Please provide feedback on South India itinerary

icejaguar · Jul 14th, 2009, 05:30

OH wow thats incredibly useful! I'm still figuring out this train system!

machadinha · Jul 14th, 2009, 07:22

Those trains are not at all easy to figure out no. Good thing is, there are people on this site to help you out with anything you can't figure out

(don't forget to softly tickle them once in a while

)

(Do check also this site's Railways (sub-) forum, and note its "sticky" threads -- threads "stuck" on top of a forum to always remain there, and which will cover a lot of the basics.)

machadinha · Jul 14th, 2009, 07:33

ps How come you've now slipped Bangalore into the itinerary? I've nothing against the city (didn't see all that very much of it just recently, but I quite enjoyed my time there, another short week I guess), but unless it attracts you or you otherwise have some reason to go there it's not at all necessary on your route I think, and would be (quite) a detour.

icejaguar · Jul 15th, 2009, 01:50

We were thinking of maybe squeezing Bangalore in on our way to Kerala but probably won't so the vacation isn't too rushed.

machadinha · Jul 15th, 2009, 02:10

It's not a bad idea as such, but I think it would be rather out of the way for you yes. Moreover, most of its inhabitants I know seem to hate the place (and/or think it used to be much better in ye olde days). Like I said, I quite enjoyed it though.

(Was also staying in a decidedly non-touristy residential area I must say, very nice change of perspective, and with the kindest of host, I might add. Friendliest people on the streets I ever met -- among the many friendliest of people I met most anywhere I went. Happy and interested to see you and otherwise not wanting a thing from you, kind of thing.

So anyway that super-modern yuppie-type IT center megastore nightlife-loving kind of inner city that it's renowned for was sort of peripheral to me. Very interesting and amusing what little I did see of it though.)

But in short I think on this route it wouldn't be very practical (and Mumbai will, or can, already give you something of that modern buzz. Downtown Ernakulam (mainland side of Cochin) for that matter, my how that has explosively developed in fifteen years!

Glitzy indeed, is the only word for it. Mind you, staying on some side street like I did it's still just very much Ernakulam. Well, even that with a lot more shops and stuff than there used to be.)

Then again if it attracts you, could be fitted in I suppose

I'd throw in Mysore if I were heading out there (to Bangalore, I mean). It's gonna eat up on some of your other plans though.

machadinha · Jul 15th, 2009, 02:17

... And then checking all that on a map again, I guess it wouldn't have to be so out of the way.

It's easy to be over-optimistic in interpreting maps though, and certainly in India; you had initially and wisely I thought not planned to cram too much in there; I'd suggest keeping it that way. (Or, just get going with a rough plan and see where it takes you. Three weeks doesn't allow all that much room for a happy-go-lucky type of approach though. Although I've certainly done that in other countries; India, little more complex or at least and certainly demanding though I'd say. Or on a first visit anyway. Or then maybe it doesn't have to be so long as one manages to not expect too much in terms of getting here and there precisely -- and always keeping an eye on getting back to one's exit point in time, just in case it needs saying.)

icejaguar · Jul 21st, 2009, 05:54

Hi I'm back. Sorry- we keep changing our itinerary here and there. Looks like we are going to cut out Periyar and spend more time in Munnar. Looking around for some good day hikes in Munnar. Maybe go to the Chinnar Wildlife Reserve. Husband is not excited about the leeches in the Periyar Tiger Reserve. haha

IM is a great forum Thanks again for all your help! Might post specific questions in new threads in the near future. Definitely plan to do a quick trip report when I get back

vandy · Jul 21st, 2009, 08:38

Hi there,

If I may suggest to hire a car & driver for your
Munnar experience, he will stay with you and also
show you around the places,like Chinnar,Matupetty
Dam,Top Station,Echo point etc.

For Wildlife sightings(Chinnar) you need to get to that area reasonably early morning,Its a good
1-2hrs from Munnar, terrific scenery.

As you like hiking, you may want to enquire about
Accom at a Homestay called Rose Gardens, its on the main road about 10klms before Munnar town,see
Hotels section, the owner takes his guests on a
Forrest and Tea Estate treks which are really good

rgds

vandy

icejaguar · Jul 21st, 2009, 08:50

Thanks Vandy for the input! I have read great things about the Rose Garden homestay- tahts great that they organize hikes!

