ITS THIRUVALLAM... NO NO ITS THIRUVALLA

It was the usual, I arrived at the international airport of Trivandrum then go for walk with my friend Jorge around the area, see the beach, drank some juice and took rickshaw for finding a hotel in the city center.

It was difficult to find a place. All of them were full. But in the end it was decent place with a large bedroom, clean sheets and good toilet. 

The motto was to do some shopping for the wedding. So there was no window open for sightseeing. 

Although there was a big part of me wanted to go around the city. But I knew that I was coming back in two days. So we did lot of shopping, ate some great Kerala food and then it was time to leave for the Wedding.

Its been two days that my friend says Thiruvallam with the "m" almost silent. So I was assuming its his way of pronunciation as he is Portuguese. So they were relaxed as its only 15 minutes by bus from Trivandrum. That was a big surprise moment for me as I had checked its not less than 3.5 hrs from Trivandrum. 

I asked them are you sure its 15 minutes as seems one impossible ride to me unless you have a private plane ;)
They were like yes its a beach near by and takes only 15 minutes. Are you sure, its Thiruvalla? 

Aww, Thiruvalla!! Its too far. This was the reaction of Tom a friend from Trivandrum. We all were speechless. But I knew and was prepared for the Journey. However Jorge and Tom were very surprised as they expected a church wedding by the beautiful beach of Thiruvallam. 

I told them its Thiruvalla and not Thiruvallam. I dont even know or heard of this place Thiruvallam. So

we all moved to the bus station. 

I thought that there would be some air conditioned buses too. But no there were only local buses going there. We got the seats in the end and I knew it would be great adventure. The drive was great and the breeze was doing the fanning effect. I passed out for a little while and woke up to see the beautiful countryside of Kerala. Beautiful scenery, churches and the smiling people. It took us exactly 4 hours to reach the stop by Joyalukkas Jewellery in Thiruvalla where our friend Augustine was waiting for us. 

Lovely bus ride indeed for 84 ruppes each.