Travel Diaries: Adventure Park Kollam- Sculptures & Travel Lessons.

 August 19, 2025, Tuesday

Preparations

It was a windy day, so my father warned me not to visit any old buildings. I chuckled nervously as I had not one but two old buildings on my day’s list.

I had just had kappa meen (boiled tapioca and fish curry) for lunch, so I was feeling so lazy. But I can only spare the afternoon and early evening hours on certain days for travel now. So I told myself to snap out of my tiredness, as India won’t come to my doorstep. I must go to her nook and cranny to truly see her.

I know it’s a privilege to have the time, space, and means to do these trips, even if the pace is slow and the budget too small. So I’m not gonna take this opportunity for granted.

The Journey Begins

After lunch, I rested for thirty minutes and left home by 1:30 pm. This time, I packed extra tissue as I now know I’m a messy ice cream eater on sunny days. I also switched from my sandals to my jogging shoes as monsoon showers had eased and my walks were becoming longer and more frequent.

As usual, I took a bus to Asramam and got down at the Maidan stop. I crossed the road to the side of the Adventure Park.

Though I have visited the park twice in the past, I still needed some help to remember the directions. An auto chetan(brother) helped me with that.

Soon, I came across a signboard with directions to the nearby Hockey Stadium, Adventure Park, and 8 Point Art Cafe, all to the left at an approximate distance of 650 metres.

Roadside Glimpses

I ventured on the side road to the left. There were trees on both sides of the road that gave occasional shade, and then patches of sun again. On the left, I saw an Occupational Health and Research Centre(OHRC).

A dog was scavenging for food in the garbage bags left on the roadside. It stopped as soon as it saw me. I crossed to the other side of the road, but it kept staring at me. “I don’t mind. You carry on. I don’t want a bite.” I wanted to say. 

I came across a fenced butterfly park on the left, but it was closed. It’s the third park in this vicinity that seems functional but remains closed. The other two were Kala Koumudhi Park and Thangal Musaliyar Park. 

Are they undergoing any renovations? How long have they been closed? I wondered. How come the politicians are only interested in inaugurating new ventures and not in their maintenance? As locals, why aren’t we holding them accountable?

I reached the Asramam Guest House Road. Another auto chetan pointed the right path. I saw the Eight Point Art Cafe on the left. But I kept walking forward until I reached the Adventure Park. The trees on the way looked stellar.

How to Reach Adventure Park Kollam by Public Transport?

• From the Kollam KSRTC Stand, Adventure Park is situated at a walkable distance of approximately 1.8 km, or you can take an auto.
• From Kollam Railway Station, board a bus to Chinnakada Private Stand. Then board an Asramam or Ilamballoor-bound private bus and get down at the Asramam Maidan stop. From there, you can either walk the 1.4km to the Adventure Park or you can take an auto. 

Adventure Park Kollam Ticket Rates & Timings 

Entry time – 10 AM – 6 PM

Ticket rates – Adult: ₹24, Children: ₹12, Senior Citizens: ₹12 

Camera charges – Still Camera: ₹59, Video Camera: ₹236

Boating Rates – For a group of ten, ₹59 per head for the small boat and ₹99 for the large boat. 

Things to do in Adventure Park Kollam 

• A play area with swings, trampolines, and small man-made ponds. 
• An open-air gymnasium.
• A roller skating rink.
• Boating through Ashtamudi Lake to enjoy the trees, especially the mangroves, and the scenic backwaters.

First Impressions

The lady at the counter gave me a ticket for ₹24. I checked the other rates too.  I enquired with the security chetan what facilities were available. I was excited to hear that boating facilities are available for affordable rates. I was also happy to see basic facilities, like a bag & helmet storage counter, and toilets, as soon as I entered the park. 

Inside the park, the first thing that we notice is the long flight of stairs. It reminded me of the time I had come here with my sister and her school friends. My sister had a yellow Kodak camera, and we clicked a lot of pics with it on the stairs. 

The Water Tribes

I climbed down the stairs and walked straight towards the dock. 

If James Cameron ever opens up the Avatar world to ordinary people like us, I know which nation I’m joining – the Water Tribes. Water always lures me. It’s as if I’m a merperson walking around in human legs, with a constant yearning for the sea. That shot of Lo’ak and Payakan the Tulkun swimming side-by-side lives rent-free in my head. 

