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How often do you chance upon unknown islands on google maps and then decide to head to it after curiosity gets the better of you?

Read on, for I promise I had never heard of this island before. It was google maps that took me there. The day was Sunday, the 4th of July 2018. I was all packed going to Munnar.

It was a beautiful day in Varkala. I was both sad and excited to leave Varkala – sad because I had an awesome 4 days and 3 nights of stay at the pretty beach in which I explored everywhere possible in and around Varkala and excited because I was finally heading to Munroe Island. Don’t you like the name of this island? Pretty exotic like Marylin Munroe. Yes, the name! What’s in a name they say? Perhaps, everything! The name, yes the name is what took me to the island.

About 4 days back, while on skyout rental car Varkala from Bangalore, this island kept popping up each time I opened google maps in my phone to check the right place to get down. It was officially the first time I was travelling alone in a car. Meaning it was the first time that I booked my own rental car, without anybody’s help. I’ve traveled alone few times before but I always had somebody to help me out with the right direction detail . Moreover, I’m used to taking flights and buses. The name intrigued me for reasons still unknown to me and that’s how I started searching on the internet if the island was actually reachable and eventually looking for options to go the island and trip advisor did me good by showing up all good reviews on it by foreign tourists.

I was waiting for the car in Bangalore when suddenly I saw a familiar someone (Akanksha Mishra, one of my college mates from KIIT) getting down from the car in front of me. You know that feeling of meeting someone familiar from a long time ago in an unknown distant place?After catching up with her for a few minutes and bidding goodbyes, I finally took my car to Munroe Island.

Between talks that can hardly be deemed “understandable” to friendly gestures to constantly looking out of my window trying to capture the scenery of the lake the car was passing through, I did not quite realize how quickly the two hour passed by. And then I finally set foot on the island. I looked around the place. A first impression of the island and I couldn’t be more thankful for chancing upon this island on google maps and then actually deciding to head here.

Isn’t this island pretty? So much of greens around.

My first tryst with Munroe Island “TRANQUILITY” is the word that comes to mind when I remember that evening. So peaceful that all I could hear was the sound of the insects around like those regular evenings back home in Manipur minus the sound of people chattering away or children playing and all I could smell was fresh agarbati. A ride brought me to Lake and River Resort Munroe Island, greeted by the very friendly hotel owner Amal and caretaker Sushil and then later on the rats in my tummy were treated with a sumptuous Kerala style dinner.

Those rats in my tummy had a great meal Ever since I read reviews of foreign tourists about this island on trip advisor, I always knew the one thing I had to do once I reached the island. So the next morning, I was woken up by the friendly and cheerful Sushil for a canoe ride through the inland backwaters of the island. I was pretty excited for this. You can make the booking for this canoe ride through the hotel itself and I paid 250 for a one hour ride in the morning.

Vishnu does a great job of showing you around the island through the backwaters, briefing you about the island history and bringing you one step Munroe closer.

The early morning canoe ride through the backwaters

The point where we got down for some masala chai

Ducks on our way through the backwaters He also stops by to let you have a taste of the best masala chai around. After a very peaceful morning canoe ride through the backwaters with the sound of prayers at the backdrop and the smell of agarbati, I was dropped back to the hotel where I slept for some time and had another good lunch.

Lake and river resort Munroe Island and the first balcony that you see from the left, that was my room for two nights

The same evening I decided to do the canoe trip around the lake as recommended by Sushil. I booked it for two hours this time and it was oh so worth it.

Mister goatee searching for food

Chattering away with the boat man. The point where we started off our ride that evening. This was when I encountered some of the best people I met in Munroe Island. Talks with Sannidhi, the boat man’s daughter and Sangeeth Sanjeev, the son, of life in the island and the curiosity to know more about the place I call home and photo sessions throughout the entire ride – beautiful moments spent and captured is what I would take away from that ride not to forget the best sunset views in the lake. Note that all of these pictures with me in them were taken by the son and daughter.

From telling me how to pose for pictures, to being invited for a casual conversation at a sunset point and eventually for a cup of tea and tender coconut at their own house, to showing me their rooms and terrace, I couldn’t have asked for a better evening. I was falling in love with the place all over again.

And thanks to them, I headed back to my hotel room with tons of beautiful pictures from the day.