Thirparappu Waterfalls!

Hi Guys,

At the starting of this month, I went to Nagercoil for a friend's marriage (actually this blog's inspirer and motivator Vijay Dinesh was getting married - wish him a very Happy married life). So I went to Kanyakumari and nearby places with my parents the previous day. Initially I thought of blogging, but later left the idea as I was quite busy after that. My mother was asking why I didn't write about that trip and so I decided to write about a part of the trip that was Thirparapu Waterfalls.

Whole view of the falls

We started from Nagercoil from around 8 am and though the distance was less, the path was not as good. The journey through the bumpy road took around 2 hours. The monsoon season had just started there and it started to rain on the way. Thank God, it stopped raining when we got there. The journey was quite interesting as it was scenic around. There were lot of rubber estates, jack ftuit trees and many other mountainous trees. The lifestyle of the people was different. It was much like a blended style between Tamil Nadu and Kerela. After two hours we got there and the entrance ticket was around Rs. 5 (I guess – don’t remember exactly).

Water falling

The water fall is about 300 ft in length and has Rocky River beds. It falls from a height of 50 ft and looks to be artificially constructed one. The falls is located downstream and you have to climb down some steps to get to the falls. The facilities were quite good. A good looking park was set up and apart from that there were Children’s play area and a swimming pool dedicated for Children.

Children's Swimming pool and play area

There were quite a good number of people that day. Some were interested in bathing, some were interested in just enjoying the scenery and some like me were involved in taking photographs. So, I explored the area.

Decoration in the park!

The river bed or the place where people stand and bath was quite slippery in nature, but it was not very risky (there were some interesting falls, but no one was injured). The water after flowing from the falls flows continues its journey and the place was quite risky. On the outside it appears as if there are steps leading you down (as it is cut at 90 degrees), but it is just a plain cut and leads you to a 10 feet trap that is so rocky.

Downstream

Adjacent to the waterfalls, or actually adjacent to the river upstream there is a temple known as Mahadevar Temple, which is said to be one of the twelve shivalayas in the area. The temple is built completely in Kerela style, which was quite amazing to me. A circular shape structure with a conical doom. Lord Shiva was looking so good in the temple, very intricately designed. I would say it was one of the best idols I have seen. No one was there at the temple, except two or three devotees, so it was very peaceful and I like peaceful temples.

The Mahadevar Temple from the outside

Outside the temple, the scene was beautiful. The stream was flowing smoothly and some people took bath there. The temperature was so good as it was cloudy and it was not raining.

Outside the temple

Outside the temple - the other side

On the way back, we had to catch a bus to Kulasekaram, a nearby town. The bus was interesting. A large space was allotted to keep luggage (as seen below) and the number of seats for people were less. I think it is designed so as to transport goods from the estates around. I sat in the luggage rack for the 15-20 minute journey and it was not comfortable, but enjoyable. From there we took a bus to Nagercoil and this time the journey was more tedious as more roundabout route was followed. All together the trip was unforgettable!

The luggage raft in the Bus - on the way back

Scenic Beauty on the way back!

The Waterfalls is located in Kanyakumari district very near to the borders of Kerela. It is approximately 45 kms from Nagercoil, 55 kms from Thiruvananthapuram and 65 kms from Kanyakumari. The water fall is located in a river named Kothaiyar and is located at about 13 kms from Pechiparai Dam. The waterfall is active for seven months in a year (I'm not exactly sure - but guess it would be June - January). Boat facility is available at the other side of the temple.

Route from Nagercoil and Thiruvanthapuram - B is the location of Thirparappu Falls

There are lots of tourist spots around. Interested people can check for information in the web. The tourism website of Kanyakumari gives all the information. If you go there in your own vehicle or if you book a cab, you can enjoy nature to the core!

Happy Reading!

iOS (3) vs Android (2.3) - My Views!

Hi Guys,

It has been two days since I started using my new phone – HTC Explorer.

It has paved way for me to use Android – Gingerbread (V2.3) in particular.

After having used my iPod Touch 2G for quite a long time, let me give you a little amateurish view of iOS vs Android.

Before starting, let me be clear. My iPod was not updatable beyond iOS 3. Also I have been using Android for 2 days (not even have I tested lot of parameters). So, if you people want a very professional review, I request you to read another review from a tech geek.

