We left Madurai at 9 am and arrived in Kenyakumari , the southernmost tip of India at 2pm.we found a hotel right by the sea. It had an amazing view out from the balcony. We were going to check in a holiday resort, but I insisted we check out a few options listed in LP before we settle . It was a good decision, we found the best hotel looking out to the ocean with a good rate.
We had a delicious lunch at the hotel, I had fish curry it was so yummy and a whole lot better than the meals we had on this trip. I was feeling in much better spirit after had some good food. There were two German tourists sitting next to us and it was really cool to hear Sita conversing with them in German. I think those two German tourists were surprised a lady dresses in traditional sari can speak their lauguage with such elegance and fluency, I was really proud . After lunch we took the ferry to see this memorial, which name I can’t recall. It’s on a little island where this Tamil poet meditaed on a rock. He is also a spiritual teacher and enlightened lots of people. I need to find his famous speech in Chicago to understand the significance of this place.
(Later on I found out from Wikipedia : The Thiruvalluvar Statue is a 133 feet (40.6 m) tall stone sculpture of the Tamil poet and saint Tiruvalluvar, author of the Thirukkural. It was opened on January 1, 2000 (Millennium) and is located atop a small island near the town of Kanyakumari, where two seas and an ocean meet; the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea, and the Indian Ocean . source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thiruvalluvar_Statue )
The ferry ride was less than 5 mins we all had to wear this orange life jacket. I asked people to take picture of me at the memorial place, the common problem is that most people can capture me but not the surroundings, so many pictures with me in it could end up being taken in my backyard. Surprisingly our driver take some good pictures, one of few best shots of me were taken by him.
When I was walking around alone at the memorial (as it happens I always walk a lot faster than my travel companions and ended up on my own) I was also asked by a group of 10 guys to join them for a picture, they were friendly and harmless . The thing is when I’m at a spiritual place, I think people I met there are with good intention. I’m always on guard when I’m alone, but when at temples etc, most people will act kindly towards one another. You just got to follow your intuition.
We watched a beautiful sunset at the tip of the most southern point of India. It was a beach packed with tourists and families. The problem is that the place stank, soon I realized there are poos in the rocks where I had my sunset photo taken. It was quite disgusting and once again proved the saying that India is never as good or bad as it seems. You just have to laugh at the situation and accept it is what it is. Nevertheless it was very special to end the day at the place where three oceans meet, the Arabian sea, Indian ocean and the West Bengal.
After the sunset Neeraja and Sita went to the Devi Kanya Kumari temple , I had dinner alone and rested in the hotel. I went out got some masala chai and chatted with a couple from Europe. They have been to Kerala and confirmed my decision was right about not staying overnight on the houseboat. It was crowded and full of other tourists on the boat. Kerala is my next stop. My feeling towards Kerala is half half. One side I really look forward to it and think it might be the highlight of my trip, on the other end it’s the most expensive part of the trip if it didn’t turn out well, I will be quite disappointed. Anyway no need to speculate, nothing is in my control. Try to enjoy and take India as it comes.
The next morning three of us woke up at 5am sit on the balcony and waiting for the sun to rise from the horizon. I will always cherish and remember that moment, in the early morning hearing the morning prayers and chants coming from the catholic church and the temples …
LIYANG'S THOUGHTS 