Trip to Waynand Kerala

The difference…
Went on a trip to Wayanad, Kerala with family in a hired a Qualis for the trip. Booked a home stay by name Waynad Blooms, it is plantation converted to home stay on edge of the forest. Chose an executive hut, it is elevated hut with a view of forest in Sultan battery. It was a striking difference as we entered Kerala. The trees came closer to road, the reserve forest also is commercialized full of bill boards with ads for resorts. The towns itself are very similar to each other the shops come close to the road. You can feel the denseness of the population. The roads are well marked and clean, with hardly any plastic bags seen on road side which is contrast to the dirt and plastic seen in Karnataka and other states. There is hardly any visible poverty in terms old huts, people in rags, few beggars. In fact I saw vehicles stopping at zebra crossing letting people cross at places without police or signal light.
Watch out for….
The tourism is well developed every small place is hyped and glossy brochure printed. In fact this will take people out for ride. Need to be selective of places one should choose. Each supposedly tourist attraction is at quite a distance take 1- 2 hours to travel once you go there you realize it was not worth coming or people need to trek viz. falls, Eddakkal caves. If you have kids or old people with you it is tough on them. Watch out for the distances people and even the street signs are misleading. You safely multiple by 2. If it is 15 kms you can safely assume it is 25-30 kms.
Govt. employees manning tourist spots need to learn to be friendly. You get a feeling that that they feel they are doing us a big favor of letting us see places especially if you are from other states.. They don’t smile they talk only Malayalam, some people to my surprise speak Kannada and not English, Hindi or Tamil. Guess it is the border influence. This is sharp contrast to people in home stay or even people on street.