Kerala, God’s Own Country – 7

Date: Oct 14, 2014

Walking along the beach in the morning was an experience that can not be forgotten. The ocean waves and the sand was providing comfort to the feet. The last day of the tour had come. Simultaneously, this is  the last blog of the series.

According to the itinerary,our next and last stop, before going back, was Kanyakumari. But there was a catch in the situation, our return flight was from Kochi instead of Trivandrum. From my experience I can suggest that do not add Kovalam in your tour if you have short duration and your return flight is from Kochi instead of Trivandrum. You ended up spending maximum time in travel. It is advisable either make a long tour of ten days else two small separate tours, one for Kovalam and Kanyakumari and another for Munnar and rest of the places.

Well, we tried to book flight from Trivandrum but no success. So, we cancelled the plan of Kanyakumari. Instead, we made plan to visit Padmanabhaswamy or Padmanabha Temple to cover up the lost opportunity. The temple was a very old Lord Vishnu temple. The temple was recently in news because of the huge amount of gold found in it’s vault. We checked out from the hotel at 9 am, so that we could have sufficient amount of time available to visit the temple as the closing time was 11 am in the morning. The Padmanabhaswamy temple is located in the center of Trivandrum, the capital of Kerala. Rather unusual for Kerala the temple was built in the Dravidian style, mostly associated with the temples located in the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu, featuring high walls and a 16th-century Gopuram. The temple is a replica of the Adikesava Perumal temple located in Kanyakumari.

In line with the Temple Entry Proclamation, only those who profess the Hindu faith are permitted entry to the temple. Devotees have to strictly follow the dress code,  men should wear only dhoti and women should wear saree. In case you do not have dhoti, you can buy it from the shop setup outside of the temple. You should ensure that you have 2-3 hours available to visit the temple.

In Kerala, one must not miss the opportunity of getting massage. There are various options available, but most of them works only on completion of the full course. A single session would not much helpful. The massage which is advisable was Thailadhara which helped in curing the problems like sinus and headache. Thailadhara is a continuous showering and massaging process of the whole body with warm medicated oil. It is a form of Shirodhara massage. Another good option is full body massage.

We headed back to Kochi airport after visiting the temple. I was feeling contented and refreshed after spending these days in God’s Own Country. Hope, someday I will be back again.