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Friday, February 16, 2007

Honeymoon Travails

The Valentine season reminds me of my honeymoon 3 years ago. We had taken a trip to Munar & Kumarkom. Hubby had recently shifted jobs and therefore there was a general paucity of leave allowed, hence we settled for a 4 night stay. We booked through Cox and Kings and how insensitive they can get, will be evident as I tell my tale below.
We checked in the morning at Munar in a supposedly star rating hotel. Let me tell you the highlights of the star hotel-
When we asked if breakfast was available, the look on the reception desk guy’s face was- since you came so late you get to skip breakfast.
Munar in December and the hotel does not have round the clock hot water.
The bathroom was of such a dimension that you would hit the wash basin or fall in the loo if you did not walk like walking the tightrope.
No room heaters either. So a honeymooning couple gets to simply sniggle in the bed and shiver.
To top it all, guys, hold your breath, twin beds joined together, to make it look like a single one until you remove the covers and sleep on it.
The furniture (read bed) was lightweight with lightweight mattresses. The mattresses and the twin beds were behaving as if they were the like poles of a magnet. Repelling and moving apart at the slightest action. The only time the beds and mattresses behaved was when we behaved.

The next day hubby demanded a room with the basic amenities that a honeymoon couple deserves- a double bed. We were quickly shifted to another room which was even smaller than the first one. Except the double bed everything else was worse than the first one.

The next day we were driven to Kumarkom and checked in a proper 5-star resort. Believe me, we felt like a real honeymoon couple for just that day. Unlike the 1st two days when we felt as if we have got married on the sly and are spending a few nights in a sleazy, budget hotel. We got a good cottage with a view and a luxurious bathroom with a greenhouse inside. I am sure Cox & Kings understood that we had enough money to do it in a decent way and they should have checked with us before cutting corners.

But the next day takes the cake. They sent us on a boat trip to Alleppy the next afternoon – with adjectives of secluded and romantic thrown in. Well, some people may enjoy it but I would not pretend. I tried to be adventurous and took to the whole damn thing. I must admit the afternoon was enjoyable, the cook on the boat cooked us a wonderful lunch and the makeshift dining table, cum living room cum sit-out was good. The bedroom was surprisingly comfortable but cramped and the lighting was dull. I am a bright lights person and I found it depressing. The bathroom was tiny- as small as the toilet in a train.

We had imagined that at night the boat would dock in the city and we would see the place for whatever it was worth. But to our dismay they docked in the middle of the backwaters after 7 pm as the fisher folk would have cast their nets for and in order to not disturb them, boats were not allowed to ply. I take a few minutes to paint the romantic picture. Pitch dark, musical orchestra of creepy crawlies and amphibians, interrupted by the buzz of mosquitoes and our ardent pursuit of those mosquitoes, more number of boatmen than the two of us aboard and the fragrance of mosquito coil. Since hubby and I knew each other for 7 years, unlike arranged marriages, we did not have to get to know each other and therefore we did not have much to talk about. We were comfortable even sitting quietly together but the scenario was not at all relaxing. The boat hand took pity on us and gave us a deck of cards to play with. Great fun, is it not.. :(

The next morning the cab drove us to Cochin and we spent the afternoon shopping. Now Cochin is not exactly a great shopping hub so you can imagine the fun we would have had but since I can manage to shop anywhere in the world, I did buy a few things.

The only bright part was the nice cab service Cox & Kings provided us and for my part, I am yet to take a luxurious holiday to blot out the bittersweet honeymoon memories. Makes me feel bad that we could have had a good time but the holiday providers did not obviously put their heart into the arrangements. For them it was just another business whereas for us it was special.

20 comments:

Has to be me said...

Oopsy! what a screw up by C&K! Thankully they didnt screw up my honeymoon @ Mauritius!!

mommyof2 said...

not a sweet memory But this will give you the oppertunity to have a second honeymoon;-)

Life Lover said...

thats bad! but i'm sure you had your own fun moments amidst all this chaos and bad service! plan a second honeymoon now and make sure you ask in advance about the king bed ;)

KK said...

Oops thats a royal screw up my Cox & Kings...

Garam Bheja Fry said...

"The only time the beds and mattresses behaved was when we behaved..."

*priceless*..:)

Ganesh Ranganathan said...

I dont like tours that have a decided itinerary...when I go with my family for a tour. We consult the net for the places worth visiting and ask the local people. After that we hire a taxi for a day and go there ourselves...

The organized tours forces me to stick to a fixed schedule. There is no point in going for a holiday if you have to follow a schedule..

Rohini said...

Seriously - do the second honeymoon FAST

By Deepa and Supriya said...

You poor itchy!.....like Mo2 and Rohini said...plan your second honeymoon and hopefully this time the beds will behave even if you don't ;)

Anonymous said...

..but since I can manage to shop anywhere in the world..

hilarious :))

La vida Loca said...

ouch!

Noodlehead said...

bummer!! take another honeymoon soon to erase the bad memories :)

Artnavy said...

OH POOR U-- TUMNE PEHLE NAHIN BATAAYA THA- IF U R REF TO CLUB MAHINDRA AT MUNNAR- WELL IT HAS IMPROVED A LOT IN TERMS OF THE FOOD

oops sorry - it came all caps

Hip Grandma said...

so sorry for you.You deserve a second honeymoon.tell hubby that i said so.leave your darlings with mom or mom in law and go ahead.

Anonymous said...

tch, what a bummer..but, I agree, its a good excuse to plan another honeymoon :-)

Anonymous said...

You at least had one! I had to get back to work without a honeymoon and I still don't hear the end of it :)

Fuzzylogic said...

I second everyone in saying you deserve a much better second honeymoon!I usually thought these travel servives with reputed names did good job at booking hotels and stuff but apparently they can screw things up,thanks for the forewarningto never trust them to do their job!

Itchingtowrite said...

thanks for the suggestions.. though i do agree with LIFE LOVER that overall we had fun since the entire day was spent outside but when one comes to go into minutae you get to see that u deserved better in terms of the hygiene factors
and to all those who did not take their wife for a honeymoon-- boo to them..no job is worth doing hat!! TDNA are you listening??
ART- it was not club mahindra it was some random hotel, the name of which I do not even recall.

Varsha said...

Hmnn will not travel C and K on my honeymoon! Ya I agree...you deserve a second honeymoon!!

Unknown said...

humm.. interesting..
Did make me laugh (At your cost ofcourse).. But a great leason... Better to plan ur own trip and do the bookings... guess tht ways u would have a fair idea of wht 2 expect...

Anonymous said...

sure, you deserve a second honeymoon...but that does necessarily mean you have to cut out such a sorry picture of cochin, munnar and kumarakom. maybe, the next time you should do your homework thoroughly!!!