Fish Galaxy – Public Aquarium, Now Open

The Kottayam Aquarium is located adjacent to the Municipal Jubilee Park, Nagampadam. After Naalumanikkaattu on the Manarcad – Ettumanoor bypass, the public aquarium is a wonderful addition to the gradually-increasing list of leisure spots.

Location: Adjacent to the Municipal Jubilee Park, Kurian Uthuppu Road, Nagampadam.
Working Hours: 11 am to 7 pm – Monday Holiday.
Tickets: Rs. 20/- for adults and Rs. 10/- for children.

The air-conditioned aquarium houses a huge variety of magnificent fishes and amazing marine biomass. This project is aided by the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana and is executed by Kottayam Municipality in association with Matsyafed. There is sale of aquariums and accessories too.

In addition to the spacious parking area inside the compound, there is ample space on the Kurian Uthuppu road side too.
Club the Aquarium and the Jubilee Park for an evening; it will be a great family evening.

Photos

2 of the Top 25 Hotels in India are in Kottayam

In the 2011 edition of TripAdvisor.com’s Travellers’ Choice Hotel Awards, the Zuri Kumarakom and Vivanta by Taj, Kumarakom are ranked among the Top 25 Hotels in India. 20 million travellers voted in the poll. The Zuri Kumarakom is ranked 10th and Vivanta by Taj is ranked 25th.

Out of the Top 25 Hotels in India, 5 are in Kerala. The other 3 are Old Harbour Hotel, Kochi (ranked 2nd), SajHome, Kochi (ranked 4th) and Camp Noel, Munnar (ranked 14th).

With the roads and facilities getting improved, the flagship tourist destination of Kerala, our Kumarakom, will see a rise in domestic tourism too. The upcoming lake-side walkway at Kumarakom will definitely become another wonderful spot for a quick-trip.

The Zuri Kumarakom

Vivanta by Taj

Special Mention: The recently opened Fairmont Hotel, S. H. Mount (4 star) is a magnificent addition to the luxury hotel line-up.

Night Dine-outs

More eateries are being opened and almost all of them stay open (relatively) late into night. Commuters will be gone by then, roads will be drive-able and the air will be cooler. Not all fun ends with the sun.

Favorite Pizzeria (Till 10 pm)
200 meters from Kanjikuzhy on the Puthuppally road.
Pizzas, Pastas, Sandwiches
0481 2573501, 949 519 5362
Favorite was recently featured by The Hindu – Read the article.

Chicking (11 pm)
Between The Windsor Castle and Manorama printing unit, Kodimatha.
Near “more”, Kalathilpady.
Fried Chicken
0481 326 2323

Thir3d Place (11 pm)
Manorama Junction – Chelliyozhukkam Road
Gelato, Semifreddo
0481 2565614

DFC – Dallas Food Court (11 pm)
[View some photos]
Adjacent Hotel Aida
Fried Chicken and Arabic Grill
0481 60 66 66 2

12 to 12 Barbeque & Fries (12 am)
Shastri Road

Arabian (01:00 am)
Opp. Kalpaka Super Market, adjacent Municipal Office Complex
Multi-cuisine

Wheels (11 pm)
Plantation Corporation Junction, Kanjikuzhy
0481 2578145

Bar-be-que-inn
Kanjikuzhy and S.H. Mount

Anand (09: 30pm)
Central Junction
Vegetarian

KenChik Fried Chicken (11 pm)
Kalathilpady
0481 3242520
Also Near Matha Hospital/Caritas/101 Kavala.

PizzaMax (12 am)
Adjacent to Oxygen and Frankfinn Institute

Qube (11 pm)
Above Royal Bajaj, Kodimatha

Golden Chimney (10 pm)
Near DC Books, Good Shepard Road

KFC Kottayam
Manjoorans Tower, in between Oxygen Service Centre & Reliance WebWorld, Kanjikkuzhy.

 

Book Fair Returns to Thirunakkara

Kottayam’s hallmark-event and hallmark-venue re-joined and is a perfect match. The landscaped ground adds energy to the already active event.

Details

Date: 28th January (Friday) – 6th February (Sunday) 2011
Time: 8.30 am to 8.30 pm
Venue: Thirunakkara Grounds
Entry fee: Rs. 5/- (Free entry for school students)

This year’s floor plan is radically different from the previous years’. Instead of isolated pavilions, this time the stalls are well connected with ample passages in between. Yes, it’s more spacious and dust-free too. This is one of the main reasons that set the Book Fair apart from the other events like the Flower Show where a fixed path is to be followed by the visitors. Once inside the the fair, you can move around freely.

Even when visitors come in large numbers, there is no fuss/rush. People move about and find publishers or books that interests them and stay engrossed. This makes noise and other distractions non-existent.

In all, our Book Fair is a great feel-good event.
See the video below to see what the fair is like this time. Photos follow.

You may read about the 2010 Book Fair or see some interesting book covers from it (links will open in new tab/window).

51st Kerala School Kalolsavam

The 51st Kerala School Kalolsavam (2011) took place during 18-23 January 2011.

Even though the Vandiperiyar incident forced last-minute changes to the schedule, the festival took place flawlessly. One day was cut short, making the 7-day schedule,  a 6-day one. 30 competitions were rescheduled to accommodate this change. Even in this situation, competitions were finished before late night, contrary to the usual past-midnight experiences.

Stages, judging, food & accomodation, transportation were all excellent. There were almost no negative opinion about anything. Which, definitely is a MASSIVE ACHIEVEMENT. There weren’t any controversies either.

All in all, it was a fabulous never-before experience for Kottayam.
We would like to have more of it.
Can’t wait to play host again to such good times.

Listed below are the Kalolsavam content by KP

Photos

(Total photos: 65)

See the 25 selected photos

Photos from the Final Day (Day 6) (11 photos)
Photos from Day 5 (5 photos)
Photos from Day 4 (14 photos)
Photos from Day 3 (5 photos)
Photos from Day 2 (13 photos)
Photos from Day 1 (17 photos)

Informative

HD Videos

Kathakali (Group)


Mohiniyattom


Kuchipudi


Bharatanatyam


Bharatanatyam

Kathakali

Results

See the results of competitions at the official site.

Live Video

The event was livestreamed at victers.itschool.gov.in