The first and foremost thing was I felt Android to be much user friendly than iOS. In my iPod, I had to use iTunes for everything. Copying songs, installing games, applications everything needed iTunes. Without iTunes the instrument was just useless (particularly when there was no Wi-Fi).

Android offered me a large space to get applications. I can use internet in lot of ways. It allows Internet to access from the system directly which offers more scope for people who don’t have Wi-Fi. I can easily install Apps and delete them at will. In iOS for deleting apps, you need iTunes. If something is installed in iPod then nothing can be done.

As far as Applications are concerned, I think most of the commonly used applications are developed for both the OS. I’m able to see most of the Apps in both the Playstore and iStore. So, can’t classify more on Applications.

Transferring of data is much easy in Android. It allows data to be transferred from phone to memory card easily. In iPod transferring of data can be one hell of a job, particularly I have faced big headaches with photo sharing and eventually I didn’t even have photos.

On the basis of Ease of Use, I would vote for iPod, though in Android a lot depends on the phone manufacturer. The look and feel in iPod in itself would make us comfortable. Everything was obvious with little options in iPod, whereas here I need to search for things and learning can be a bit difficult.

The look, feel and touch of iPod were great. But it more of a closed environment where you needed iTunes for everything, particularly without Wi-Fi things was terrible. Though, with Wi-Fi, things would have been different. I still remember the awkward moment when I updated from iOS 2 to iOS 3 and everything was wiped clean. I was so happy that the iPod didn’t support iOS 4. Though the advantage is that everything is uniform since all the products are manufactured by Apple and user interface is same everywhere.

Android is more comfortable. It is more user-friendly and it allows us to explore easily. Access to internet through a PC is one good feature. The way it allows to move through Apps and easy installation and removal of Apps makes it a great gadget. To install many Apps you need internal memory and it depends on phone and much of the interface and features will depend on the phone manufacturer. So, it is better to analyze the phone well before buying.

Happy Reading!!!

Trekking at Azhagar Kovil - 3

Hi Guys,

(To Read Trekking at Azhagar Kovil - 2, click here)

It took a long time for this concluding post due to my exams.

12.40 pm: We started moving down. This is where I left the previous post.

12.51 pm: The water we collected at the Raakaie Amman Temple was nearly empty as Saravana didn't collect properly. Bala said that there is another temple nearby on the way down where the we can collect the water from another opening of the stream. We reached there by 12.50 pm. It was a small temple that was a 2 minute walk from the main road. It was visible from the road, if observed carefully.

The Path to the temple

12.55 pm: It was five minutes before Saravana collected water from the water stream that was flowing through a pipe. It was some 10 feet below the ground. The water was again very clean and had some herbal flavour. There were a very few people who were preparing to take bath. The water was very cool and the sun was quite hot.

Water flowing through a pipe.

The small temple

1.08 pm: Another 15 minutes of walking and we reached the Ice Cream vendor - the man who sold Ice Cream at the dividing point between the road and natural path. It meant we had completed nearly half the journey in the downward path.

The Ice Cream Vendor

1.29 pm: We sat in a rock for some time. Bala had captured a butterfly and after some efforts he took shots in different positions before leaving the butterfly back to freedom (we didn't hurt the butterfly). After that we continued our journey towards the base. We spotted some goats drinking water in the stream and eating plants.

Goats

1.40 pm: We reached the base of the temple after some 10 minutes. We were so tired by then and it was relieving to see the wall of the temple.

Nearing the end of the journey.

1.45 pm: It took us five more minutes to reach the starting point. After capturing some shots we moved to the bus stop.

The entrance of the temple

A mandapam outside meant for devotees to rest.

It took us nearly 1 hour to come down. Leaving the rest period, I could say it took us 45 minutes. Walking down was easier than moving up. After drinking water, we moved to bus stop by 2 pm and it was lunch time. There were no buses there.

It took another 15 minutes for a bus to come and there was a big crowd. Again I was left with no buses at the other bus stand and hence I reached home finally by 4.15 pm. I was so tired by then.

Walking for a long distance after a long time didn't do anything that day. But when I woke up the next day, my whole body was aching and moving within the home itself was a trouble. Anyway it was a good exercise for the muscles and I got back well soon.

It was an unforgettable experience was me along with Bala and Saravana. Hope to do another activity soon.

I will write about the history of the temple and suggestions for trekking here in my next post (or soon).

Happy Reading and Viewing!!!