Yathra
VAITHIRI
A Travelogue Rita Elizabeth Thomas, D/o Thomas John & Meena Thomas 2011 – Dubai 2013 – Europe 2016 – China 2019 – London, Switzerland . . 2020 – Kadayiruppu? 2021 - Kadayiruppu? Going for vacations was our thing. Packing bags, hotel check ins and checkouts, airport run, window seat fights, trying different food, night street strolls, documenting it all etc. etc.. etc. was our thing. It’s safe to say Corona ruined our thing. As Rufus says, “after kochechy’s (Rhema) 10th boards we went to Europe. After Kunjechy’s (Me) 10th boards we went to China. After mine… well we didn’t even go past Pattimattom bus stop”. This travelogue is different from my previous ones which was all about our international trips. This one is short and simple but holds a special place because of a reason which you’ll get to know along the way. After more than 10 months of rotting at home we got our much needed break. 1 week before my finals, 1 week before Rufus leaves to hostel and 2 months before Chechy gets a promotion from our home… off to Vaithiri! We left home on 2nd April 2021, 6:00 a.m. It was a long drive and a beautiful one. Vaithiri is a forest area which INSIGHT • JULY - DECEMBER 2021 • 12
made the drive even more refreshing and sightfull. We reached the hotel at noon. We had a full 2 storeyed house for ourselves. We did a lil house tour. It had 2 rooms, one in each floor connected with a spiral staircase. And here’s the most amazing part. There was a swimming pool with a sitting area and a fireplace inside the house!!! We’ve never before stayed in a hotel having a private pool for ourselves. Well that was the good news. The bad news was that we didn’t bring our swimsuits with us. Since it was COVID we decided it’s safe not to swim in a public hotel pool which was also used by the others guests in there… little did we know we’d end up having a private pool. We ended up borrowing Rufus’s clothes for a swim. Soon after that we went for the lunch. went back to our house. Mamma and Me went for a quick stroll outdoors while the rest took a nap. Now let me give a small picture of this hotel. First of all it’s more a forest and less a hotel. The entire hotel was sitting in the middle of a forest. It was filled with wild trees and plants. The whole compound was closed with electric wires due to the danger of wild animals. We had to walk through a long rope bridge to reach the restaurant . Below the rope bridge was a pretty big natural stream with huge rocks and crystal clear and cold water running along. Oh and there were monkeys, a lot of them. It was basically their home. They walk with us, sit with us. The restaurant was covered in grills to stop the monkeys from getting inside. They would hang on the grills and watch us eating. The guests was restricted from feeding the monkeys because it was harmful for them. So we just let them gather around us
