Gentlefolk,
This post describes our stay at The Mountain Courtyard Resort, Tekkady, Kerala State on 11 March 2020.
From Madurai we took Highway #85 to Allinagaram Our conductor Muthu's home town), then Hwy #183 to Thekkady. The next day continued on #183 to Alleppey.
We've seen lots of highway construction during our time in India, but today for the first time we saw a new railway line under construction (it followed Hwy #85 for a time). But it seemed a traditional railway, not high-speed. India is a long, long way behind China in infrastructure (we have heard that the first high-speed train line is planned between Delhi and Varansi).
The coronavirus scare has caught up with us; yesterday the Indian Govt started closing tourist sites where crowds gather. Fortunately we are nearing the end of our tour.
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| As we left Madurai behind, started to get more hilly. |
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| Mainly dry and becoming hilly. A new railway line followed the highway for a while. |
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| People washing in this river. |
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| Leaving the plain, climbing up into the mountains and entering Kerala State. |
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| The Mountain Courtyard Resort, Thekkady (near Periyar National Park). |
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| The last km from the highway was too steep for the bus; we got 4-wheel drive jeeps up to the hotel. |
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| The foyer of the Mountain Courtyard Resort. |
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| Vera with Jodhi, one of the staff of the Mountain Courtyard Resort. She was lovely. |
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| A view of the Resort from our hotel room. Tranquil, surrounded by forest. |
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| I had a swim in the nice pool. |
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| We were supposed to do a boat ride on the lake at Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary, but the Govt had stopped such tourist activities. So instead we did a tour of Abraham's Spice Garden, which has been in operation for 56 years. Knowledgeable guide. |
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| That evening the Resort chef conducted a cooking class for our group. |
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The following morning we drove to Alleppey, the subject of my next post.
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Best wishes, stay healthy and keep smiling.
Vera & Alex Olah
Canberra, Australia
Wednesday, 1 April 2020
