… you’re in Kanyakumari, the southest point on the Indian territory.

We travel to Kanyakumari on a sunny morning with a small bus together with some 3-4 Indian families. On the 3 hours trip we stop at the Padmanabhapuram Palace and the Temple of Suchindram. In the first place we immediately learn about the particularity of being an “international tourist”. Already at the entrance we’re not supposed to get in line with the other Indians to buy the entrance tickets for 25 Rs, we’re told to enter a room in the back of a house instead, where a lady is asking us to pay 200 Rs, the price they charge the internationals for entry. A little disappointed about this, we get rid of our shoes and enter the palace. Among many things we learned about a Croatian king who once ruled here and brought the Christianity to the region. This explains also the high number of trucks we saw on the street with blessings on their front schield.

Once arrived in Kanyakumari (I like to write this word again and again, since I found a way to remember it: Kenya cu mare, which in Romanian would mean Kenya with sea), we learn that people are very believing. We take a ship to the Vivekananda Memorial, about 500 m out in the Indian Ocean, the place where Mahatma Gandhi’s ash was spread. The temple is quite small, but very clean and visited by many people. Due to the high number of tourists and pilgrims, it feels quite hectic and disturbing and again people come to take photos of us and with us. The Kumari-Amman-Temple is located in the city of Kanyakumari, exactly at the point in the very south. We do not enter because visiting two temples that day was enough, but we learn that it is meant for Hindus only. The cleaning rituals, which we observe from the View Tower, are another tourist attraction.

Also Kanyakumari is famous for the beautiful sunrises and sunsets. Therefore we are eager to watch the sunset and the moonrise at the same time, as it is described in many books and guides. Unfortunately it seems that we are not very lucky with the weather, since the clouds that cover the whole sky ruined the view of the beautiful sunset. It is unfair to come once in a life time to this place and don’t have the chance to enjoy this one special natural phenomenon.

Our book guide writes about Kanyakumari as being a city where magic easily can be disturbed by the touristic spirit it got in the past years. Well, we think it is true, but we still think that it will remain one of the most memorable places of our trip.

Photos on … you know where