12th March 2014
These first two days of KeralaBlogExpress were run, with visits to resorts ayurvedic treatments (excellent answer to the question “but what has to do in South India?”) And a change of hotel – let the beautiful scenery and boat transfers the Estuary Island in Poovar, for the ultra-comfortable Taj Kovalam .
Kovalam is’ where it all began, “I heard yesterday on the bus. For ‘all’ understand tourist center near the international airport (the Trivandrum) around a beautiful sequence of fine sand and strong waves beaches. Kovalam may have ostentato a backpacker vibe in the past, but the kind of tourism that promotes the resort is now another, with expensive and nababescos resorts like the Leela (who lent us their spacious terrace for an appreciation of the setting of the sun ).
The Taj is well this climate. With spa, wooden chalets and glass in the middle of the native forest, a pool with infinity background, small jacuzzi hidden between trails and a spa full of agradabilíssimos treatments. The restaurant by the sea, for example, is the most well-resenhado among all Kerala restaurants on TripAdvisor. Not to mention that every time I go out of four for something, has a new gift waiting for me in the back – chocolates, fresh fruit, spices kit region.
I know, I know … but before you take a little of that, I had another afternoon of walking around the hot city, noisy, crowded and nervous which is Thiruvananthapuram – the official name of Trivandrum City.
I separated from the group when they were visiting a place I have ever met the Padmanabhapuram Palace , I had ever seen. I stopped for coffee at the Indian Coffee House , old network cafeteria became cooperative and is managed by the employees themselves. It was not a random choice: ICF is a traditional network and the store is just outside the train station has a peculiar architecture .
It is the ideal place for those who want to have a coffee and write quietly, which is exactly what I wanted for my free afternoon. Then the plan changed. I walked to the Chalai Bazaar , old shopping street that ends up in front of the same East Fort where I was a few days ago and where is the temple of Sri Padmanabhaswamy .
spiritual heart of Trivandrum, this temple has an interesting history: it is currently the richest of all India. There are two or three years the four rooms of existing treasures were opened and what’s inside (the royal family ownership of Kerala, called Travancore) is, in principle, incalculable. Are centuries of treasures data in the form of offerings and homage to the gods of the temple and kept by the royal family. That was quite successful, considering that the British did not put your hands in what they say to be three crowded rooms of ancient coins, gold, diamonds, precious stones, statues, silk and the like. There is also a fourth room, closed. According to a legend worthy of Indiana Jones movie, they would be guarded by venomous snakes.
There is a controversy about what should be done with this money – it’s the royal family, so public. One side wants it to be divided into three parts: one for charity, one for maintenance of the temple itself, another is saved. Choose which seems sensible but, like everything else in India, can this decision take many, many years. No hurry – after all, they were already here for five thousand years. Just to illustrate: this temple is so old that has no construction date.
