Since having been to Scotland I was really curious why Vagamon is called the Scotland of Asia. It was a very unplanned trip with Mariya as usual. Our plans are spontaneous adventures. And I always love the excitement it gives. The thrill never fails. Never.
So this time we had some mutual time off and we decided to go somewhere quiet and cozy for our joint vacation. Kodaikanal was the first spot that came in mind but then soon I came up with Vagamon. A cozy beauty with lush greens. What a perfect place for a staycation.
We booked the Zostel Vagamon for three nights and the plan was on. We both met at Thrissur Railway station on 25th of May early morning. Mariya reached Thrissur from Bangalore via overnight sleeper bus. We missed the initially booked train and we just let things be. Anyways I’m with my best friend so it’s always going to be a win. We peacefully had breakfast from the restaurant at the TCR railway station. And boarded the train at 10:30 in the morning. We reached Kottayam around noon from where we had lunch. We had to take two buses from kottayam to Erattupetta and the second bus to Vagamon. We reached by around 7:30 at the Zostel. It was all misty and our vision was vague. It was very cold as we had wished for.
The dinner was served hot and delicious. The restaurant had a seperate balcony with mist all around. We could see nothing but the mist and I wondered what lied behind it. A secret yet to be revealed by the night. They don’t serve drinks so we had a very adventurous time spending time with the fellow zostellers. Shhhh can’t reveal the plot more than this.
The next day morning simply blew our mind. Like the view from Zostel was breathtaking. It’s set between the tea plantations on a hilltop with an infinity pool at a walkable distance. Whoa like whoaaaaa!!!
The Mother Nature welcomed us with her cold embrace. Ahhh to stay in the peaceful chill greens far away from the scorching sun was the perfect way to burst our stress buttons. It was drizzling throughout the day. Or it was the heavy mist. Couldn’t differentiate. But it was magical. As if we were trapped in a different world. A cozy and a perfect place to be in. The vibes of this place was so soothing to both the eyes and the soul.
We had breakfast with a great cup of coffee. And we started our day with a trip to the Vagamon Glass bridge. It was unfortunately closed due to bad weather. We then left to the pine forest where we actually had a pleasant time sharing each other’s stories and experiences. The pine forest market had a beer&wine parlor and we bought two beer and a bottle of wine for the night. We also bought us the famous home made chocolates of the hill stations.
The next destination was the famous Vagamon meadows. In Malayalam we call them mottakunnu. It’s a good number of grassy hills with great weather that you can almost touch the mist from there. It was raining heavily while we reached the spot but none of us cared to hold the umbrella. We had two in hand with us but we wanted to get drenched. People were staring at me bad Mariya as if we were lunatics who broke out from the asylum haha. We reached back and ended the day with a hot shower and cetrizine tablets.
It was then I noticed something on my feet. Yeah my first encounter with a live leech. Eww it was disgusting. I shook my legs and screamed but it was stuck to my feet. Mariya came up with some tissues and plucked it out and someone brought salt to kill it. Fortunately my feet wasn’t bleeding and the leech was quite tiny.
Our roomies were all female solo travelers with wonderful travel stories to share. Each person was different from each other in a really beautiful way. The night was really cozy. We went to the common area upstairs with a packet of chicken nuggets we ordered from the restaurant, the two beer bottles never leaving our sides. I don’t remember much after that. Just opening the bottle cap with my teeth and mocking mariya cause she couldn’t in the beginning. After finishing the bottles we joined the campfire below near the garden. It was nice with Hindi banger music being played in the background and the women and a couple were dancing their hearts out. I went with Aamir to the hammock and stayed there in my quiet space. We talked about our traumas and shared advices while Mariya was caught up with dancing to the intense tunes of Bollywood with Shoobhi and others. Shoobhi was one fierce woman who really believed in the power of traveling.
The night was well wrapped with a jamming session at the rooftop. Fellow travelers were really talented and we were so glad we chose this place for our much needed break. I zoned out in between. Woke up early next morning to catch the sunrise at the secret falls. It’s a very beautiful waterfall situated at half an hour of driving distance from the stay. Luckily I had my swimsuit with me. We took a jeep ride towards the spot. It was so healing to lie under the falls. Ahhh so magical. We all helped each other- Me, Mariya, Praachi and Aamir were together enjoying the experience to the fullest extent.
We left after two hours after drenching in the water and almost catching a cold. We returned back to Zostel and had breakfast. I had a cup of great tomato soup. It was quite refreshing. Also Aamir writes Hindi poetry so well you know? We shared each others writings the restaurant. I read few of my poetry out to them. I’ll never forget the feedbacks.
I slept throughout the evening as I caught fever and Mariya left with Aamir to explore the infinity pool nearby Zostel. They had to trek for half an hour to reach there. I spent the entire time sleeping in the hammock and in my comfortable bed. We joined the campfire at night. There was no dancing though.
The started the last day- the 28th of May with the port wine we had left in hand. It was a beautiful and calm moment sipping red wine with your soulmate listening to the sounds of crickets and the nearby water sources. There was no other noise. It was all white noise.
Our host Joel was smiling watching us getting high right in the morning and stuttering with the breakfast order. We had a strong cup of coffee anyhow. That helped. It was raining heavily and we took the bus to Kottayam and had lunch from a fancy restaurant. The people were again staring watching two girls in comfy outfits, messy hair and slippers wearing huge travel bags walking into a 3 star hotel for lunch. We never bothered though. Since our bus was an hour late we went to the nearby zudio and bought ourselves matching blue dresses which we are planning to wear for our next upcoming trip to a secret destination I’ll reveal later. (Wink wink)
We had to board another KSRTC swift bus rather than our chosen AC low floor due to time constraints. The journey back was clumsy and full of laughter. I feel so close to mariya with each trip together. She’s one in a billion kind of girl. I was lucky enough to find the pearl let’s say. We reached Thrissur around 7 and parted our ways at Sakthan bus stand. We didn’t get emotional or anything just hugged tight and wished each other good luck.
So that was all about Vagamon. I’m leaving home with lots of amazing memories and a heart full of love. Thank you Vagamon. You healed me. You’re definitely worthy to be named along with Scotland. So cozy and beautiful. I’m grateful.
Wandering Sasha 