Finally off to Kerala.
I was so looking forward to it, definitely the highlight of my journey also because of the long train ride from Chennai.
A couple of days before, Shree and me organized the train tickets to Thiruvananthapuram. We were lucky again and got ticktes for the express train. Means just one stop during the night.
So off to Chennai Central Station in the early afternoon, the train should leave at 4.20 pm.
I liked the building a lot from the outside. It looks really nice and is always so busy and crowded. The smell is a different thing, like at many public stations. Everywhere is the smell of urin because India lacks of public toilets. But what to do? Hold your breath and try to get through it.
Inside the station I only saw people. They were running around or just sitting everywhere....on a chair or on the ground. But in a good position for the TV screens, if possible.;)
We checked the display panel but our train wasn´t on it yet, since we´ve been there pretty early. But that wasn´t a problem. We just used the time again for shopping some snacks. I was already addicted to milk sweets and also wanted some for this trip. They are just too good in all their variations.
When the train entered the station I was really excited. Finally I got the chance to travel in an Indian train. I wanted to experience something I saw in many indian movies before. Ok, it wasn´t one of the normal blue trains but the A/C express train. Nevertheless I was looking forward to it.
It was funny to see my name on the passenger list which is hanging outside on the trains. And I also saw a platform which was about some kilometers long :) Now I could understand how Kajol was able to run and run to catch the train at the end of DDLJ. ;))
When there is an A/C in India, then be sure it´s set on minus degrees. I don´t know why it is so difficult for them to handle it in a proper way. But I guess Indians don´t know middle temperatures. Either there are 35° c or 0° c. ;)
Nevertheless I enjoyed it to cool down a bit while most people in the train covered themselves with blankets already.
We had tickets for the AC 3-tier which was quite comfortable. My bunk was the one on the top and so I had quite some space in the night. :))
Even the offered food was good, started with a little snack which wasn´t too little for me. Containing a Samosa, a Sandwich and some sweets. For dinner they served chicken curry with rice and I had to hurry a bit to eat it warm, because the A/C cooled it down so fast ;)
Since most of the indian passengers were freezing, the offered ice cream wasn´t very appreciated by them. So the guy was looking at me how I enjoyed my ice cream and offered me another pack in a pushy but funny way. Guess he was happy that he found someone who eats ice cream. :)
The night was ok and I was able to sleep a bit too. We reached Thiruvananthapuram at 6 am next morning and went to look for an auto which could take us to the Hotel we had in mind and also contacted before.
But there they told us that they have no free rooms and so we had to find another one. But that auto wallah said he knew one, took us there and they also had rooms. Perfect. We checked in and while I dozed off Shree had to go back to the station to get our return tickets, cause online no tickets were available.
And again we were lucky to get some for Sunday evening in a normal train, non A/C.
After his return we left the Hotel to find a restaurant for a late breakfast and ended up in the well known "Indian coffee house".
It looked funny because of the round ways inside. The food was good but not excellent.
When we left the restraurant, we found a kind auto wallah who offered us a sightseeing tour for a super price and off we were.
First stop was the Attukal temple which is renowned for the Attukal Ponkala festival in which over a million women participate. Ponkala is very special temple practice in the southern part of Kerala. Who wants to know more about it, read here.
It was the first time that I experienced the atmosphere of a Puja myself and I must admit that I had goosebumps. It was impressive while more and more people gathered together.
Unfortunately it wasn´t allowed to take pictures inside the temple, but I was glad that I was allowed to enter it. So I could only take some clicks outside and even there it wasn´t allowed everywhere.
We left that place after 1 1/2 hours and when I thought I was impressed, I didn´t knew what the next stop would hold for me. It was the Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple and when I got off the auto it took my breath away for a second. A sight to behold:
The temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu and unfortunately only Hindus were allowed to enter it. But nevertheless it was amazing to be there and we took our time to look around.
It is currently said to be one of the richest temples in the world after gold ornaments and jewels said to be worth over 26 billion dollars were discovered in the temples secret chambers vaults in cellars under the temple in 2011.
Infront of the temple is the Puthen Malika Palace also known as Kuthira Malika (Mansion of Horses). It´s a great example of the traditional architecture of Kerala with it´s sloping roofs, overhanging eaves and pillared verandas. A part of it is a museum now but we didn´t enter it, because it was so hot and I needed kind of a break.
The auto wallah took us to the Veli tourist park which is very well designed with ponds and it also offers boating facilities. We took the opportunity make a small boat trip to cool down a bit. The scenery was quite beautiful and so green. I loved it.
It was a must to wear life vests and somehow the boat guy made a big thing out of it to organize a new one for me or at least one which isn´t too dirty since I wore white. I felt awkward and insisted that it´s not necessary but I could have talked to a tree too.. ;)
And so not only me, also the others who were already on the boat had to wait until Madam got a new vest.
We spent around 3 hours there, walking around and taking many pictures. We became very hungry and were eager to have a late lunch.
