Azhimala beach

Azhimala is a beach near to Kovalam. It is a very quiet beach. Its slightly more than 20 kms from Trivandrum city. Around 5-6 kms from Vizhinjam. There are lots of Ayurvedic resorts in Azhimala. There is a temple in the name of Azhimala. The temple is very near to the beach. The beach can be viewed from a hill (mala). That’s why its name is Azhimala. The view of the beach from the Azhimala hill is very nice.

A view of the beach from Azhimala

Another kilometre from Azhimala, you will reach Chowara, another beautiful beach. Evenings are the best time as you can watch the beautiful sunset.

How to reach Azhimala ?
The beach can be reached from Trivandrum or Nagercoil or Kollam.

From Nagercoil (2 ways)
- Nagercoil-> Marthandam-> Kaliyikkavila-> Parassala-> Amarivila-> Neyyatinkara-> Poovar-> Pulinkudi-> Azhimala (NH 47)

- Nagercoil-> Marthandam-> Kaliyikkavila-> Parassala-> Amarivila-> Neyyatinkara-> Balaramapuram-> Uchakada-> Mukkola-> Pulinkudi-> Azhimala (NH 47)

Buses are frequently available from Trivandrum to Balaramapuram. From Balaramapuram catch a bus to Vizhijam, get down at Mukkola. From Mukkola catch bus to Azhimala kshethram (temple).

From Trivandrum (2 ways)
- Thampanoor-> Karamana-> Pappanamcode-> Nemom-> Vedivachancoil-> Balaramapuram-> Uchakada-> Mukkola-> Pulinkudi-> Azhimala (NH 47)

- Thampanoor-> Eastfort-> Manacaud-> Ambalathara-> Thiruvallam-> Kovalam Jn-> Vizhinjam-> Mukkola-> Pulinkudi-> Azhimala (NH 47 Bypass)

Buses are frequently available from Trivandrum to Balaramapuram. From Balaramapuram catch a bus to Vizhijam, get down at Mukkola. From Mukkola catch bus to Azhimala kshethram (temple).

From Kollam (1 way)
- Kollam-> Attingal-> Kazhakutam-> Chackai-> Enjackal-> Thiruvallam-> Kovalam Jn-> Vizhinjam-> Mukkola-> Pulinkudi-> Azhimala (NH 47 Bypass)

Buses are frequently available from Kollam to Trivandrum. From Thampanoor catch a bus to Vizhijam. Catch a bus to Balaramapuram or Kattakada, get down at Mukkola. From Mukkola catch bus to Azhimala kshethram (temple).

As you reach Pulinkudi you can see a big board announcing `Azhimala Siva temple'. Turn right and proceed nearly a kilometre to reach the destination.

Note: Few buses are available directly from Thampanoor/Eastfort to Azhimala kshethram (temple). Here Thampanoor refers to the Trivandrum bus stand.

Watch this blog for more photos.

Bike Review

Its been quite some that I have been with my new bike Hero Honda Hunk. I bought the bike in Jan 2008 so its almost an year. Its was the time Hunk was launched, so I used to get lots of questions on my bike, like "Whats the price ?", "Whats the mileage ?", "Whats the cc ?" ...

Most of my ride is for commuting to office. I occasionally use the bike for touring. There is one thing which I like most - the seating position. Its really excellent i should say, sporty but doesn't compromise on comfort.

It has a massive looking tank which adds to the styling element. The power delivery is superb, especially at gear roll ons. It doesn't disappoint on the fuel efficiency either, I have been consistently getting a mileage of around 50kmpl. I got a best mileage of 56kmpl and a worst mileage of 45kmpl.For me the bike is a bit heavy, its 146kg. I feel really confident while cornering.


I had some troubles with the chain, the chain tend to loose too much. I got fixed it from the service center. The back seat a bit too high, difficult for female pillion riders.

The bike has clocked more than 14500km at the time of this writing. I ride almost 60 kms per day. I haven't done any modification in the bike. I changed the right handle weight, as my bike fell down on a rainy day.


As a premium bike I expected LED tail lights and digital speedo, but we can't expect too much from Hero Honda, right ? I don't ride my bike too fast, my average speed is around 50 kmpl. I haven't ride the bike beyond the 70 km mark. Altogether I am pretty satisfied with my bike. After I bought my bike, some new bike launches were there in the names of Yamaha R15 and then the Yamaha FZ16.

What would be my next bike ?

Its not going to happen in the near future, I mean not with in a year or two. So it would be a higher capacity bike, may be a much civilized Karizma, who knows which all bike will be available in India, CBRs, Ninjas...


Bike Stats

Bought : Jan 2008
Clocked : 14500 km
Mileage : 50 kmpl overall
Power : 14.4 ps
Engine : 150 cc
Services : 6 free service + 1 paid service
Cost : Rs 65000 on road
Rating : 4/5
Maintenance : None

A rider's story

Greatest ambition
For most of the guys a bike is more than a tool for daily commute. I truly believe that a bike is more than that. For me its much like a friend. It was my greatest ambition to own a bike during my childhood days. I got my first bike in 2002, its a second hand Samurai. Before getting Samurai, I used to ride my brother's bike, Splendor. Then I went for higher studies and sold my bike. In 2006, my brother bought a new bike, Honda Unicorn and I took over his bike, Hero Honda Splendor.
Days with Splendor
I used the Splendor for around 2 years. Its a very nice bike, I used for daily commute to office. Its the post 2000 model, without pollution control. It has a good pickup and is very fuel efficient. I used to get around 70kmpl. I have got a best mileage of 82kmpl on highway. After having this Splendor for some years, I decided to upgrade to a new bike.

Bike upgrade
My brother owns a Unicorn, so I know its a great bike. Its time the Pulsar was very popular, its still popular. But I don't want to buy a Bajaj bike, they have a reputation of poor reliability. I ave a great love for CBZ (old CBZ). I liked the look of the bike very much. And at this time that CBZ-X has launched. I didn't quite like the look of the new CBZ, may be they have overdone it. Any way I decided to buy the CBZ-X, but it was on Sep 2007 that I have seen the new bike from Hero Honda. As soon as I saw the pictures of the bike, I am in love with it. At this time I gone out of state for some official trip.


A bike called Hunk
I was very eager know the details of the Hunk. I read a lot of automobile magazines. I came to know that it has the same engine of CBZ-X, which generates 14.4 bhp of power, which was the highest among it competitors. Its the same engine from Unicorn, but returned for better power. So on the one hand I know its a reliable engine, but on the other hand I will lose out the mileage, since it delivers more power. There are some feature missing from the other 150s, such as digital speedo, LED tail lights etc, but I decided to go for it. I need to ride the bike. I rush to the nearest dealer, I test rode the bike. The thing that impressed me was the seating position, its sporty but maintains a good proposition. I decided to buy a hunk, black one. I booked the bike on Dec 2007, for launching the bike on Jan 2008.

Owning the Hunk
On Jan 2008 I owned my Hunk, its a black one. Its a dream come true.


Its been around a year with my Hunk, its a good bike. More on that in the next post ....