Experience the rustic Kumarakom Life!

If you want to spend a few days away from everything urban, Kumarakom is the place to be! A very popular destination in Kerala with not much crowd around.

Kumarakom Map

Kumarakom is like a serene village where time stands still! It doesn't have the rich history and monumental buzz of Cochin. Nor does it have the soaring altitudes and lush green tea estates of Munnar. What it has is, abundance of nature, open spaces and quietness that lets you laze around lapping up the calm backwater views.

Vembanad Lake in Kumarakom

There are several well known hotels and resorts spread across Kumarakom but the one we chose was the KTDC WaterScapes Resort which is located right inside the Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary. It is a simple resort built to be extremely eco-friendly offering fantastic views of the Vembanad Lake. It is also one of the only resorts in all of Kumarakom that has independent huts for accommodation build on top of stilts with water canals passing through them. The resort has no internet connectivity in rooms which makes life even more simpler.

Entrance to KTDC WaterScapes

The WaterScapes huts with canals

The best way to spend a day at Kumarakom is spot a free boat and paddle around in the maze of canals within the resort property, get on to the hammock under your hut and read as much as you like, take a dip in the resort pool, book yourself a therapeutic Kerela spa treatment, and when you are done with all that, just step out of the resort and walk around the quiet bird sanctuary!

The best time to walk around the sanctuary is early morning. The forest is quiet and the uneven path is like an adventurous trail expedition. It may feel a little too quiet at times, but the sanctuary is well managed by the resort and therefore safe. At the end of the sanctuary trail, you may spot a local fisherman with a canoe. It is safe to hire a canoe ride with him because he will take you around the Vembanad Lake showing you different bird varieties and help you in understanding the ecological significance of the area.

Early morning at the Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary

The resort has a single restaurant that offers some of the fine dishes of Kerela. However, I was in favor of sampling home styled food. So I headed out away from the resort to a small shack outside the village. At the shack I ordered a vegetarian thali which was actually a smaller version of the traditional Sadya (an elaborate vegetarian meal eaten during festivals and important occasions in Kerela).

South Indians are known to have a staple diet consisting of rice and that is what dominated on the thali. The other dishes included rasam, thoran, avial, buttermilk, pickles and papad. The Indian bread (also known as Roti) was conspicuous by it's absence. The meal was very delicious and what made it better was the personal attention by the owner since we were the only guests there.

Kerela Thali

Every city in Kerela has something unique to offer and Kumarakom is no different. Leaving Kumarakom after a two days stay was fine because there is very little to do there, but a longer visit with the intention of just doing nothing can also be fantastic.

Early morning canoe ride

Some interesting facts about Kumarakom -

• Kumarakom got a global appeal after Arundhati Roy's book "The God of Small Things" mentioned a bordering village in the same Kottayam district as Kumarakom. 

• November to February is the best time to see the migratory birds at the Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary especially the Siberian cranes. The other popular birds are the egrets, kingfisher, water ducks, herons and more. 

• Karimeen is a popular fish and a delicacy. This fish is especially found in the backwaters of Kerela and should be tried if you enjoy seafood.  

• Fill your self up with a lot of coconut water. Not only is it healthy but also available in abundance.

If you have read this article and have also visited Kumarakom, please share your experience because I'd love to hear!

Food For Thought, Cafe and a Book

Cafes and bookstores have always been synonymous with each other. The thought of picking up a book and sitting down reading it with a cup of coffee or a sandwich is a tranquilizing thought for a sunny afternoon.

So when I read about this new cafe at Kitab Khana at Fort (opposite HSBC Bank), I jumped at the idea of spending an afternoon there. The cafe called "Food For Thought" sounded unique in its name and their much talked about "Pear and Walnut" cake pulled me sooner to it over a weekend.

I walked into the cafe on a Saturday afternoon and found it to be a packed house. The cafe is very small occupying the furthermost end of the library, but easy to spot. Once I got there, I had to locate the owner Kapil Sanghi (not difficult because he is always around) and tell him I wanted a table for two. After a wait of under 5 mins I had a table ready for me to begin my cafe experience.

Food For Thought serves only vegetarian food but this should not be a deterrent for the non vegetarians because their fixed menu and changing menu is excellent. There were many options to choose from, and we began our order with the Moroccan Pita Salad. The salad was light with a mix of fresh lettuce, cherry tomatoes, olives and a mix of other greens with a yogurt base. The salad got interesting with it's light crispy pita and chick peas.

The next order was the popular Bhel Puri Sandwich. The thought of mixing a Mumbai street chaat with a sandwich was interesting. And when it made it to our table, it was perfectly grilled with the yummy chaat not as soggy as I thought it would be.

Finally it was the time for dessert, something which I look forward to everytime I eat out. As the variety was wide, I decided to ask the owner Kapil for help. Kapil was keen to know the flavors I liked in desserts before helping me choose one. When I told him I wanted my dessert to not be very sweet, but still be a mix of chocolate and sour strawberries, so he vouched that the Chocolate Strawberry Pizza would not disappoint me. And he was right!

The chocolate cake base of the pizza was light and not very sweet and the sourness and the pulpiness of the strawberries balanced it very well. The light whipped cream on top was a perfect replacement for cheese. To cut it short, I choose not to share my dessert with the person I was lunching with :)

The only disappointment were the Oreo Cookie Cupcakes. The icing was too sugary and OK to taste. Kapil did warn us though that his wife makes the best chocolate cupcakes and she wasn't in the kitchen that day. We should have taken the hint :)

Verdict:
Will I go there again? Yes I will!
I loved their food and their menu! Another Saturday afternoon maybe, with a book and some Food For Thought!