How far in advance should I make reservations for accomodations? Some places I'm sure fill up quickly but at the same time don't want to seem too eager to stay in any one place. Advice?

One more random question- how many days do you think is necessary for Cochin? I do want to see the Kathakali Dance but otherwise not sure if its worth 1 day or 2 days of exploring before heading out to Munnar?

vandy · Jul 21st, 2009, 09:29

Howdy,

If you decide on Rose Gardens I suggest you start
making Enquiries ASAP as they only have 2 Double
Rooms.

Cochin is worth 2 nights and I do reccomend staying in Fort Kochi area.I have seen good reviews
for Beena Homestay, very well priced.All accom places will be able to arrange the Kathkali for you

vandy

icejaguar · Jul 21st, 2009, 23:09

great I will start making inquiries!

SueJ · Jul 21st, 2009, 23:39

I think you've done a great job on your itinerary so far!

Have you booked your international flights? If not, the way your itinerary is developing, it may be better to fly in and out of Bangalore. Although there is nothing touristy in Bangalore, it's a good arrival and departure point.

Hampi is easy from Bangalore - overnight trains in both directions daily (to Hospet).

Personally, if I flew into Banglaore, I'd think of giving Goa a miss - there are other bits of coast that are more accessible.

And if you wanted to pack a bit more in to make up for the loss of Mumbai/Goa you could look at going into Tamil Nadu.

So, going in and out of Bangalore my itinerary might be

BLR
overnight train to
Madurai (and if there's time onward to other places in Tamil Nadu)
Periyar
Munnar (can't remember whether it would be easier to do Periyar or Munnar first from Madurai)
Kottayam (not sure what you'd be doing here - it's a busy city with no tourist attractions that I am aware of)
Kumarakom or Alleppey (Kumarakom is quieter, more spread out and more expensive generally)
A Kerala beach (could do this before or after Cochin, depending on where)
Cochin (definitely stay in Fort area)
Bangalore (fly this sector?)
overnight train to
Hampi
overnight train to
Bangalore

The reason I like this itinerary is that much of the long distance train travel can be overnight - although I am more than happy to use trains, doing so can eat into your limited time. And we nearly always do one of our longer sectors by air if we're tight on time.

There's no one right answer on any of this, so just put this into the mix if it helps!

icejaguar · Jul 22nd, 2009, 04:29

Thanks for the itinerary suggestion! Unfortunatly we are already flying in and out of Mumbai so rethinking that aspect of the itinerary is otu. My husband actually knows someone who lives in Mumbai and so wanted to meet up and say hi. Plus we wanted to get a sense of what a huge Indian city like Mumbai was like. I wish we had one more week though to see other parts of India. If I get "the bug" as people on IM call it, we might have to plan a second trip for another time!

icejaguar · Jul 25th, 2009, 07:52

Hi Vandy. So we made reservations at Munnar Rose Gardens Homestay. It was $2000 rps a night which was a bit above our travel budget but we decided to go for it because of the great reviews and whatnot. but now Tomy (from the homestay) wrote that he charges $1500 rps for guided trekking. Is that expensive or is that just me?

Suggestions? We really want to explore Munnar and hike around a bit but not looking to pay $3500 ruppes ($80?) a day.

(I will also start a new threat since I'm getting off the topic of my itinerary into more specifics...)

vandy · Jul 25th, 2009, 10:38

Hi there,

Apologies if I mislead you into thinking that the
Guided trek that Tommy does was included in your
Accom costs.

Last year Tommy charged me 800rps for the 4hr Trek
which was worth every rupee.The estate he takes you into is only used Exclusively by Tommy.If you
decide to go, don't forget to take some Bottled Water and a snack of some sort.

If you have a Car & Driver at your disposal for the Munnar trip, the daily cost of the car includes
local sightseeing.For a relaxed Trek,get the driver to drop you at Top Station and then wait for you at the bottom.Definetly easier going back
down than walking up.

vandy

Jul 14th, 2009, 07:22	#17
machadinha brother my cup is empty member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: yörp Posts: 14,405	Those trains are not at all easy to figure out no. Good thing is, there are people on this site to help you out with anything you can't figure out (don't forget to softly tickle them once in a while ) (Do check also this site's Railways (sub-) forum, and note its "sticky" threads -- threads "stuck" on top of a forum to always remain there, and which will cover a lot of the basics.) __________________ Reading tips, all picked up at IndiaMike : INDAX's A Comprehensive Guide To India / Dinoj Surendran's Desi Humor / ITHVC on Culture Shock & Travel Health / JetLag Travel Guides For the Undiscerning Traveller / India Travel Links