Again the auto wallah was helpful, he dropped us at a small restaurant with simple but very delicious food. We had typical Kerala food, rice with different gravies and fried fish. It was soooooo tasty but stuffing. At least for me. And I still had problems to eat the rice with my hand only. ;)
Well.. I tried my best and succeeded somehow. But when the guy came to fill up my plate again with rice, I denied. That was too much for me. :D
The day was very long and the heat took it´s toll. I was a bit exhausted and we called it a day. We returned to our hotel to freshen up and relax a bit. When the auto driver was dropping us, we took his mobile number, thinking... maybe we will need him again..
Later in the evening a power cut took place, which is normal in India and so Shree and me decided to go out for a little walk.
It was strange for me to walk in dark streets without any lights. Only now and then there were Hotels or shops which own a generator.
The streets were still full of people and we had to take care where to go, because it was so crowded at the main street.
We ended up at the Indian coffe house again for a small dinner. It was a nice evening and on the way back to the Hotel we bought some water and had an ice cream. :)
Since we were very satisfied with the auto wallah, we decided to hire him again and so we called him in the morning to fix up a meeting point and time.
We left the hotel around 8.30 am and went for breakfast after that we got picked up from the auto driver and it was time for me to see the beach.
The famous Kovalam beach was too far away unfortunately and it would have taken too much time to go there and return again, because our train back to Chennai was in the early evening.
But he took us to another beach close to Thiruvananthapuram and finally my feet were touching the arabian see. :D
Tough it was early in the morning it was already very hot so that the water was nice chilling. The beach was clean for indian standarts and we enjoyed it to walk close to the water.
On the way back to the city we entered Beemapally, a suburb of Thiruvananthapuram. It has a muslim area and the auto driver took us to the beautiful pink Beemapally Mosque. Of course we took some pictures but since there were many people inside we didn´t entered it.
Our last stop in Thiruvananthapuram was the Museum and Zoo of the city. It was a nice park area where families and youngsters came together to spend some time under the trees for picknicks and get togethers.
I was so looking forward to it, definitely the highlight of my journey also because of the long train ride from Chennai.
A couple of days before, Shree and me organized the train tickets to Thiruvananthapuram. We were lucky again and got ticktes for the express train. Means just one stop during the night.
 |
| Chennai Central Station |
So off to Chennai Central Station in the early afternoon, the train should leave at 4.20 pm.
 |
| Inside Chennai Central Station |
Inside the station I only saw people. They were running around or just sitting everywhere....on a chair or on the ground. But in a good position for the TV screens, if possible.;)
We checked the display panel but our train wasn´t on it yet, since we´ve been there pretty early. But that wasn´t a problem. We just used the time again for shopping some snacks. I was already addicted to milk sweets and also wanted some for this trip. They are just too good in all their variations.
 |
| milk sweets |
It was funny to see my name on the passenger list which is hanging outside on the trains. And I also saw a platform which was about some kilometers long :) Now I could understand how Kajol was able to run and run to catch the train at the end of DDLJ. ;))
When there is an A/C in India, then be sure it´s set on minus degrees. I don´t know why it is so difficult for them to handle it in a proper way. But I guess Indians don´t know middle temperatures. Either there are 35° c or 0° c. ;)
Nevertheless I enjoyed it to cool down a bit while most people in the train covered themselves with blankets already.
We had tickets for the AC 3-tier which was quite comfortable. My bunk was the one on the top and so I had quite some space in the night. :))
Even the offered food was good, started with a little snack which wasn´t too little for me. Containing a Samosa, a Sandwich and some sweets. For dinner they served chicken curry with rice and I had to hurry a bit to eat it warm, because the A/C cooled it down so fast ;)
Since most of the indian passengers were freezing, the offered ice cream wasn´t very appreciated by them. So the guy was looking at me how I enjoyed my ice cream and offered me another pack in a pushy but funny way. Guess he was happy that he found someone who eats ice cream. :)
The night was ok and I was able to sleep a bit too. We reached Thiruvananthapuram at 6 am next morning and went to look for an auto which could take us to the Hotel we had in mind and also contacted before.
But there they told us that they have no free rooms and so we had to find another one. But that auto wallah said he knew one, took us there and they also had rooms. Perfect. We checked in and while I dozed off Shree had to go back to the station to get our return tickets, cause online no tickets were available.
And again we were lucky to get some for Sunday evening in a normal train, non A/C.
After his return we left the Hotel to find a restaurant for a late breakfast and ended up in the well known "Indian coffee house".
It looked funny because of the round ways inside. The food was good but not excellent.
When we left the restraurant, we found a kind auto wallah who offered us a sightseeing tour for a super price and off we were.
First stop was the Attukal temple which is renowned for the Attukal Ponkala festival in which over a million women participate. Ponkala is very special temple practice in the southern part of Kerala. Who wants to know more about it, read here.
It was the first time that I experienced the atmosphere of a Puja myself and I must admit that I had goosebumps. It was impressive while more and more people gathered together.
 |
| More and more people coming together for the Puja |
 |
| Entrance |
Unfortunately it wasn´t allowed to take pictures inside the temple, but I was glad that I was allowed to enter it. So I could only take some clicks outside and even there it wasn´t allowed everywhere.
