Trip to eastern Kerala (Thenmala, Ambanad..)

I decided to go on a trip to escape from the scorching summer at Chennai. The options were very limited as I did not want to go to Ooty, Kodaikanal or any typical hill stations because of the crowd. After consulting with friends and surfing the net, I decided to try eastern Kerala, Thenmala and Ambanad. I was impressed by Thenmala ecotourism (http://www.thenmalaecotourism.com) and I was planning to stay at the tree top. In fact, the following posts on the internet prompted me to visit this place.

http://www.ramkishoretravelogue.com/2009/11/trip-to-thenmala-from-tirunelveli.html

http://www.ramkishoretravelogue.com/2010/01/trip-to-ambanad-hills_06.html

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travelogues/102572-road-truly-less-traveled-trail-monsoon-ambanad-estate-sojourn.html

I started from Viriudhunagar with 2 of my friends and all 3 of us are of the same taste - we do not want crowded places and we would like to stay in a quiet place like forest rest houses.

We tried our accommodation at Thenmala, however we could not get it because of the summer vacation. We had booked at Apichayan Hill resort (http://www.kerala-hub.com/kerala-hotels/apichayans-cliff-resort.html) and we were also told by the resort that the place is a jungle and we can relally enjoy.

Our first disappointment was the location of the hotel as it is only 10 kms from Shenkotttai and the altitude is not very much, in fact it is less than 2 kms from the downhill. The resort was in a abandoned condition, however the room was good. We were very much relieved when we saw the air-conditioner at the room as the temperature was hot. There resort had a water falls inside and it seems people stay only when the water flows in the falls which is from July to September.  The resort did not have any restaurant facilities, but had a good person who bought food from the near by restaurant. He was kind enough to give his mobile number so that we can reach him any time. We decided to visit Kumbhavurutty water falls (http://traveltokerala.blogspot.in/2009/11/kumbhavurutty-waterfalls.html) on the way to Achankoil. The trip was good as we were the only people to be there at the falls. We had a nice time till 6 pm and went to Achan koil. End of Day 1.

We planned to visit Thenmala and Amabnad on the second day. It was a straight road from the resort to Thenmala after crossing Aryankavu. We had nice Kappa and fish curry at a road side hotel and reached Thenmala by 11 AM. Climate was very hot, we just passed through the different zones at Thenmala ecotourism. We checked with the information counter about the jungle stay and it was available at Rs. 2000/- for 3 persons on the roof top. We were not interested as the "jungle" they say is a controlled environment and not the typical one. I would say Thenmala is good when you visit with family and kids as they would enjoy and it is safe.

We decided to go to Ambanad estate from there as I have heard that they offer bungalows to stay. You have to take a cut at Aryankavu, pass through Isfield estate before reaching Ambanad estate. You have to pay an entry fee of Rs. 100/- to visit the estate. Stay is offered in some of the bungalows there and it would cost Rs. 2500/- for a family. Temparature was also hot there. We just went around the estate and came back.

Overall, it was a good trip except for the climate. Good place to visit from July to September.

Buddha Temple at Ab Nom and Brahma Temple at Hat Yai

I had been to Thailand with my friends and I was told about these 2 temples about my Malaysian Tamil friend. Seems he has been advised by one of his Malaysian Chinese friend to go to these 2 temples during tough times. And they have seem tremendous results after visiting these 2 temples.

How to reach ?

Ab Nom is in just before Hat Yai. If you are going from Malaysia, cross the border at Danok and keep travelling straight for almost 40 kms. Just before Hat Yai, you will find a over bridge which cuts across. Left to your road is "Khuan Lang" and "Pattani" is in the right. Take the right and after travelling almost 8 kms you will find the temple on your right.

What to do ?

There is a brahma statue in Ab Nom temple and they are also building a Vinayagar statue. There are 2 small temples inside where the bodies of the monks are preserved. We are supposed to go and pray and then meet the monk who is present now. Before that we have to take bath with the holy water, which you can buy for 200 bahts. They also give you a towel. We took bath and we are supposed to throw that towel (not use again) and them meet the monk. The monk offers prayers, does lot of rituals and tie-us with a holy thread and also gives a small Buddha statue which we can put in a locket and tie it with our chain. It is up to our wish to offer something at the temple here.

After this we have to go to the temple at Brahma temple Hat Yai.

How to reach the Brahma temple at Hat Yai ?

You have to come back the same way, reach the over bridge, take a left before the bridge, turn right to reach Hat Yai. Just take the Hat Yai main road and reach the Nakhon Hat Yai municipal public park after the Prince of Songkla University and the military camp.

Go into the park, ask for the Buddha temple and you can reach the Buddha temple by climbing a small hill through the municipal public park.

There are 2 ways to reach the Brahma temple.

1. You can take a cable car from the Buddha statue and reach the Brahma temple. It will cost 200 bahts for one person and it reaches the temple directly.

2. You can drive by taking a cut near the solar observatory just before the Buddha temple. One small problem is, you have to walk a few metres to reach the temple and I would advise to take the cable car if there are any old people.

What to do at Hat Yai Brahma temple ?

You are advised to reach there before 6 pm as the temple closes by 8 pm. Buy agar bathis and crackers as you are supposed to burst them before you leave the temple.

This temple has a big 3 faced elephant at the entrance and the main God is a four faced Brahma. There are lots of elephant statues in the temple and you can light candles are agar bathis at each face of the Brahma. There are 3 statues near the Brahma statue - Shiva, Amman and Vinayagar. You can light candles and agar bathis here and at the end you can burst crackers. Crackers, candles and agar bathis are sold at the shop in the temple, but they close by 6 pm.

Overall it was a nice divine experience and you can check out some photos of my trip which are uploaded in facebook.