However, I was disappointed to learn that I will have to wait at least till 4pm, until more people come in to use the boat services. As one ride in the boat costs Rs 590-990, which varies based on the boat’s size, it’s always better to do it as a team. Otherwise, without more people to chip in, I’ll have to pay the entire amount. 

Trees

My favorite thing about any park in Kollam is, of course, the trees. But here it was, the combination of trees with the backdrop of the Ashtamudi Lake. Though I didn’t realise it then, the shores of this park also host mangrove trees. 

Play Area 

I noticed the roller skating rink was under repair. Years back, my relatives used it for their trial ‘Save the Date’ photoshoot. It was fun, but we could only take a few photos that day as it got dark soon and it rained too. I still remember how we were all forced to take cover under one large dupatta (a shawl) and run to the car with the shooting props.

Two distinct features of this play area are the open-air gymnasium and the ten Monsoon sculptures. The open-air gym made me feel – “That’s so cool! So, such things are not just present in Korean movies but in my locality too.” The play area also has swings, trampolines, and small man-made ponds. 

The Monsoon Sculptures 

What do I say about the ten Monsoon Sculptures at the Adventure Park? Just like the Asramam Maidan Sculptures, the sculptures here were intriguing and thought-provoking too. Now that I look back, I feel I should have spent more time staring at the statues, trying to decode them. Maybe you and I can do this together here. 

According to Wikipedia, the ten Monsoon sculptures at Adventure Park are  Aryanad Rajendran’s Meditation, V. Satheesan’s Story Teller, Sivan’s Bundle of slogans, Shenlay’s Do not disturb, Saju Mannathur’s She, Guruprasad’s Love without heart and brain, Chavara Vijayan’s Buddha 99, and Biju Bharatan’s Victim. 

People

Other than these unique features, the sights in the park were familiar ones. As usual, stray dogs roamed here and there; a few were howling and fighting at a distance. The park is a safe haven for couples. Many families and friend gangs also visited the park. I love it when elders enjoy places like this. I was also happy to see young girls, probably college students, enjoying the swings on their own. 

After walking around the park, exploring the facilities, staring at the statues, and enjoying the view of the Ashtamudi Lake, I sat on one of the benches, observing all the people in the park. The staff, in their uniform, were cleaning the premises, people laughing and talking, crows cawing in the trees, a few workers drilling something at the boat deck, the flowery plants, and the clean sandy ground that still bore the marks of the broom that cleaned it.

Return Journey 

By 2:45 pm, I left the park. The 30-minute boat ride through the Ashtamudi Lake was tempting. But I didn’t want to wait till 4 in the evening for that. So I walked to the next spot on my list. 

Solo-travelling Vs Guided Groups

The missed boating opportunity made me mentally compare the benefits of solo travel and group tours.

I love solo travelling because 

• I prefer offbeat locations over crowded, touristy places.
• I like traveling at a slow pace. 
• I also enjoy planning and budgeting my trips a lot. 

But group tours have a lot of merits. Of course, the obvious reasons: 

• We create more memories when we visit a place with our gang of friends. 
• We will be safer as a group as we can look out for each other. 
• We can split the bills, so it’s more economical.
• We can help each other take a lot of cool photos. 

No wonder humans are social animals.

I mused about how I can address these issues while travelling solo. Since I travel alone, creating memories and staying safe and happy throughout my trips are my responsibility. Nobody else can help me with that. But equipping myself with a selfie stick can help me take better, wide-angle photos. 

Then what about the budget constraints? Whether it’s a trek through a forest or a boat ride through a lake, it’s always cheaper if you split the rates with a team. One solution is to sign up for guided group tours, where strangers travel together. I’ve done it in the past and enjoyed it.

Or, maybe I should just pull out the contacts of all my old travel buddies and ask them if they’re in for a trip. That way, we can create some crazy, new memories, too. Let me see. 

Author’s Notes

~ All content, including images, on this blog is the intellectual property of the author. © 2025 Lirio Marchito. All rights reserved.

~ This blog is part of a series exploring my travels through my hometown, Kollam, a beautiful district in Kerala, India. You can read more posts from this series here: Kollam | Kerala | India.