My old friend Vinod had come down to from Delhi and as he was free during the weekend, he was insisting on going to Wyanad. Though it was the rainy season we decided to go anyway, as Kerala has got its own beauty rain or shine. As we did not have a car, we decided to go by a sleeper bus of KSRTC on the 28th. We caught the bus at 11 pm and reached Kalpetta by about 4 am when it was raining cats and dogs. With our luggage on our heads, we made our way to our hotel for a brief rest before taking in the sights of Wyanad. A tall gangling youngster called Ishan (He specifically told me Ishant without the t) was sharing the double berth in the bus as he explained that he had to hang his legs out as it was too long for the berth. We shared brief introductions and during tea at 1 pm at Mysore he explained, that he was on his way to a place called Kodencherry where he was part of a team, organizing a kayaking competition. He along with his friends had started a small holiday company called ‘Amadnomad’ specializing in unusual holiday trips like a visit to Agumbe along with a snake expert to explain snakes to a select audience. We exchanged numbers and also discussed cricket till 2 am in the morning.
The next morning was beautiful as if the whole city was cleaned by a gigantic cleaner. Everything was green and beautiful to look at. 
We left by bus for the famous Pookud lake in which the lotus formations on the lake between November to March is absolutely breathtaking. Though the lotus was not in bloom, it still made a very pretty sight. We walked around the entire lake and the setting was picturesque .They had some decorative fishes in a small aquarium. I noticed that it was manned by an ex-serviceman and the entire staff was polite and courteous. As we did not have much time as most of the sites close by 4.30 pm, we decided to come back to our hotel for a very invigorating massage. The center of the world for Ayurvedic massage is undoubtedly Kerala and a deep study into their therapeutic benefits has still not been exploited fully.
The next day we decided on seeing the Banasura dam which is the 2nd biggest earth dam in the world (The largest being in Japan).
If Pookud lake was beautiful, this was breathtaking with a spread of about 1300 hectares. They had a long line of photo-voltaic roof panels over a substantial portion of the embankment. They were also experimenting with floating solar panels on the lake.
A ride in a speedboat w
as thrilling and we could get a good idea
of the size of the lake.Imagine we did around 5kms in just about 15 mins, which is pretty fast in water.The only unwelcome sight was some resorts coming up overlooking the lake. It was surprising keeping in mind the environmental feelings of people today to preserve their natural habitat.Here again, the security was manned by ex-servicemen with experience and I thought it made sense as they would have a long distinguished service in many parts of India besides picking up languages and customs from all over. I can easily visualize this spot being developed strictly within environmental norms into a beautiful spot.
We then taxied our way to Harlad Lake the next day
It was about the same size as the Pookud Lake but, the Government of Kerala was using this lake to promote many adventure sports as well. We could see youngsters having fun screaming their way on the trip line across the lake. There was a big queue for this activity as it was a novelty for Kerala. The whole layout was very well planned and we could see a number of tents being built overlooking the lake as part of their adventure sports program. It was slated to open by September 2017. They had also planned for other activities like shooting, archery and zorbing besides campfires and other related activities. A slow kayaking ride was soothing and invigorating. As expected, this site was also manned by ex-servicemen and their desire to help the customers was touching.
A quick meal at a roadside restaurant with typical beef curry and parothas provided the strength to carry on for the afternoon.
A few (8) Kms. further on, we came to the Meenmutty waterfalls in 
the heart of forests. We had to take a hike of about ½ km through real rugged territory to reach the site of the falls and looking up we could see water cascading down from more than 500 ft. through a series of falls. There was a more forbidding falls higher up and it would take a determined trekker quite a trip through the forests to reach the higher falls through an alternative route. As usual, the parking site for cars had quite a few ubiquitous Kerala tea-shops with hot groundnuts and samosa, famous all over the world. There is a standing joke that, when Neil Armstrong on the moon was quoting the famous lines “One giant step …… “, a Kerala vendor came up to him quietly and asked him if he wanted plain or masala tea.
Back to the hotel and a good swim in the hotel premises primed us for our usual evening drink. Unfortunately, as there is prohibition imposed in Kerala, we were restricted to beer or wine (Through licensed parlours) with supper. The variety of food on offer was quite stimulating as Keralites prepare their food with all local ingredients incorporated into their cuisine. Naturally, coconut features prominently. My friend from the bus, Ishan had told us about the kayaking competition in a place called Kodencherry about 60 Kms. further on and so we planned accordingly for the next day( Sunday).
We left on a Kozhikode bus to Thamaracherry which took about a couple of hours through some of the most picturesque country, as we were coming down from an mountains to the plains. It was at the interjection of the rugged mountainous country joining the plains where the kayaking competition was scheduled. From Tamarachery we had to traverse about 12 Kms to Kodencherry from where we had to further travel by auto to a small place (about 2 Kms away) to view the race. Unfortunately, nobody could pinpoint the exact location of the race. After some fruitless searching, we were lucky to meet a couple of local youngsters who were also headed that way. They were Anish an electronics engineer and Binoop a freelance photographer. They were kind enough to let us ride with them till we reached the site. It involved a trek through typical jungle territory for about ½ a mile before 
we reached the site.
The kayakers had to negotiate a portion of the rapids for about 500 m, before reaching their destination and our location was poised just above the toughest portion of the rapids. Though we are used to seeing beautiful rides 
on YouTube, seeing something live is definitely thrilling, as we are able to visualize the dangers involved. If a kayaker was not careful he could be bashed against the rocks. It was a series of tests and the finals were completed by about 4.30 in the afternoon at Pullikkayam bridge just 4 Kms from Kodencherry.
We took the night bus to Bangalore reaching Bangalore the next day morning. This trip was memorable for so many reasons. The scenery was fabulous and all the small villages were maintained so cleanly that we know the government in small villages really worked. We saw a number of schools, government health units and the roads which were fairly well maintained. We did not see any beggars and the impression a traveler got was, the people are hardworking, there were no slums, there is no garbage and to top it all, it leaves a distinct impression that we would like to come again.
That’s Kerala ( Gods own Country ) for you , every trip makes you want more