The All-New Anand

The 7 months it took for the renovation is completely justifiable. The all new Anand is in a class of its own. An elegant class. Every detail has been re-thought and executed nicely. The phrase, of Multiplex quality, is often used to describe the new Anand and that is not wrong. Maybe it’s even more than that. This is far-advanced than many multiplexes.

There are 2 classes: Platinum and Gold.
Platinum
class relates to the traditional Balcony and the ticket price is Rs. 120/-
The old main entrance is now the entry to Platinum class.

Gold class relates to the First Class and the price is Rs. 70/-
A new entrance near the Abhilash gates is built for the Gold class.

Reservation is enabled for the Platinum Class and is offered at the counter near the gate of Abhilash.
Online ticket booking/reservation is available for Anand, Abhilash and Asha theatres at TicketNew.com

View from the Platinum Class

Premium fabric seats and non-slippery carpeted floor with lighted steps

Platinum Class entry

The cafeteria serves coffee, tea, soft drinks, pop corn and snacks


A 40″ Samsung LCD mounted in portrait orientation — Digital poster wall!

The exterior. Gold Class entry towards the end.

Walkway at Kumarakom. Into the Vembanad Lake

This walkway is at a walking distance from the Kumarakom Govt. Boat Jetty. It’s about 300m long and ends at a roofed viewpoint – the point where the canal join the Vembanad Lake. (View on map)

There is an adequately sized parking lot right beside the Jetty. A 3oo-metre walk from here, along the canal-side road will get us to the walkway. The walkway is fenced on both sides and fully paved with non-slippery tiles. Savour the view, feel the air, enjoy the walk.

There is a chapel near the end which is situated in the lake. This dramatic spot has been the location for many films, including the giant-hit Mohanlal flick – Spadikam (see the screenshots at the end).

The trip could be extended to include a 30 minute (one-way) nonstop boat journey across the Vembanad Lake to Muhamma and back on a Govt. ferry service from the Govt. Jetty. Include a visit to the Bird Sanctuary located about 3kms away in Kavanattinkara/Kumarakom Tourist Complex and you have got a solid one-day trip in hand.

And hey, the Kottayam-Kumarakom road is now super-good from Illickal. It has a Changanacherry-Alappuzha Road feel to it!

List of places to visit and things to do in Kumarakom

Awesome Roads in Kottayam

Road trips are fun. Time for some in-land roadtrips. These great roads are spread across the 5 Taluks (Vaikom, Meenachil, Kanjirappally, Changanacherry and Kottayam) in Kottayam. There are adequate wayside amenities viz. restaurants, fuel stations, ATMs, stop-over shoulders.

A view from Cherpunkal, on the Ettumanoor – Pala – Erattupetta road

The roads are:

1. Vaikom – Thalayolaparambu – Ettumanoor
2. Ettumanoor – Pala – Erattupetta
3. Kidangoor – Manarcadu
4. Kottayam – Pulikkal Kavala – Kanjirappally
5. Pulikkal Kavala – Karukachal – Changanacherry
6. Changanacherry – Alappuzha
7. Chengalam – Kumarakom stretch of the Kottayam – Kumarakom road

Smooth and free-flowing, these roads are a pleasure to take on.
Tastes best when chilled. Feels best on Sundays and holidays.

The following route map includes all of the above roads to form a single route.

Individual Maps

Vaikom – Thalayolaparambu – Ettumanoor

 

Ettumanoor – Pala – Erattupetta

 

Kidangoor – Manarcadu

Kottayam – Pulikkal Kavala – Kanjirappally

Pulikkal Kavala – Karukachal – Changanacherry

Changanacherry – Alappuzha

Chengalam – Kumarakom (part of Kottayam – Kumarakom road)

Maps courtesy: Google Maps

Kerala State Football Championship

47th Kerala State Senior Football Championship (inter-district) is live and kicking at the floodlit Nehru Stadium, Nagampadam. The championship will run for 10 days with the Finals on Sunday, 3rd April 2011.

The opening match saw Team Wayanad triumph over Team Thiruvananthapuram (3-0). Kottayam’s first match is against Alappuzha, on Saturday, 26th at 06:00 pm

Kottayam entered the finals beating Wayanad  in a match that reached a tie-breaker (5-3). In the finals, Kottayam will take on Kollam, who beat Ernakulam in the second semi final (2-0). The final match is scheduled for 06:00 pm at the Floodlit Nehru Stadium, Nagampadam.

Kollam won the championship beating Kottayam in the finals (4-0).