Chennai sappadu

Kovalam-Vivanta by Taj(staycation)

Kovalam (Malayalam) is a beach town by the Arabian Sea in Thiruvananthapuram city, Kerala, India, located around 13 km from the city center. It would cost you around INR150 by an auto from Trivandrum to Kovalam. Trivandrum is well connected by trains and flights from all parts of India.

Kovalam has three beaches separated by rocky outcroppings in its 17 km coastline-Lighthouse Beach,Hawah Beach and Samudra Beach. Kovalam shot into limelight in the early seventies with arrivals of the masses of hippies on their way to Ceylon in the Hippie Trail. This exodus started the transformation of a casual fishing village of Kerala into one of the most important tourist destinations in India.

Kovalam has got lot of Hotels from low budget to luxury ones...We settled for Taj as it had a lot to offer with the lagoon and the private beach and the Infinity pool... We are glad we chose it..The weather was awesome the monsoon were just a month away. We got to see some Kerala Rain as well ,as it rained heavily in the evening the day we reached. 

Kovalam has a tropical dry climate. Summers (March to May) are hot and the temperature varies from a minimum of 21°C to a maximum of 33°C. Winters (December to January) are pleasant and have moderate temperature varying from 18°C to 33°C. Monsoons (June to August) are accompanied by thunderstorms and abundant rain falls.

Best time to visit is from August to February.

The Infinty pool,the lagoon and the sea..We enjoyed the view as we had our Breakfast and lunch at Jasmine(restaurant)!!

The lagoon at the Hotel..We loved almost everything about this property.

 The hotel property is surrounded with so many trees that it is difficult to spot the rooms..Gives one a lot privacy.

Food Walk-Mylaopore!

Chennai Food Guide is a social platform created to talk about food.Lot of events and workshops have been organised by the admins,food-walk being one of the many events.It is mostly organised on weekends to avoid disappointments and to ensure maximum participation.
 As decided by Chennai food guide,we all met on Saturday afternoon for a Food Walk in Mylapore since the Mylapore festival was on,it made a perfect place for a food walk.Mylapore is the heart of Chennai and the most oldest part of the city as well.Mylapore festival is held every year in January around a great temple.This place that is proud of its arts, culture and tradition.

The Landmark

Bunch of around 20 people loaded with big cameras headed straight to attack some finger licking food with their shutterbugs.The first eating stop was Rayar's mess,never eaten at such a place,it was really exciting :) for me.The mess is in a small lane,opposite this house shown in the picture above.

The first look

It was a small mess tucked up in a narrow street.We were all given banana leaves.You have to clean the leaf with water as told by a CFGians  before the food is served,thanks for teaching me :).We all ordered a variety of food itmes so we could get a taste of everything.

Gulab Jamun was the first of the many things served to us..The size was quite big,very soft and not that sweet-Perfect!!

Gulab jamun

We then went on to order some more vadas dosas etc, Potato bonda, was the next dish on my plate and was ok,It was like Aalo vada which you get in Mumbai for the same price.Soft outer crust filled with potato,very subtle in taste not spicy at all.The food is priced at such low prices that is hard to imagine.

Potato Bondas

The rawa dosa was crispy and filled with flavor..The sambhar and  chutneys were superb.The green one being really hot.

Rawa dosa

The place really gets crowded,there were lot of people waiting outside.You are supposed to finish off  and leave asap.The next stop was Mami mess,it was a 10min walk and we crossed the Temple,Stalls.The place was super crowded with a lot of energy as the Mylapore festival attracts a lot of people and devotees..

 

 

 

The place was full of colors.People selling neck pieces,bangles,earnings,toys etc etc.The walk was fun and we reached Mami mess in no time.It is located in a small lane called Pichu Pillai Street, Off East Mada Street., diagonally opposite Kalathi News Paper Mart.

 

This place has self service,known for its bhajjis,we ordered bhajjis aand coffee.The green chilly was my favourite hot and not that spicy,there were a few more bhajjis famous in the south.

Vazhakai bajji and molaga bajji

The coffee was strong as told by the people who had it.I just clicked pictures as the other mixed and enjoyed it.

T 

Mylapore festival begins at 4PM and being a weekend the place was supposed to attract a massive crowd so we skipped a mess and headed to Kalakal Cafe where people interact and spend time with people with special needs.As we left we saw people cleaning the roads for Kolam contest,more than 3/4th of  road was blocked for it.

 

A day well spent that involved a lot of walking,eating,meeting a lot of new people and a social cause in the end.