A JOURNEY FROM THIRUVANANTHAPURAM TO MANGLORE AMIDST THE MONSOON

                   CHAPTER1-   HOME TO THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

                                 Last week I had to go to Thiruvananthapuram (TVM) to write an exam.I had only few bucks in my pocket, but I still decided to go as that exam was an important one plus I could roam around somewhere, free from all my miseries of being 23,unemployed and having only a little money to live with:p.I started the journey from the railway station at our place at 6:45.I was going in the trivandrum express train and I had already booked my tickets so there wasn't much problems in finding seat and the rush compared to the general compartment,as I was in the sleeper compartment.It was raining heavily during the night as it was the monsoon time, the cold made me pee frequently, and the toilets in Indian trains is not a nice place I assure you.If you are lucky then only you will be able to be in a compartment with a clean toilet., so I had a bit of struggle there and with the cold too as I hadn't taken any blanket with me.Moral of the story - take a blanket with you if you are traveling in night, you will never know what comes on your way.

                                 I reached the Thambanoor railway station at 5 in the morning.It was very cold and raining. I went to the home of my friend to get fresh.Then headed over to the exam center and finished the deal there.Next was obviously the food hunt as I am nothing but a humble foodie:). I tried the Masala Dosha from one of the shops in the KSRTC bus stand and from the Indian Coffee house near it.Both were disasters and a shame to be called as Masala Dosha which is one of my favorite food item.Then tasting some Chicken Biryani from the Chaithram restaurant near by, oh another disaster, it was overpriced as hell and the Biryani was lacking everything there should be in one.My only culinary  happiness was the Zam Zam restaurant which gave me a finest chocolate shake and the Malabari chicken with chapatti, and that was yum:).

                                          CHAPTER2-MANGLORE

                                   I met with my boyfriend from TVM and we roamed around together in the food search,  then we were like the next two days are off should we go some place.And tadaaa we hoped on to the next train to Manglore and managed to grab two seats in a general compartment.The train was started at 7:45 pm and then it was a sleepless night.Its an experience to travel in the general compartment of an Indian train at night,not a cozy one of course;). We shared seats with a family from Mumbai  and the two aunties among them were talking so loud such that the entire compartment could hear their plans on making rotty and curry for dinner when they reach.I was trying hard to get some sleep in that uncomfortable siting position and these aunties gave me a hard time , plus the toilet on the train too.Well I managed to survive the 13 hour journey  and we reached Mangalore at 8:30 am

                                    The first thing we did was find accommodation in there.We found a hotel called Surya and checked in there.There was a teeny tiny bit of questioning face as we were seemed like an unmarried couple, but still this place was far better than a lot.The rooms were clean and we were tired like hell, we jumped straight for the bed and slept for a good couple of hours.It was nice to stay in there, they charged us 750 for a day,the place was really peace full.We ate a Masala Dosha from a nearby restaurant called Nissarga and that was one good Masala Dosha, very heavy,rich in ghee, and very tasty and the price was perfect too.Since we had only one day to stay we couldn't explore the city much.We went to the city center, roamed around here and there tried the KFC in there,the service was real quick and the place was nice and peaceful.Another restaurant we tried was the Kairali, there was nothing amazing just an ordinary place to go,the ambiance was good though.Then we discovered a gem of a place in there at night,THE LIQUID LOUNGE, you will get your drink with awesome awesome food,and the atmosphere ,the setup, the service all were superb too.Had real fun in there if anyone going there do check out the place its wonderful...and with a stomach filled and happy I ended my wanderings and came back home next day hoping to go back soon to explore more of the city...