We left that place after 1 1/2 hours and when I thought I was impressed, I didn´t knew what the next stop would hold for me. It was the Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple and when I got off the auto it took my breath away for a second. A sight to behold:
 |
| Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple |
It is currently said to be one of the richest temples in the world after gold ornaments and jewels said to be worth over 26 billion dollars were discovered in the temples secret chambers vaults in cellars under the temple in 2011.
Infront of the temple is the Puthen Malika Palace also known as Kuthira Malika (Mansion of Horses). It´s a great example of the traditional architecture of Kerala with it´s sloping roofs, overhanging eaves and pillared verandas. A part of it is a museum now but we didn´t enter it, because it was so hot and I needed kind of a break.
 |
| Puthen Malika Palace |
The auto wallah took us to the Veli tourist park which is very well designed with ponds and it also offers boating facilities. We took the opportunity make a small boat trip to cool down a bit. The scenery was quite beautiful and so green. I loved it.
It was a must to wear life vests and somehow the boat guy made a big thing out of it to organize a new one for me or at least one which isn´t too dirty since I wore white. I felt awkward and insisted that it´s not necessary but I could have talked to a tree too.. ;)
And so not only me, also the others who were already on the boat had to wait until Madam got a new vest.
 |
| Veli park |
 |
| interesting sculptures ;) |
We spent around 3 hours there, walking around and taking many pictures. We became very hungry and were eager to have a late lunch. Again the auto wallah was helpful, he dropped us at a small restaurant with simple but very delicious food. We had typical Kerala food, rice with different gravies and fried fish. It was soooooo tasty but stuffing. At least for me. And I still had problems to eat the rice with my hand only. ;)
Well.. I tried my best and succeeded somehow. But when the guy came to fill up my plate again with rice, I denied. That was too much for me. :D
The day was very long and the heat took it´s toll. I was a bit exhausted and we called it a day. We returned to our hotel to freshen up and relax a bit. When the auto driver was dropping us, we took his mobile number, thinking... maybe we will need him again..
Later in the evening a power cut took place, which is normal in India and so Shree and me decided to go out for a little walk.
It was strange for me to walk in dark streets without any lights. Only now and then there were Hotels or shops which own a generator.
The streets were still full of people and we had to take care where to go, because it was so crowded at the main street.
We ended up at the Indian coffe house again for a small dinner. It was a nice evening and on the way back to the Hotel we bought some water and had an ice cream. :)
Since we were very satisfied with the auto wallah, we decided to hire him again and so we called him in the morning to fix up a meeting point and time.
We left the hotel around 8.30 am and went for breakfast after that we got picked up from the auto driver and it was time for me to see the beach.
The famous Kovalam beach was too far away unfortunately and it would have taken too much time to go there and return again, because our train back to Chennai was in the early evening.
But he took us to another beach close to Thiruvananthapuram and finally my feet were touching the arabian see. :D
Tough it was early in the morning it was already very hot so that the water was nice chilling. The beach was clean for indian standarts and we enjoyed it to walk close to the water.
On the way back to the city we entered Beemapally, a suburb of Thiruvananthapuram. It has a muslim area and the auto driver took us to the beautiful pink Beemapally Mosque. Of course we took some pictures but since there were many people inside we didn´t entered it.
 |
| our auto driver |
 |
| Napier Museum |
The Napier museum is a landmark of the city because of the unique architectural style. It houses a collection of archaeological and historic artifacts. It wasn´t huge inside and so it didn´t took too much time there to make our round. That´s why we decided to visit the zoo also.
By hindsight it wasn´t our best decision. ;)
The queue was bearable but we had to keep our water bottles outside. Well, I though that´s not a problem... inside there will be a shop where we can buy something. It was so hot that day, at least 35° c and for me it felt like 40° c or something.
We entered the zoo and the sight of it was a bit depressing for me. Of course you can´t compare indian zoo´s with europeans or in my case, with german ones.
But the cages were always a bit too small, too boring, too empty. I pitied the animals a bit though they seemed to be in a good condition.
The heat was at it´s peak and we thought it couldn´t take too long to find a stall for buying water or anything else. Well.. no. Nothing.
So we kept on walking.. and we felt like in a desert. It was so tough and even Shree started to complain that he was exhausted and couldn´t bear the heat anymore. Haha.. now that was fun. I had to push him a little and cheered him up. ;)
At the end we were happy when we left the zoo and the first thing was to get something to drink. A lemon soda first and then at least 2 liters of water.
I didn´t feel good at all, had a slight headache and was physically totally drained.
So we rushed back to the Hotel were I could take some rest. It must have been a slight sunstroke, but after drinking
lot´s of water and a long shower I was back on track. Luckily :)
Our train back to Chennai was scheduled for 5.30 pm and so we checked out of the Hotel and left around 4 pm. This time it was a normal blue train without A/C but since it was a night journey, it was still pleasent. As usual we bought some food and snacks at the station and then it was time to wave goodbye to Kerala.
But I left it with a happy smile, because it sent me off with a beautiful sunset. :)
Here are some train impressions:
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