As a tourist in my home-town

The little one was chuffed right from the time she saw the bags out. She knew in her heart we were going to do something really exciting. We were going back to Vadakencherry (hubby’s home) and she was going to meet her paternal grandparents after a 6 months long interval. 

Smera had been undergoing a week-long rigorous training to learn saying Ammachi (Grand Mother) and Appachha (Grand Dad). But that ended up as Ammeis and Appais. While saying Ammu and Chinnu (Smera’s cousins) was a piece of cake for her.

Smera loves going back to India. Vadakencherry or Delhi she just loves to be with her grandparents. She has met Ammeis Appais only a couple of times this year but when they re-unite it just feels like yesterday. This vacation was even more special with Ammu and Chinnu at home.

Day 1 was overwhelming for Smera feeling wary of her elder sisters’ affection towards us. Observant child turns then herself into a human magnet in my arms. Bursting with emotions of jealousy, anger and insecurity little Smera also wanted to play with her sisters. Things got better between as days passed and Smera felt more comfortable. For the first time she spent some quality time sisters and sometimes it became really difficult for her to keep enthusiasm within limits.

After a lot of wheedling and buttering-up I managed to get Appais to take time off to come down to Trivandrum. The grandparents, parents and the three kids then catch a midnight train that was part of my pre-planned break. Travelling in a train was a first time for all the three kids. The euphoric Smera had to be eventually reprimanded to lower her decibel levels.

We arranged for my mum too joined us at Trivandrum. This time we wanted to do what tourists would do in Kerala, headed straight to Kovalam and unloaded ourselves at the Taj Vivanta. Spent the next few days gorging on gourmet food, splashing into the pool, early jogs on the beach, boat rides on the backwaters, watching kalaripayattu, to making chocolates at hotel– we had an exceptional time.

Boat ride on the backwaters

To be honest we have never ever done the touristy things back home in Kerala and this was a first time for all us including our parents.

Jogging track next to the Kovalam beach

I never knew of this beautiful place called Pomudi which is about 60 kms from Trivandrum city. If you were off to Ponmudi you would typically take your first stop at the Meenmutty falls. The forest department would assist you with a guide, to take you on a 2 km trek through the dense forests to reach the falls. I reached the falls with great difficulty, I have to admit trekking is not something I really enjoy but the falls were spectacular. While my father-in-law aged 68 and my mum carrying Smera managed to trek with great ease than me and my athletic husband.

Meenmutty Falls

After the falls we drove though the narrow winding road on the way to Ponmudi, a scenic green hill-station with pleasant weather year-round. If you have motion sickness then you might want to skip this part by taking a nap, as there are 22 hairpin curves on the way.

Ponmudi

And to finish off our stay at Taj we decided to get our parents a little surprise - the must-try ayurvedic spa treatment at the Jiva Spa. My mother-in-law though got a little shock as she signed of the bill but it was definitely all worth it, while my father-in-law slept off half-way through the massage.

Few days break came to end with grand-parents and nieces taking the train back to Vadakencherry, while I and my husband quietly escaped to Sri-Lanka depositing our angel with my mum.

More on that in my next post.

Cheers!