A trip to the tip of India

Cliff beach at Varkala, Kerala

Our recent visit to India was centered around a cousin's wedding and there was not much time to plan anything else. As a quick family outing, we went to Varkala, a coastal town an hour away from our home in Kerala. It has one of the few beaches in Kerala with a cliff. Watching the sunset from the cliff brought back memories of family trips to Kanyakumari, a town at the southern tip of India. My mother-in-law mentioned the rare sight of seeing sunset and moonrise above water from this beautiful place. This can be seen if you visit on ChaithraPoornima, a full moon day in April .

Family outing to Varkala

While returning from Varkala, we just checked with the taxi driver whether he has done any Kanyakumari trips. He presented us the typical itinerary: watching sunrise and sunset, visiting Vivekananda rock in Kanyakumari, along with a stop at Padmanabhapuram palace which was on the way. Knowing our religious inclination, he also added visits to Kanyakumari and Suchindram Hindu temples. Having viewed a sunset the previous day at Kollam beach, and that day at Varkala cliff, my husband and his brother thought it may be interesting to watch a sunset from Kanyakumari the following day.

Sunset at Kollam on first day followed by sunset at Varkala the next day

By 9:00 am the following morning, seven of us were ready and all set for the trip. My in-laws opted out of this hurried road trip. Due to some delays in getting the right taxi, it was almost 10:30 am when we started from Kollam. We passed Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala, and stopped at a small restaurant in the outskirts for a quick lunch. Though the trip distance was only around 150 kilometres, the traffic and congestion in the numerous small towns along the way was making it a long drive. The kids did not complain as they were busy playing numerous fun games with their aunt and cousin. As we drove farther south, the Western Ghats or Sahyadri mountain ranges became visible from the road. The drive was quite scenic as we passed many coconut and plantain groves with the mountains as their backdrop.

Coconut and plantain groves with mountain backdrop on the way to Kanyakumari

It was past 4:00 pm when we reached Hotel SeaView, where we had booked rooms based on a friend's recommendation. The hotel could not have had a better name. From the eastern windows of our top-floor room, all we could see was the sea! A beach with fishing boats and the ferry dock seemed quite close from the balcony. The Vivekananda rock and the statue of Thiruvalluvar stood tall amidst the waves.

View of Vivekananda rock and Thiruvalluvar statue

Without wasting any time, we freshened up and hurried to Kanyakumari Devi temple, a short walking distance from the hotel. The temple visit was interesting and described in this post Kanyakumari - Temples and Legends. From there, we headed out to sunset point, passing Gandhi Mandapam, a memorial built for Mahatma Gandhi. We were in a rush to catch the setting sun and did not have time to go inside  the memorial. The warm glow of the setting sun welcomed us to the western side of town. As it was a bit cloudy, we could not see a perfect sunset. Nevertheless, we enjoyed the soothing light and the colorful skies that appear in that magical time between brightness and darkness.

And on the third day, a sunset in Kanyakumari

The air was much cooler as we walked back to the van to head to Suchindram temple. By the time we got back to the hotel, we were all famished. None of us had eaten anything after the not-so-good lunch. Surprisingly, the best part of the trip was waiting for us - Butter Paneer Masala! This cottage cheese dish was the current favorite with the kids and they order it at any place where they see it on the menu. Though the rest of us were bored by it, the dish served in the restaurant at Hotel SeaView was delicious. After dinner, we were recharged and ready for a stroll. As the streets were being washed and cleaned, we headed back to catch some sleep, making sure to set alarms to wake up in time for the sunrise.

Sunrise at Kanyakumari

Next morning, I fumbled in the dark room trying to find the alarm which was playing a song in the loudest volume. It took me a while to realize the sound was coming from outside. The loudspeakers blaring outside from the surrounding religious places would wake up anyone new to the place. We need not have wasted time trying to set the alarms. There was still more time to the sunrise but it was interesting to look out the window. People were walking to the seashore, a lot of faces were staring from other windows and big crowds were piling onto building tops.  No wonder some guide books phrase this as "India's Ultimate Sunrise Gathering".
 
The clouds cleared up just enough to show us the beautiful rising sun. It may not have been the most spectacular sunrise. However, for a person who has not seen any, it was indeed a beautiful sight. And it was quite special as it happened to be my birthday that day !

Watching a new day arrive on birthday!

"M.L. Vivekananda" ferry to Vivekananda rock

The hotel offered a nice buffet breakfast. Through the restaurant windows, we could see a big line outside the hotel gates. This was the queue for the ferry to the Vivekananda rock memorial. Thankfully, the hotel offered ferry tickets and we did not have to wait in the long line. That day, the tides were low and trips to the Thiruvalluvar statue were cancelled. This statue of a famous South Indian poet seemed to be a new addition in this area. I had not seen it during my previous visits to the place, more than two decades ago.

Wearing bright orange life jackets, the kids enjoyed the short bouncy ferry ride through the waves.

A ferry ride

Vivekananda Memorial on the rock

When we got off, we had to leave our footwear outside before heading into the memorial. The ground was already heating up but the white painted lines made it quite okay to walk back and forth. I thought about Swami Vivekananda who had spent three days meditating on this rock before heading to attend the conference in Chicago to introduce the concepts of Hindu religion and philosophies to the rest of the world. He is known as the person who made Hinduism a world religion. Many times, I feel the statement is misleading. It was not about promoting a religion but about his realization that the whole world can benefit if different cultures learned from and shared with each other. The West, which had material comforts and infrastructure, was lacking the peaceful bliss, which the East had owing to their spirituality and simpler lifestyles. Years later, we are in the global world where the differences between East and West are thinning out. Did we learn the right things from each other? I wondered as we strolled around the memorial.

The views were fabulous as we could see the three water bodies that surround the southern tip of India. To the west, the waters of the Arabian sea looked quite blue compared to the waters of Indian ocean to the south and Bay of Bengal to the east.

Bay Of Bengal                       Indian Ocean                     Arabian Sea

We sat for a while enjoying the cool sea breeze, and visited the small temple on the rock before heading back. 

Fun times!

As we headed back, we could see Kanyakumari Devi temple, Gandhi Memorial Mandapam and  the beach at the southern-most point of mainland India. We skipped visiting the beach as we didn't have much time. A lot of people actually visit here for a holy dip in the place where the three water bodies meet.

View of Kanyakumari Devi temple and Gandhi Memorial Mandapam

 

View of Hotel SeaView from the beach

It was almost lunch time. We thought of having lunch from the same restaurant and whiled away some time along the crowded streets lined with shops selling souvenirs, jewellery and shell crafts. We did some quick shopping before heading in. The "Thali" (Indian lunch served on a big plate) was quite good. But the kids ordered their favorite Butter Paneer Masala again! After the sumptuous lunch, we quickly packed up and checked out of the hotel, allowing us enough time to visit Padmanabhapuram palace on our way back. Check out YOU HAVE TO VISIT this palace! if you like to get more details of the palace tour.

When we finally got back to Austin, my husband's colleagues were interested to know about the places we had visited in India. They were quite fascinated to hear about the trip to the tip of India, the place where an ocean and two seas meet. One of them commented it must be like a resort town. Well, how can one explain? This place has religious as well other significance to the nation. It is one of the popular tourist locations attracting hundreds of visitors every day. Though it is nowhere close to being classified as a resort, the location transcends everything else. Surrounded by water that stretches to infinity, the crowds and noises fade away making this a unique place to visit.