On Jan 18th, we did a quick day trip to Kochi !!
This kind of day trip was common for us 15 years back. We would go to Jaipur whenever we felt like.. usually a Sunday morning. Drive for 3 to 4 hours, get to Rawat Kachori, buy enough pyaz kachoris for the week, eat at Santosh Dhaba and buy Lassi from MG Road and return in the evening.
The quick day trip to Kochi was for a specific purpose. We had to meet Meena and Mohan Sir’s grandson who was born on January 1. Had promised Ashwin and Kripa (the parents) that we would definitely come and meet our grandson…. Since we have adopted Ashwin, his son becomes our grandson anyway.
We started from Coimbatore at 6:44 AM. We took the Ukkadam-Kuniyamuthur-Walayar-Palakkad-Thrissur route to reach Kochi. Stopped at Adyar Ananda Bhavan at 7.20 am, which is at Navakkarai for breakfast. The place was spotlessly clean, and the service was excellent. Food of course was as always outstanding.
Left from Adyar Ananda Bhavan at 7:56 AM. Once we joined the NH 544 at Walayar, driving was a breeze. Well, it was a breeze till Thrissur, and then the traffic was unimaginable, really heavy traffic all the way till we reached Kochi. As we drove through Angamaly, we were thinking of Nair and Sudha, our very dear friends whose house was in Angamaly and we had visited in 2016. Both of them are no more… but their memories are fresh. Nair taught me so many tricks of making Puttu, Appam etc. Do read about our 2016 trip here – The Allepey Diary.
We got to see some of the Kochi Metro stations on the way to Ashwin and Kripa’s place. Remembered my batchmate Ved Mani Tiwari who was the Director(systems) of the Kochi metro project. I remember Ved telling us how the project was completed ahead of time and under budget.
We reached Ashwin and Kripa’s house at 11:25 AM. They had earmarked a parking spot for the car just outside their house. Ashwin had already checked with us as to what we would like to eat for lunch and it’s no surprise that I asked for Puttu and Kadala curry.
Ashwin and Kripa’s Son is born under my father’s star, Uthradam. He weighed in at 2.56 kgs, just the right birth weight. After Harjit and Gurleen’s daughter Aafreen, whom we met a couple of hours of her birth, he is the youngest baby that we have seen. Really tiny and so fragile. 🙂 Am sure he will grow up to be a strong and handsome dude just like his dad, even as he takes after his beautiful mom in the looks department.
We stayed for a couple of hours at Kripa’s parent’s place. Gorged ourselves on Kerala snacks, Avil ice cream Milk (A speciality store that makes ice cream and milkshakes using “poha” or “aval”), and the amazing Puttu, Kadala Curry. Since we had already eaten a lot of snacks, we got some Puttu and Kadala Curry packed. Think of demanding neighbours and that’s who we were that day 😁
Krishnan had gone out with Ashwin and Kripa’s father to buy the ice cream and milkshakes. On the way back, he caught a train speeding by just behind Kripa’s parents house. The railway track is right there. Kripa jokingly said, she never got scared of earthquakes in Gurgaon because she was used to the house shaking every time a train passed by !
Started from Kochi around 2.15 pm to get back to Coimbatore. The return journey took longer because every couple of kilometres Google maps told us there was a “congestion”.. traffic jam ! I guess Krishnan and I don’t want to hear the word congestion again for a few days :):). The traffic was bad till we reached Thrissur and then it eased out. Reached back home at 7.30 pm because a 2 km stretch near Kuniyamuthur. There is no road, just a series of potholes. Someone definitely has to get this stretch fixed.
Were we tired ? Yes…. but will we get up and go again on a road trip tomorrow? Heck, yes. 🙂
Enjoy a short video of our Kochi trip and please follow our YouTube channel for more such videos –
A good day !!
Kochi Trip Statistics
Coimbatore to Kochi - 186 Kms.
Round trip - 372 Kms
Driving Time, Coimbatore to Kochi - 4 hours 15 mins
Driving Time, Kochi to Coimbatore - 5 hours
Average speed - a dismal 40 kmph.
Places to eat - Adyar Ananda Bhavan, at Navakkarai.
Other Notes - Traffic from Thrissur to Kochi is really heavy. On the way back, the road in Kuniyamuthur is broken. Expect to crawl at 10 or 15 kmph if you want your car to be safe.
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