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
South India Itinerary	BrettH	India Travel Itinerary Advice	9	Oct 2nd, 2008 15:25
Itinerary feedback for Southern India needed	Leslie H	India Travel Itinerary Advice	2	Sep 10th, 2008 11:03
Six weeks in Northern India - itinerary feedback please!	Gerb	India Travel Itinerary Advice	7	Nov 5th, 2004 13:37

Jul 14th, 2009, 05:30	#16
icejaguar Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 25	OH wow thats incredibly useful! I'm still figuring out this train system!

Jul 14th, 2009, 07:33	#18
machadinha brother my cup is empty member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: yörp Posts: 14,405	ps How come you've now slipped Bangalore into the itinerary? I've nothing against the city (didn't see all that very much of it just recently, but I quite enjoyed my time there, another short week I guess), but unless it attracts you or you otherwise have some reason to go there it's not at all necessary on your route I think, and would be (quite) a detour.

Jul 15th, 2009, 01:50	#19
icejaguar Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 25	We were thinking of maybe squeezing Bangalore in on our way to Kerala but probably won't so the vacation isn't too rushed.

Jul 15th, 2009, 02:10	#20
machadinha brother my cup is empty member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: yörp Posts: 14,405	It's not a bad idea as such, but I think it would be rather out of the way for you yes. Moreover, most of its inhabitants I know seem to hate the place (and/or think it used to be much better in ye olde days). Like I said, I quite enjoyed it though. (Was also staying in a decidedly non-touristy residential area I must say, very nice change of perspective, and with the kindest of host, I might add. Friendliest people on the streets I ever met -- among the many friendliest of people I met most anywhere I went. Happy and interested to see you and otherwise not wanting a thing from you, kind of thing. So anyway that super-modern yuppie-type IT center megastore nightlife-loving kind of inner city that it's renowned for was sort of peripheral to me. Very interesting and amusing what little I did see of it though.) But in short I think on this route it wouldn't be very practical (and Mumbai will, or can, already give you something of that modern buzz. Downtown Ernakulam (mainland side of Cochin) for that matter, my how that has explosively developed in fifteen years! Glitzy indeed, is the only word for it. Mind you, staying on some side street like I did it's still just very much Ernakulam. Well, even that with a lot more shops and stuff than there used to be.) Then again if it attracts you, could be fitted in I suppose I'd throw in Mysore if I were heading out there (to Bangalore, I mean). It's gonna eat up on some of your other plans though.

Jul 15th, 2009, 02:17	#21
machadinha brother my cup is empty member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: yörp Posts: 14,405	... And then checking all that on a map again, I guess it wouldn't have to be so out of the way. It's easy to be over-optimistic in interpreting maps though, and certainly in India; you had initially and wisely I thought not planned to cram too much in there; I'd suggest keeping it that way. (Or, just get going with a rough plan and see where it takes you. Three weeks doesn't allow all that much room for a happy-go-lucky type of approach though. Although I've certainly done that in other countries; India, little more complex or at least and certainly demanding though I'd say. Or on a first visit anyway. Or then maybe it doesn't have to be so long as one manages to not expect too much in terms of getting here and there precisely -- and always keeping an eye on getting back to one's exit point in time, just in case it needs saying.)

Jul 21st, 2009, 05:54	#22
icejaguar Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 25	Hi I'm back. Sorry- we keep changing our itinerary here and there. Looks like we are going to cut out Periyar and spend more time in Munnar. Looking around for some good day hikes in Munnar. Maybe go to the Chinnar Wildlife Reserve. Husband is not excited about the leeches in the Periyar Tiger Reserve. haha IM is a great forum Thanks again for all your help! Might post specific questions in new threads in the near future. Definitely plan to do a quick trip report when I get back

Jul 21st, 2009, 08:38	#23
vandy Maha Guru Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: perth-australia Posts: 1,148	Hi there, If I may suggest to hire a car & driver for your Munnar experience, he will stay with you and also show you around the places,like Chinnar,Matupetty Dam,Top Station,Echo point etc. For Wildlife sightings(Chinnar) you need to get to that area reasonably early morning,Its a good 1-2hrs from Munnar, terrific scenery. As you like hiking, you may want to enquire about Accom at a Homestay called Rose Gardens, its on the main road about 10klms before Munnar town,see Hotels section, the owner takes his guests on a Forrest and Tea Estate treks which are really good rgds vandy

