When my cousin decided to get married at Thiruvanthapuram (also called Trivandrum – capital of Kerala), we took the opportunity to have a family outing to Kanyakumari – the southern tip of India – since it was only a couple of hours drive from there. Since all of us in the family have a love for driving, and each one vying for the steering wheel; we decided to drive down. Kanyakumari is the point where Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal come together providing a excellent place for viewing sunrise and sunset.
We started in the early hours of dawn from Kochi to beat the scorching sun and the heavy traffic. The drive was very smooth as the roads were well maintained. We zipped through the highway. Since we were on a tight itinerary we could not marvel at many of the places on the way. But that did not prevent us from taking occasional breaks to enjoy the picturesque backwaters.
As we proceeded further south, the style of the landscapes changed. What was filled with backwaters and coconut trees now paved way for mountains and lakes.
After a six hour drive, we finally reached Kanyakumari for lunch. We had had late breakfast on the way at Kollam. After resting a bit, we made our way to the beach to visit the Thiruvallavur statue (133 feet status of the Tamil saint-poet) and the Vivekanda rock. A small ferry had to be taken for this. And the 5 minute journey in the rough waters was very exciting as the boat swayed from one side to another. Gandhi Mandapam is also situated near the beach.
We spend some quality family time at the beach watching the sun go down.
Next day morning we rose early to have a view of the sunrise from the hotel. Though it was bit foggy, it was nice watching the waters getting slowly lit in the morning. The fishermen taking the boats into the waters, Tamil sermons from the local church all entertained us as we stood at the roof of the hotel.
As we proceeded further south, the style of the landscapes changed. What was filled with backwaters and coconut trees now paved way for mountains and lakes.
After a six hour drive, we finally reached Kanyakumari for lunch. We had had late breakfast on the way at Kollam. After resting a bit, we made our way to the beach to visit the Thiruvallavur statue (133 feet status of the Tamil saint-poet) and the Vivekanda rock. A small ferry had to be taken for this. And the 5 minute journey in the rough waters was very exciting as the boat swayed from one side to another. Gandhi Mandapam is also situated near the beach.
We spend some quality family time at the beach watching the sun go down.
Next day morning we rose early to have a view of the sunrise from the hotel. Though it was bit foggy, it was nice watching the waters getting slowly lit in the morning. The fishermen taking the boats into the waters, Tamil sermons from the local church all entertained us as we stood at the roof of the hotel.
Then we got ready for the wedding (the actual reason why we were there), and drove down to Thiruvanthapuram to attend the function.
© Bindia George., all rights reserved.
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