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Kollam (Quilon)
Pop:
380,000 Area
Phone Code: 0474
Kollam (pronounced Koillam) is one of the oldest ports on the Kerala coast and was once a major center for the international spice trade. Trade of spices from this city goes back many centuries with the Romans, Greeks, Phoenicians, Arabs and Chinese. Kollam is 75km northwest of Thiruvananthapuram and 85km south of Alappuzha.
The main reason why most people come here is to go on a backwater trip en route to or from Alappuzha. Most travelers stay only overnight as there is little to see in the town.
A Boat Race
is held on 19 January each year at the same time as the Great Elephant
March (17-20 January).
Information
The Tourist Information Counter (72558) on Platform 4
of the railway station is efficient. They can book hotels in other cities
and you pay them for one night in advance plus the cost of the phone call
(Mon to Sat 9 am to 12:30 pm and 1:30 to 5 pm). There is also a counter
at the bus stand.
Bank of Baroda
changes travelers cheques. UAE Money Exchange (275-1240), Bishop Jerome
Nagar Complex (Hours Mon-Sat 10 am to 5 pm, Sun 10 am to 1 pm)
The bus stand and the boat jetty are close to one another and to Ashtamudi
Lake. The train station is on the other side of town and it cost about
Rs 15 to go from the train station to the boat jetty.
The Yatri Nivas speedboat can be hired for Rs 300 to
ride around the waterways near Kollam.
PL Worldways (741-096; fax 744-823), near the post office,
changes money (Mon to Sat 9 am to 5:30 pm, Sun 9 am to 1 pm).
DTPC tourist office changes money efficiently and has internet facilities. Net 4 You (74126), in the Jerone Nagar Complex has internet facilities. CYber Zone (276-6170) is a good place for Internet (Rs 20 per hr). Hours: 10 am to 9 pm
Backwater
Cruises
The District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC, government)
and ATDC (private) both run cruises departing Kollam at 10:30 am and arriving
in Alappuzha at 6:30 pm. (Rs 200). The cruise makes several stops along
the way. See Backwater Section for more information.
For information about DTPC Government boat tours they
can be contacted at (0474 274-5625, 750-170, bus stand office: 274-5625;
email: dtpcqln@md3.vsnl.net.in; Web site: www.dtcp-quilontourism.com.
Hours: 9am-5pmThe boat tour can be arranged at the DTPC Tourist
Information Centre at the Kollam bus station (274-5625), the
DTPC counter at the Kollam railway station, and at the DTPC Tourist
Information Centre at Papanasam Beach in Varkala. The boat tour
departs at 10.30 am but you have to report to the DTPC Tourist Information
Centre inside the KSRTC Bus station before 10 am.
What to See
The Shrine of Our Lady of Velamkanni, near the KSRTC
bus stand, is an interesting church. There are Chinese fishing nets on
Ashtamudi Lake.
Where to Stay—Lower
There are Retiring Rooms at the railway station.
The Government Guest House (Tourist Bungalow) (274-36220),
3km north of the city center, is an old, majestic British home with nice
gardens on the bank of Ashtamudi Lake. It has a large empty ballroom,
huge balconies and a small pool. It is poorly maintained. Rooms with antique
furniture are Rs 250/6300. It is a great value and is recommended, but
it can be hard to find a rickshaw back to town and it is usually full.
Lakshmi Tourist Home (274-1067), off Main Rd, is a really
basic place with rooms with bath for Rs 12/175.
Iswarya Lodge (77801), Main Rd, has rooms for Rs 125/175.
The popular Hotel Karthika (25-1821), Chinnakada, has
rooms with bath built around a courtyard for Rs 200/350 and A/C rooms
are Rs 00.
Hotel Rail View (76918), opposite the railway station,
has rooms for Rs 90/125.
Mahalakshmi Lodge (79440), across from the KSRTC bus
station, has really basic rooms with common bath for Rs 65/90.
Where to Stay—Middle
The KTDC Yatri Nivas (274-5538; fax; 231-4406), across
from the boat jetty, next to Ashtamudi Lake, has modern rooms for Rs 150/200
to Rs 350/400 and Rs 700 for an A/C room. It is well located next to the
river and has a nice lawn. Some rooms have balconies overlooking the river.
You can phone from the boat jetty and they will often pick you up in their
speedboat. It is a good value.
Hotel Shah International (742-362; fax 75368) has good
rooms for Rs 200/300 and Rs 400/450 with A/C. It is nicely located.
Hotel Sea Bee (744-696; fax 744-158), Jetty Rd, has decent
rooms for Rs 200/250 and with Rs 600. Exchange facilities.
Jaladarshini (203-414), Thevally, 2km west of downtown,
has comfortable rooms for Rs 400/500. It is located next to a peaceful
lake. It has a good restaurant.
Hotel Sudarsan (274-4322; fax 274-0480; Email: comfort@md4.vsnl.net.in),
close to the boat jetty, has rooms with TV for Rs 475/600 and Rs 700/850
with A/C. It has two good restaurants. It is a good value, but the rooms
in front can be noisy.
Palm Lagoon (451-014; fax 523-974), on the bank of the
Ashtamudi Lake 17km from Kollam, has rooms for Rs 1700 and Rs 2400 with
food. If it is booked at the DTPC you get a 10% discount. You can get
here by the KTDC boat (Rs 300).
Where to Eat
Cashews are grown in the area.
Hotel Guru Prasad, Main Rd, serves inexpensive vegetarian
meals for Rs 15.
Sree Suprabatham Restaurant, near the clock tower, is
a South Indian restaurant.
Indian Coffee House, just off the Main Rd, has South
Indian and Western food.
Mahalakshmi Lodge has a good vegetarian restaurant.
Iswarya Lodge has a good vegetarian restaurant.
The Sudarsan Hotel has a good vegetarian meal restaurant
and an A/C individual preparation restaurant. They have good breakfasts.
Supreme Bakers, just off the Main Rd, has cakes and breads.
Jala Subhiksa, next to the boat jetty, is a converted,
attractive, Keralan rice barge docked at a ferry pier. It is an interesting
place to eat.
Travel
Train The railway station is on the east side of town,
3km from the boat jetty. There are several trains to Ernakulam (4 hr,
159km) and Thiruvananthapuram (2 hr) via Varkala. To get to Varkala it
is easier to take a train than a bus as most trains heading south stop
there.
Bangalore Kanniyakumari-Bangalore Exp #6525 (10.55 am, 18 hr); Chennai
Trivandrum-Chennai Mail #6320 (3.25 pm, 20 hr); Madurai Quilon Exp (12.30
pm, 10 hr); Thiruvananthapuram Chennai-Trivandrum Mail #6319 (10.15 am,
1¾ hr).
Bus
Buses regularly depart south to Thiruvananthapuram (1½ hr) and
Varkala (1 hr, 10 daily) and north to Kochi (3½ hr) via Alappuzha
(2 hr, every half-hour). Seats on express buses can be reserved in advance.
Boat See Backwater section for more information. The daily (during the
season) DTPC and ATDC tourist boat to Alappuzha starts by bus at the KSRTC
bus station because the canal is blocked about half an hour north of Kollam.
The bus goes to Panmana, a half-hour away. The boat cruise can be booked
at many of the hotels in town.
You can take a public ferry across Ashtamudi Lake to Guhanandapuram (1
hr) and Muthiraparam (2½ hr). Because of canal blockage, the public
ferry from Kollam to Alappuzha was not operating as of this writing.
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