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| Kovalam Beach |
I took a quick flight from Bangalore to Trivandrum. Man
did it feel good to be in an airport – a/c, clean bathrooms, free wifi! As soon
I as I landed in TRV I hopped in a rickshaw checked into a beachside hotel in
Kovalam and jumped into Ami’s embrace. Not exactly, but it was so wonderful to
see a familiar face after travelling solo for a few weeks. We had lunch and
parted ways while Ami studied for her YTT final.
Kovalam is a slow paced, relaxing beachside town with
decent hotels, lots of shops and tasty restaurants. Kovalam is in the state of
Kerala. I love Kerala. Everybody in Kerala is warm, happy and has a beautiful
smile plastered on their face. Kerala is known to be the most educated and
healthiest state in India. It’s lush, green and abundant in natural resources.
I had no problem indulging in this abundance. From fresh fruit plates, to coconut
water, sugar cane juice and daily caught fish. Yum Yum.
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| The sweet fruit lady. |
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| I miss this already. |
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| This man cracked me up, he helped get me a sweet deal on that drum and then I ended up buying a scarf from him for kicks. Such a lovely afternoon. |
Luckily I happened to be visiting during low season as
well, which meant a spacious king bed room facing the ocean for just $8 a
night. One tip – if you want a beach to yourself, walk up the hill on the
lighthouse side of the beach and then to the right a bit. You’ll discover your
own little nook of beach without anybody selling anything. Pure relaxation.
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| Sunset from the German Bakery over Kovalam Beach. |
Before heading to Kanyakumari, Ami and I met up at Indian
Coffee House in Trivandrum for breakfast. What a neat spiraling building! Not
to mention 50 cent omelets. I’d recommend stopping by if you’re in the area.
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| Our first of many bus rides together! I love this picture. |
We headed to the very tip of India, Kanyakumari, in Tamil
Nadu where 3 oceans meet – Indian Ocean (South), Arabian Sea (West), Bay of
Bengal (East). This is a quote that Mahatma Gandhi wrote while in Kanyakumari:
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| Shrine of our Lady Ransom |
“I am writing this at the cape, in front of the sea,
where three waters meet and furnish a sight unequalled in the world. For this
is no port of call for vessels, like the goddess, the waters around are
virgin.” – M. Gandhi Jan. 15th 1937
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| Mahatma Ghandi's Memorial where the 3 seas meet. |
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I know it is difficult to tell, but here is the point where all 3 seas meet.
Beyond the ability to watch the sunrise and sunset from
the same beach, there is nothing else to see or do in Kanyakumari. Unless it’s
on your way to your next destination I’d recommend skipping it. Ami and I made
the best of it by wandering through the town, crashing in an air conditioned
hotel lobby and discovering our passion for Kerala parotta (also written as
paratha in the north) while eating street food.
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| The sunrise was quite a spectacle. There were 100's of people watching it. |
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| Kutu Parotta - similar to Huevos Rancheros minus the beans |
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| KERALA PAROTTA mm mm |
