Location: 8.3 degrees north latitude, 77.2 degrees east longitude Elevation: sea level
"God's Own Country" seems to be the official slogan of Kerala. I suspect that it was coined by the Kerala tourism board just a few years back, but let's pretend that the natives have had this saying for hundreds if not thousands of years. It's much more magical that way. But no matter what or when the origin of the slogan, it is richly deserved in this little slice of tropical paradise. The Kerala coast may only be a 1.5 hour flight due south from Bangalore, but it definitely feels a world apart.
The Arrival
Here is our mode of transportation from Bangalore to Trivandrum, the Kerala state capital. I suspect that I have a few more turboprop airplane rides in my near future. But as long as it gets me from point A to point B, without incident mind you, I cannot and will not complain.
I am certain that the Tivandrum airport is the smallest airport into which I've ever flown. It has just a single runway, and the pilot actually did a u-turn on the runway to get back to the terminal (the word "terminal" is being used very loosely here).
The Leela
The weather could not have been better. Technically it is still monsoon season over here, albeit very close to the end, so there was a chance that it was going to rain for three days. It did not: nothing but warm sunshine and a light ocean breeze. A little humidity to be sure, but nothing to cause any discomfort.
The grounds of the Leela Hotel are lush, with lots and lots and lots of palm trees. I have a hunch that they are native to this region of the world. But that's just a hunch. I have no facts to back up that claim.
This is the view from my beachside bungalow.
You can't call yourself a decent hotel these days if you don't have a life-size chess board set amidst a manicured garden on a bluff overlooking the ocean. I guess the Leela Kempinski Kovalam Beach Hotel qualifies. . .
The hotel beach on the north side of the little peninsula. Those are the beach bungalows set amidst the palm trees. Mine is/was the one pretty much in the center of frame. No. . .not that one. . .the one just to the left of that one.
The beaches are public land here in India, so the Leela beach doubled as the local fishermen's headquarters as well, although they were kind enough (or maybe waved and whistled at by security enough) to leave part of the beach solely for us hotel guests.
Two feet in the Arabian Sea/Indian Ocean. My two feet!
The water was tropically warm. I will guess the water temperature was right around 75 degrees Farenheit (24 degrees Celsius). Probably a little cooler than Hawaii, but definitely a lot warmer than the Pacific Ocean back home in Hermosa Beach. I went swimming all three days, a couple of days more than once.I love the ocean. It's one of the things I miss the most living in Bangalore.
You're traveling through another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind; a journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. That's the signpost up ahead — your next stop. . .
With a tip of the hat to Rod Serling, those words (or at least the few I could actually remember) popped into my head the moment I saw this signpost on the hotel grounds. It was one of those "I'm seriously far from home" moments. But also a moment to be grateful that I have the chance to visit a part of the world such as this. I wish everyone could.The end of another perfect day at the Leela Kempinski Kovalam Beach Hotel, Kerala, India.
Kovalam
We wandered around a small tourist village in a little cove just south of the Leela for a couple of hours on Monday. The village itself felt a little tired and neglected, possibly because the real high season was yet to begin.
If you ever find yourself in Kovalam, I heartily recommend the Coconut Grove restaurant, both for the fresh seafood. . .
and the view. . .
After lunch it was on to the Kovalam lighthouse.
144 steps and a 14-rung ladder later. . .
(with a quick stop about half way up to snap the quintessential lighthouse photo. . .)
The top of the lighthouse with the always-spectacular views. This photo looks north and shows the little coastal village from whence we came.
These two photos show the view to the south, with the second a closer-up view of the temples out on that little finger of rock.
Trivandrum
We had just an hour or so left before having to be at the aiport so we toured Trivandrum.
The Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple is the heart of Trivandrum. The main entrance is the seven-tier gopuram (gateway tower) shown here. The temple is open only to Hindus, so this was the only view we could get. Granted we wouldn't have been able to take photos inside the temple anyway. However, according to my Lonely Planet India guidebook, the inner sanctum has a sculpture of the deity Padmanabha reclining ona sacred serpent and is made from 10,000 sacred stones (salagramam) that were reportedly transported from Nepal by elephant. It's definitely one of those "I wish we could have seen that" types of things.
A street corner temple.
and finally. . .just in case you ladies were wondering about the latest fall fashions in Kerala.
It was a very quick but very worthwhile three days, and that's without mention of our Sunday trip down to Kanyakumari, the very southern tip of the continent. But do not fret, I have it on good authority that our adventures at "Land's End" will be the subject of the next blog entry. Please stay tuned. . .
1 comment:
Leela kovalam is very beautiful coz it has the best beach in Kerala. Luxury Spa, resort are the specialty of Leela kerala hotel, just check photos of kerala hotel.
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