Savoring Kalladka Tea (KTea) at Lakshmi Nivas, Kalladka

To begin with, the retro Lakshmi Nivas is demolished to accommodate NH-75 expansion through Kalladka town. The path to hotel is full of construction materials which is slippery and muddy. The hotel administrators have aptly covered the entrance with dust prevention nets to prevent the flying mud from half baked highway. Follow the google maps to reach the newly constructed hotel comfortably.

After our exciting visit to Narahari Parvata, we stopped at Lakshmi Nivas to consume lunch. The prime intention was to taste Kalladka Tea, prominently expressed as KTea. Specialty of tea is 3 layered composition of thick milk (bottom), tea-decoction (middle) and milk froth (top) with varied proportion. It is not as simple as it looks in picture. Lot of calculations are needed to perfectly keep these three things apart and look like tri-layered beverage. As of now, instead of dwelling on details, here is a short picture for my record.

Post a disappointing meal, we had this extraordinary tea on our tables. It is quite unusual to have tea post meals. We consumed this time exclusively to taste the unique tea of India. Once it arrived, we took couple of photographs before blending them to single layer. The taste was fantastic and the sugar was perfect. So its not only the look of tea, the beauty lies in taste as well. If you are passing through Kalladka town during morning hours, do not forget to sip this elegant tea!

Delta Beach - Kodi Bengre, Udupi District

Similar to the Someshwara beach near Bynduru, the specialty of beach is estuary situated nearby. The Swarna river merges with Arabian sea here. One of the majestic scene to watch especially during golden hour. A short drive of about 10kms from Malpe beach through narrow rural roads running parallel to Arabian sea, leads you to this beach. The beach can also be reached via Santekatte junction at National Highway - 66 which is convenient way. But if you wish to rejoice Arabian sea from Malpe to Delta beach, I would suggest you to take Malpe-KodiBengre road though it takes tad longer time. Along Malpe-KodiBengre route, one can visit Hoode and Gujjarbettu beach if you love birdwatching where plenty of migrant birds can be spotted during winter.

The alluring part is the flamboyant nature that ornate the region. It was enticing to watch the river meeting the sea with terns & gulls accompanying with joy. It is heart-warming to watch the gulls & terns flying over estuary with zest further disappearing to invisible golden horizon. Yes, there are lot of birds to photograph here apart from enjoying blissful nature. I saw common raptors (but could not spot white bellied sea-eagle yet), terns, gulls and reef heron. Perhaps kingfishers would be too active hunting along calm backwaters. 

Downsides:

The kodi-bengre beach does not seem to be officially developed tourist spot. There are no walkways to reach the beach. One has to cross the sea walls to enjoy in beach. This is quite tough for people who find it difficult to climb (my father had tough time). Finally, we saw an open path between houses to reach the sand floor of the beach. There are snack shops here but no official parking spots. The roads are concreted which means no ground clearance between road and the sideways. The bumper of small cars take a hit badly, so be careful while parking car. Also, coconuts may fall at any point of time which is another risk :-).

The biggest menace is the unprecedented trashing. Lack of trash-bins and cleaning has hit badly on the sanity of beach. It is disheartening that educated people fail to carry the trash back in case of absence of dust-bins. Request to visitors not to spoil the sanctity of nature. If you cannot carry trash back in your car, dump in dustbins of snack shops at least.

Here is short video of our visit. My toddlers enjoyed whole-heartedly on this day at kodi-bengre beach soaking entire body almost!