One day visit to Kanyakumari

My fren's marriage & Kanyakumari trip

Five of us - Arun (Nettayan), Maghu, Parimala, Anuradha and Parimala's sister, were travelling to Valliyoor to attend Chitra's marriage. We thought it would be good to make a visit to Kanyakumari which is known for it's scenic beauty. So soon after the marriage, we hopped into a cab to Kanyakumari. The travel from Valliyoor to Kanyakumari was beautiful. The weather was luckily pleasent on that day.

We first went to Vattakottai fort. It's a small fort but the view from the fort towards the sea was amazing. You will get real view of nature. I think it's kind of a picnic spot for villages near Kanyakumari.

Our plan was to go back to Valliyoor by 5 PM. It was already 1 PM by the time we came out of the fort. So we decided to get into a hotel for a quick lunch. After that we had a boat ride into the sea. Our first stop was at Vivekananda Rock. Just to give a history on the rock:
The memorial stands on one of two rocks located about 500 meters off mainland India's southernmost tip. It was built in 1970 by the Vivekananda Rock Memorial Committee in honour of the visit of the great spiritual teacher Swami Vivekananda to Shripada Parai during the month of December 1892 for deep meditation and enlightenment. He swam to this rock and meditated about the past, present and future of India. It is said that he attained enlightenment on the rock, and henceforth became a reformer and philosopher.


We went around the place. Had some photo sessions. We again took the boat that came by to Thiruvalluvar statue. The Thiruvalluvar Statue is a 133 feet (40.5 m) tall stone sculpture of the Tamil poet and saint Tiruvalluvar, author of the Thirukkural. It was completed in 2000 and is located atop a small island near the town of Kanyakumari, where two seas and an ocean meet; the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea, and the Indian Ocean .

It's one of the most memorable trip. I got chance to have Tirunelveli halwa, got hands on to some of the best tastes of South Tamilnadu and throughout the trip the gang was always active making lots of noise :)

Goa - Masti ki Paatshaala...

Best Planning for your Goa Trip

This is one of the best trips that I have had so far along with my friends. We were finding it very difficult to make the complete plan for our Goa trip. We knew that there were lots of tourists spots in Goa, but we were never sure on which spot would give us the real kick. So here I go with the itenary for folks who are planning for Goa trip. This blog is purely for bachelors who might have an overall budget of around Rs 6000 + for a trip (including journey through bus or train). You needn't carry all your heavy dresses (it's Goa - buy cool dresses from there for few days)

You need atleast 4 days to enjoy one part of the Goa. Here goes the plan:

1. Book the tickets well in advance. Book tickets only if they are confirmed, don't go for RAC or WL. They will never get cleared ( we moved up by just 2 seats in RAC even though we had booked 2 months in advance)

2. After reaching Goa station or bus stand, take the bus (from Panjim) to Calangute. If you are really tired you can hire a taxi/ tempo (or if you are at Vasco). But bus journey is really good.

Day 1:

3. Calangute is a beautiful beach . You will see lots of agents who can provide you cheap accomodation (ours was 500 per head for 3 days, we got a big furnished house). I am sure you will get a decent bargain if you have a big gang. After settling in a room. You can all do a small shopping. Near Calangute beach you will find lots of shops selling Goan hats, dresses, t-shirts, swim wears etc... You will find decent veg/non-veg restuarants. Most of these hotels from beer & liquor. The only disadvantage of staying in Calangute was the restuarants were very coslty. You might still find hotel sagar or blue bay near the beach which provide good food.

After having bath in the sea, you can all go for water sport games (para sailing, banana ride, jet skiing, bumper ride) in the Calangute. All the games are safe and you will enjoy them the most. You may also buy a volleyball or cricket bat/ball and try your luck near the beach.

Goa is all about life after sunset. Its time to get into a shack on the beach side (you will find a lot of them as shown in the picture). You can enjoy beach side air and have dinner. Goa is alive the entire night.

Day 2:

4. Time to hire bike of your choice. Move around and ask some of the rental agents for your dream bikes. Avenger & thunderbird is available almost everywhere for Rs 300 to Rs 400 per day. Take a ride to Baga beach (Calangute beach & Baga beach are connected). There are some beautiful view points at Baga beach. There are also good place to eat & drink near Baga beach. In the meantime if you feel like doing some good shopping, you can travel to Anjuna beach which is also few kms away from Calangute.

5. There is an interesting fort called Aguada fort around 10 to 15 Km from Calagute. You can have a bike trip to that place. You will find some of the best photos from "Dil Chahtha Hai" here.

It's a good place and must watch for anyone after your experience with beach water. The drive is also great.

6. Come back to your room. Take rest for sometime, becoz the night is gonna be rocking hard for you. Take your bikes at around 10 or 10:30 PM. Drive it to some pub near Baga beach. I would suggest Tito's (it's a good pub with excellent disc). The entry charges are slightly high if you are a stag but it's still worth it. The DJ is excellent and you get good drinks inside. The dance floor will be full by midnight with lots of girls, boys, foreigners. You might come back to your room by around 4 or 5 AM next day.

Day 3:

7. This is the day for some sort of relaxation. You can get into a massage center and relax there. There are lots of massage/ Spa centers near Calangute and Baga. Refresh yourself. Have a tattoo on you hand, neck or wherever you want to.

8. You can go around the churches and temples near Calangute and complete the day.

Day 4:

9. Time to pack up your things. You can start from Calangute in the morning and give a visit to Panjim. There are some good spots like Dona Paulo (Ek Duje keliye - suicide spot). You can take a boat ride over there and look around the island nearby.

That's it. If you wish to have a cruise ride, you will find a lot of them at Panjim. The rides start from 6:30 PM. The ride is very pleasent. You will find floating Casino also here. Overall it's fun. If you are travelling from Goa to Chennai or Bangalore through train, the route is pleasent. Don't miss that. You will also find good sambar vadas in a hotel near Londa Jn, where the train stops for more than an hour.

Enjoy the trip!!! Choose the right season and a good reason to enjoy :)