Jul 21st, 2009, 08:50	#24
icejaguar Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 25	Thanks Vandy for the input! I have read great things about the Rose Garden homestay- tahts great that they organize hikes! How far in advance should I make reservations for accomodations? Some places I'm sure fill up quickly but at the same time don't want to seem too eager to stay in any one place. Advice? One more random question- how many days do you think is necessary for Cochin? I do want to see the Kathakali Dance but otherwise not sure if its worth 1 day or 2 days of exploring before heading out to Munnar?

Jul 21st, 2009, 09:29	#25
vandy Maha Guru Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: perth-australia Posts: 1,148	Howdy, If you decide on Rose Gardens I suggest you start making Enquiries ASAP as they only have 2 Double Rooms. Cochin is worth 2 nights and I do reccomend staying in Fort Kochi area.I have seen good reviews for Beena Homestay, very well priced.All accom places will be able to arrange the Kathkali for you vandy

Jul 21st, 2009, 23:09	#26
icejaguar Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 25	great I will start making inquiries!

Jul 21st, 2009, 23:39	#27
SueJ Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: UK Posts: 234	I think you've done a great job on your itinerary so far! Have you booked your international flights? If not, the way your itinerary is developing, it may be better to fly in and out of Bangalore. Although there is nothing touristy in Bangalore, it's a good arrival and departure point. Hampi is easy from Bangalore - overnight trains in both directions daily (to Hospet). Personally, if I flew into Banglaore, I'd think of giving Goa a miss - there are other bits of coast that are more accessible. And if you wanted to pack a bit more in to make up for the loss of Mumbai/Goa you could look at going into Tamil Nadu. So, going in and out of Bangalore my itinerary might be BLR overnight train to Madurai (and if there's time onward to other places in Tamil Nadu) Periyar Munnar (can't remember whether it would be easier to do Periyar or Munnar first from Madurai) Kottayam (not sure what you'd be doing here - it's a busy city with no tourist attractions that I am aware of) Kumarakom or Alleppey (Kumarakom is quieter, more spread out and more expensive generally) A Kerala beach (could do this before or after Cochin, depending on where) Cochin (definitely stay in Fort area) Bangalore (fly this sector?) overnight train to Hampi overnight train to Bangalore The reason I like this itinerary is that much of the long distance train travel can be overnight - although I am more than happy to use trains, doing so can eat into your limited time. And we nearly always do one of our longer sectors by air if we're tight on time. There's no one right answer on any of this, so just put this into the mix if it helps!

Jul 22nd, 2009, 04:29	#28
icejaguar Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 25	Thanks for the itinerary suggestion! Unfortunatly we are already flying in and out of Mumbai so rethinking that aspect of the itinerary is otu. My husband actually knows someone who lives in Mumbai and so wanted to meet up and say hi. Plus we wanted to get a sense of what a huge Indian city like Mumbai was like. I wish we had one more week though to see other parts of India. If I get "the bug" as people on IM call it, we might have to plan a second trip for another time!

Jul 25th, 2009, 07:52	#29
icejaguar Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 25	Hi Vandy. So we made reservations at Munnar Rose Gardens Homestay. It was $2000 rps a night which was a bit above our travel budget but we decided to go for it because of the great reviews and whatnot. but now Tomy (from the homestay) wrote that he charges $1500 rps for guided trekking. Is that expensive or is that just me? Suggestions? We really want to explore Munnar and hike around a bit but not looking to pay $3500 ruppes ($80?) a day. (I will also start a new threat since I'm getting off the topic of my itinerary into more specifics...)

Jul 25th, 2009, 10:38	#30
vandy Maha Guru Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: perth-australia Posts: 1,148	Hi there, Apologies if I mislead you into thinking that the Guided trek that Tommy does was included in your Accom costs. Last year Tommy charged me 800rps for the 4hr Trek which was worth every rupee.The estate he takes you into is only used Exclusively by Tommy.If you decide to go, don't forget to take some Bottled Water and a snack of some sort. If you have a Car & Driver at your disposal for the Munnar trip, the daily cost of the car includes local sightseeing.For a relaxed Trek,get the driver to drop you at Top Station and then wait for you at the bottom.Definetly easier going back down than walking up. vandy