it's provided with all classy amenities. .....I felt the same uneasiness  , when I first stayed in the house boats at Dal Lake , Srinagar. .....Though , the bad weather spoiled few extra moments at the Golden beach. ...but overall a new experience to add to my memories ....