Ten off- beat ideas on a Kerala Holiday - Part ll

6.Have a sweet tooth, take a walk on Sweet Meat Street in Kozhikode (Calicut)

S M Street of Mithai Theruvu is the busiest street in Kozhikode and derives its name from the time when the street was lined with sweet meat (halwa), Today the street bustles with shops that sell anything and everything including the famed sweets and banana chips.

Love boat building, visit Beypore Port (10 kms south of Kozhikode). Old time Beypore was much sought after merchants from Western Asia for its ship building industry. The boat building yard here, famous for the construction of the Uru, boasts a tradition of almost 1500 years. You can pick up toy boats and exquisite models of boats inside bottles from many shops on the approach road as well as from the Kairali Emporium.

7.For History Buffs, there's Edekkal Caves (12 kms from Sulthan Battery in Waynad District)

Located at a height of 1000 meters are the Edekkal Caves. Nature representations on these cave walls made by Neolethic Celts were first identified by a British man on a hunting trip. The new stone pictorial writings on the walls are evidence of the prehistoric civilization that existed in these regions and have the distinction of being the first abraded drawings found in India. Accessible only by a kilometer?s trek from Edakkal, the wall art found in these caves have caught the attention of archaeologists worldwide. You can see three distinct sets of petroglyphs, the earliest dating back to 3000 years. Morning hours are the best time to visit the caves. Mondays are holidays.

8.Dance with Oysters at Oyster Opera

Get closer to nature in the eco friendly cottages of Oyster Opera at Padanna. These unique cottages are built on land, water and tree-tops. Surrounded by tiny palm fringed islands, the retreat is promoted as a tourist resort where mussel farming on coir and traditional harvesting of oyster and clam are key attractions. Inaugurated in the year of 2007 "Oyster Opera" is done and run by G.S Gul who was honoured national award by the Government of India to his effort for uplifting poor coastal folk by applying innovative ideas. He is the first Indian who farmed mussel on coir and parted this technology to the poor locals and now there are 6000 farmer's majority of them are women. The total production of the mussel for the year 2008-2009 was 20,000 Metric Tonnes.

The resort is also blessed with some historical places nearby like Bekal Fort and Parassinikadavu Temple, Ayurvedic treatments, Coracle boat ride, Indoor and outdoor games, house boat and fun fishing gears were added to make this place a complete holiday getaway.

9.Visit an unexplored fort - St Angelo Fort in Kannur and more

This seafront laterite fort was constructed in 1505 by the first Portuguese Viceroy, Don Francisco De Almeda. Ammo dumps, stables, underground jails, secret tunnels to the sea and an old dilapidated chapel can still be seen within its precints. The fort saw a variety of rulers, including Portuguese, Dutch and English. St. Angelo Fort offers a fascinating view of the Mappila Bay fishing harbor.Tel: 0497-2732578

More things to do at Kannur - Watch men and women roll out the famous Kerala Beedi made out of tobacco wrapped in thendu leaves with dexterous fingers as fast as a machine. What is noteworthy is the person who reads out aloud from the daily newspaper to the workers.

North Malabar's unique, ancient, ritualistic folk art, Theyyam is also a reflection of religious harmony in these parts, where some of the deities are Muslim heroes. Theyyam performers invoke the temple deity with their frenzied dancing and throbbing music in the courtyards of village temples. There are 450 types of Theyyam including Agni Theyyam where the dancer sits on fire.

10.Jungle Patrol - Shepherding the Jungle - Periyar Tiger Reserve

The program is part of the regular night patrolling in the fringe eco-development zones of the tiger reserve. By participating in this, one is actually helping in the protection of the forests of Periyar. The trekking could be at anytime between 7 p.m and 4 a.m. Participants must have proper physical and mental fitness to trek through the wilderness in the night. The maximum duration for a slot is three hours and limited to eight visitors. They will accompany two protection watchers and one armed forest guard.