Suitcase Tales

Life, Travel and Random Musings

  • Munroe Island – God’s true abode

    Munroe Island – God’s true abode

    Munroe Island is one of the hidden gems in Kerala which I visited this December for a couple of days. It’s probably the parts that stuck with me and are most memorable in my entire trip to Kerala. And that was because it brought back a lot of my memories of growing up in a small village, cycling through the fields, and talking to people who are blissfully happy in this quaint little town.

    We reached Munroe around 2 PM from Varkala. We had booked our stay at the GreenChromide Homestay which was the best decision ever. The hosts Sunaina and Midhun are just awesome and this is one of the key reasons our stay at Munroe turned out to be so memorable.

    We arrived in Munroe Island around 2 PM and checked into our room. It’s like a private chalet that has a comfy bed, a clean toilet, and cute plants in all corners. The chalet faces the river with a hammock under the trees and a shade to dine by the river.

    Lunch

    Sunaina treated us to home-cooked delicious Kerala-style lunch. I had been wanting to eat authentic Kerala food during this trip and I was glad to find it here. The lunch is chargeable at a very nominal rate. If you are non-veg, you should ask for the Green Chromide fish which is a specialty here.

    We rested for an hour and then decided to go on a bicycle tour around the island. We got the bicycles and the directions from our hosts and off we went on a roughly 5 KM ride around the island.

    Key Points of Interest

    Munroe Mocktail

    This is a small place that has over 25 varieties of mocktails. Their best is the lemon soda – I asked him to make his most special lemon soda and man, it was good. It was pinkish and had lemon, grapes, and chia seeds. A good start to the bicycle ride!

    S Curve Point

    This is the place where you can find all the boats to take you on a 2-3 hours canoe tour around the island. You will find a lot of people pitching you for the boat ride – We didn’t take it in the evening since we were recommended by Sunaina to take the morning ride.

    Dutch Church AD 1878

    This is a really old church and one of the hidden and less-visited spots in Munroe Island. Watching the sunset with feet dipped in Ashtamudi Lake was a blissful experience. There was no one here except the church caretaker and the serene silence with the pink skies was a sight to cherish for a lifetime. It’s not straightforward to reach here – you need to enter the small alley by the store at the location shown on the map, cross the railway tracks, and then go around the houses to finally see the sight as shown below in the picture. It’s difficult to get here, but so so worth it! You can see a few boats sailing far away, a few fishermen casting their nets, and the sky colors slowly changing as the waves brush away your feet and make you think again if anything else in life is worth this peace!

    View in front of Dutch Church AD 1878

    Sunset View sitting under the hut with feet dipped in Ashtamudi Lake

    As it grew dark, we decided to return to the homestay. The roads were pitch dark and it was indeed a bit difficult to bike our way back. So I would suggest leaving a bit earlier to reach the homestay before it gets pitch dark.

    Dinner

    We got back, got freshened up, and had a hearty conversation with Sunaina’s father-in-law. Such a lovely person to talk to – he told us about his experience of staying in different parts of the country. Then we had Appam, vegetable stew, and grilled prawns in the dinner – all homemade again and super satisfying. There is not much to do at night, so we decided to call it an early day. We anyways had to get up early the next day for the canoe ride.

    Canoe ride

    The canoe ride is one of the top must-do things in Munroe Island. This is around a 2-hour ride where the boatsman rows the canoe through Ashtamudi Lake, Mangrove Arch and the narrow canals lined with coconut trees on both sides. This will cost you around 1200 for a 2-hour ride for 2 people. We got to see fishing nets, the village life around the canals and drank the coconut water from a coconut plucked in front of our eyes. The sunrise tour is more recommended compared to the sunset one since it’s less crowded, and you get to see more birds along the way. If you have time, you can go for both the sunrise and the sunset tour.

    Mangrove Arch

    After getting back from the Canoe ride, we had breakfast and then packed our bags to move on to our next destination Kumarakom. We had booked our stay for only 1 night, but in hindsight, 2 nights would have been a better choice. It’s also a nice place to work from home for a week if you want to escape the hustle of city life. For me, it was going back to my childhood memories since this was very similar to the village I grew up in – except the backwaters. If you stay here for longer, you can also probably try fishing and kayaking. And if you enjoy swimming, you can also swim in the river in front of the homestay. A few other hotels / homestays that one can consider at Munroe Island are:

    1. Vini’s Farm – private island luxury experience.
    2. Munroe Island Lake Resort
    3. Lake N river Resort Munroe Island

    Munroe Island is one place where I felt closer to myself after a long time and was indeed a very beautiful experience. If you are ever planning a trip to Kerala, I would strongly suggest squeezing in at least a couple of days for Munroe Island.

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  • Working remotely from Colombo

    Working remotely from Colombo

    I had an opportunity to work remotely from Colombo for a week in March of 2023. I had a lot of work – so didn’t get a lot of time to explore the city, but can share what I learned and experienced at Colombo.

