RJS' Travels - rajiv, JJ and Sanjeev Travels to Malabar Coast - Calicut, Mahe & Vedcara.
Total Distance Covered : 1110
Duration : 3 Days - during Ugadi festival
Mode of Transport : Bus, Uncles' Car ,Taxi and Auto.
Places : Bangalore, Mysore, Nanjagud, Sulthan bathery, kalpetta, Calicut, Vadcara, Kadalundi & Mahe.
Date : 17, 18 and 19 th March 2007.

Planning : I was planning to do the "Malabar trip " long time back ven i did the New Year Trip to Jungle Tree House on the Tree tops. There is this beautiful drive after Phookote lake - a down hill and entering to the Calicut. I planned to do it on Bike but then changed plans since JJ and Tanti had also plans to visit the same place. So we all planned for Calicut since we wanted to see Kerala and not go further down ,,,

Day 1 : Travel, Langur, local stuff and Malabar Cuisine.
We took the KSRTC bus from Majestic to Calicut which was a 9 hour drive. I really thought - how would i manage to be seated on 1 seat for such a long time - but beleive me - once you cross Mysore - u really get the fresh air and the greenery after kalpetta is amazing. The lunch in Kalpetta was OK - with some hot water given - JJ and Tants were quite seeing this - "itni dhoop main garam paani" . Parotas with Fish,,,- that was yum n dirt cheap. We crossed the ghats - which was quite steep so the driver was slow on the curves - its says " be gentle on my curves"
Black Langur : before we could cross the check post after ghats - we had to scrrech for a halt since someone compalined that we crossed the langur. That was the 1st time i saw a Black langur. anyways - i could see the blood spots on the tyres and we could ignore running over the langur - so it was the usual check up done,,,,our time was short and we had informed Uncle - Kailsash' father to pick us up,,,,we took the local bus from Check Post to Calicut.
Drivers : i would imagine running by Bike on 55 km in 1 hour 10 minutes - on ghats and local roads,,,yes - it was the local bus we took. he was driving like a F1 driver and guzzling speed as if he had to catch Schumi. i had to hold the seat and had a sigh of releif once he touch base.
We met Uncle, snacks and checked in mankav. Amazing House.
Uncle took us around to - Kallai Timbers, bridge, KozhiKode beach and the best - yummmm- malabar food - paragon serves one of the best foods - so we hogged on Crabs, squids and prawns. The hotel is quite famous since the only branch it has is in Dubai.
We bought Dhotis - so that we could have the essence of "Kerala"

Day2 - Taxi, Vadagara, Mahe & Kalaripayyat.
We hired a Taxi since we figured out the Distance was more and the heat could get us on travelling. It was very hot though but we did not want to take any chances. By Taxi - we visited Kadalundi Bird Sanctuary, Beypore Port ( i met some Biharis Bhais were we had a photo shoot and chai on the Palm Oil tankers) , Peruvannamuzhi Dam.
As per research - we had to see the Kalaripapayat - as this is what Kerala is described for, so we reached one of the villages where the Birth of "kalari" originated. puduppanam is where we met the guru who was giving gyan to the fighters ,,,by joe - when i shook his hand - i really yelled for help. Its a form of martial art combined with self defence and Jujitsu. Madhu Sir was a very gentle man and he expalined the history and students who came here,,,,BBC, Santhosh Sivan,,
the Lokanarkavu temple was a sight to see - thousand of dias in the temple - you had to wear a Dhoti to get inside to visit the goddess - the goddess of kalari. We also saw a small pond quite deep - and rajesh explained - Kalari's used to practice summer saults in water to get the real taste of Fighting.
Mahe: Its part of Pondicherry Territory, i dont know how JJ and Tanti got the idea - but they wanted to visit Mahe - ab jab kuch idhar to pura dekh kar jayo,,,,,we convinced Anil - our driver to take us to Mahe n get drunk tooo much. So in an hours time - from Vadagara to Mahe - its a sight to see. mahe is full of Boose shops,,not many in Calicut. So many people come from Calicut and spend 61 kms to come here n booze ,,,poor locals - you cant carry liquor back home - you have a check post waiting for you,,,small wee of drinkng and we headed bakc home. So in all - it was hell travelling to all places , got to see " gods own country" and the taste of Malabar.

Day3 : Rest, shopping, Kappad Beach and Bangalore.
We woke up late , JJ and Tanti were up wake on some gyan which i could get hold off. Uncle wondered the next day - why the flush was on most of the time - it was the disposal of Cigs. that JJ wanted to get rid off,,JJ knows this better,,,,,me and tants got the tickets booked back to bang. Kappad beach was quite a distance to cover - this is where - De Gama had come and Tanti had full justice to see this place. yeah - i guess he would have like it - since the beach looks fabulous with white sand, coco trees and boats. It was an artist impression or a pic to have put in the mind,,,,it was nature at its best,,,,
JJ had some massage done at the Kappad beach resort while me and Tanti were on the rocks for the photo shoot and crab catching.
We had to rush home , change and head to the bus stand since we hadnt much time to touch base. It was the same route we took and were in bang by 3 midnite.

Summary : I owe this trip to Uncle for his hospitality in Calicut, JJ and Tanti for their humour and good buddies, Ugadi Utsav and Kerala. On a minimum budget - we explore to our best what anyone would have done to see " Kerala" . You have to be there and get the experience in the "Gods Own Country "