Photo Journey from God's own country || Kerala/Tamilnadu Travelogue-series by Tanya Chaudhary (Part 7 - Poovar & Trivendrum)

The Journey continued to be more exciting after exploring Kochi, Munnar, Thekkady, Kumarkom, Kovalam and Kanyakumari. Next up was Trivendrum, but before that I had to stop by the Poovar beach. Poovar is a small village in the Southern tip of Trivendrum. This Photo Journey shares my experiences from last day of this trip and also want to conclude the series with this Photo Journey. 

To reach the Golden Sand Beach or the Poovar beach, I took a jetty ride. I witnessed mangroves, floating restaurants, varieties of birds and biodiversity. The Golden Sand Beach is a remarkable sight where the Neyyar River, Poovar Lake and the Arabian Sea converge at the estuary. 

The beach is pristine with golden sand with no or less people. Solitude’s comfort, you see! Fisherman waiting to trap the fishes in their giant nets at one corner and eagles and crows waiting for the fishes to be their fodder. Nature, oh nature, vicious circle, it is!

After spending two hours at Poovar, I headed for the capital city of Kerala. First up to visit was the key icon of the city, Padmanabhaswamy Temple. It is one of the oldest temples in India. However, I couldn’t visit it from inside since it is open for like only two hours in a day. Incidentally, it is the same temple that was in the news after discovering huge treasures in its cellars of approximately Rs. 1.2 Trillion, which makes it the richest temple in the world (hence a lot of security, police, commandos and timings).Just along the temple is the Puthen Palace, constructed by famous musician King – Swati Thirunal. Just how intensely the guide was explaining the palace, the mandapas and the music and dance extravaganza, I felt a little like Avni from the film – Bhool Bhulaiya, ready to don the façade of Manjulika!! Ha-ha. Kidding. Or Am I?

My flight was at 8 PM and it was 5 already, I just needed a quick bite and in no way I could miss the Indian Coffee House at Thampanoor. The unique spiral building served me the best filter coffee ever!

And with that I bid God’s own country a farewell with some new discoveries about myself!

Today is the time to conclude and here are 15 things I learnt from this trip -

1. To let go.

2. To feel the wind and nurture nature.

3. That in order to move on, one must understand why you felt what you did and why you no longer need to feel it.

4. Sometimes blessings come in disguise.

5. Sometimes strangers are more benevolent.

6. To live life instead of surviving it.

7. That I cannot change the decisions I have made, but I can learn to live with them.

8. Clarity comes in the least expected of places.

9. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.

10. That smile is a universal language.

11. Change is constant. Nothing goes as planned. Enjoy it!

12. Step into the unknown and you’ll be rewarded.

13. Value little things.

14. To be a better person.

15. And finally to travel more and know more of me!