    Colombo is the captical city of Sri Lanka and is a vibrant mix of ancient heritage and modern attractions. For remote working, I usually prefer cities with cheap and good accomodation, lots of things to do in the evening and night after work and easy access to good food.

    Colombo offers something for every type of traveler, from stunning temples and museums to bustling markets and restaurants. Here are some of the top things to do in Colombo:

    Here are some of the top things to do in Colombo:

    Galle Face Green

    This is a long, open park that runs alongside the coast, offering stunning views of the ocean. It’s a great place for a picnic or to watch the sunset. I visited here on a Sunday evening and this place was bustling with a lot of people, food carts and the beautiful sunset.

    Gangaramaya Temple

    One of the most important Buddhist temples in Sri Lanka, this temple features stunning architecture and a large collection of Buddhist art and artifacts. I visited here on an evening after work and it was really serene and calm. They have lights during the night – so it might be good to stay back for a while to see the night view also. There is a mall in front of the temple – so you can also spend some time there.

    Pettah Market

    This bustling market is a paradise for shoppers, with vendors selling everything from clothing and jewelry to spices and fresh produce. I visited here mainly to see the Red Mosque (Jami Ul-Alfar Mosque). Its a very unique architecture and design and it was really stunning to see this in the middle of the market.

    Jami Ul-Alfar Mosque

    Mount Lavinia Beach

    This beautiful beach is just a short drive from the city center and is the perfect place to relax and soak up some sun. I didn’t get a chance to visit here, but if you have time, you should visit this place.

    Where to stay?

    Colombo is a big city and there are lot of areas that have good accomodation options. I also usually prefer staying in Airbnb’s while travelling, but in Colombo, I found the hotels to be better than Airbnb.

    A few areas I found nice were:

    Fort Colombo

    This has a lot of good high-end hotels. Lots of restaurants are close to this place but there’s not a lot of places to walk to from here. I stayed in Kingsbury Hotel for a night here which was around $70 a night. If you are looking for some budget hotels in this area, C1 Colombo Fort is a good option.

    Galle Face:

    Galle Face is a really good area to stay at during remote working. You can come out during the evenings, watch the sunset, and enjoy watching people having fun and make some new friends. I stayed at Ramada By Wyndham Colombo and Galle Face is a 2 mins walk from this hotel. The hotel is also really nice as in it has a nice pool, a well equiped gym and sauna. However, most of the restaurants around this area are quite high-end and not withing walking distance. I usually had to call in food using UberEats.

    Kollupitiya

    This is one of the nicest areas to stay in Colombo with a lot of cafes, restaurants nearby. I stayed at Cinnamon Red, Colombo ($50 a night) and this was my best stay in Colombo. Its a really beautiful hotel with a infinity rooftop swimming pool, gym and and a 10 mins walk to Gangaramaya Temple.

    Bambalapitiya

    I didn’t stay here, but it seemed like quite a good area. There are lot of cafes and good hotels around this area.

    Mount Lavinia:

    This was a bit far from the main city, but I heard from some tourists that there are good airbnbs in the area and you can work remotely from here if you are looking for a calm and quiet place.

    What and where to eat?

    Colombo has a lot of good places to eat. I loved the rice with curry and would order that everyday for lunch. To order food, Ubereats is really convenient and they deliver on time. A few places worth checking out are:

    1. Cafe Kumbuk – A really nice cafe with good food and drinks. Its also a great place to work from. They also have accomodation on top called Srilax. If I had stayed in Colombo for a few more days, I would have definitely lived here for a few days.

    2. Praneetha Foods – This is where I would order my everyday lunch from.

    3. Ministry of Crab – The best crabs in Colombo, but its expensive. I didn’t go here, but you should if you get a chance.

    4. Upali’s – Very good Srilankan food. The waiters were really nice and their recommendation was spot on.

    5. Ocean Seafood Restaurant, Kingsbury: This had excellent and very afforadable fresh seafood – one of the best seafood restaurants in Colombo.

    One thing missing in Colombo was that there wasn’t any single street where you can find a lot of restaurants next to each other. You really have to walk quite a lot or get a tuktuk for everywhere.

    Nightlife

    I didn’t up stay very late at night, but in general Colombo seemed to die down a bit towards late evening. There are definitely some pubs, bars and lounges that remain open till late night, but they are usually located in hotels and you don’t usually find those party streets that can you can find in some other Asian countries.

    Overall, Colombo was a great city to work remotely from. I wouldn’t stay there for a very long time, but for a short period it was a good change. It gets quite hot during the day – so usually you will go out only in the evenings. I actually setup a nice healthy routine for myself in Colombo – a swim in the morning, work during the day, gym in the evenings and then meet some people in the evening.

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