Unexpected Twists and Temple Tranquility: A Day in Trivandrum Day 7

Hello friends, how are you all? I hope you're doing well. So, let's begin today's post in which I'll talk about my Kerala diary, specifically day 7. I assume you've all read my day 6 diary, and if not, please do read it as you might find it interesting.

So, after exploring Kanyakumari, the next day we took a train to Trivandrum. Once we boarded the train and reached Trivandrum, we had to check into our hotel. We walked about 800 meters from the station to the hotel, but the location shown was incorrect, which made all the group members quite frustrated since it was midday, and everyone was suffering due to the heat. Somehow, we managed to reach the hotel, but we found out that no room was available for our check-in. We talked to the hotel manager for a while and even complained on the site, but we didn't get a proper solution.

^{At Kovalam Beach}

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So, we booked another nearby hotel and then booked a cab to reach there. But when we arrived, we saw that no rooms were available there either, even though the site showed vacancies and allowed bookings. We complained to that hotel owner as well, and then he suggested a nearby hotel where we called and finally made a booking. We headed there, which was very close to Lulu Mall.

Once we arrived, we quickly freshened up and got ready to go to Varkala Beach. We booked a cab and headed straight to the beach. Before that, we were feeling hungry, so we grabbed some ice cream before the cab arrived. It took about 1 hour to reach Varkala Beach.

^{Enjoying the beauty of Kovlam Beach 🏝️}

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Upon arrival, we found out that due to heavy rains in Kerala, all beaches were on high alert, and no one was allowed near the beach. We were quite disappointed, but we strolled along the side, drank some Coke, visited the lighthouse, and took some great photos.

^{My friend disturb me while taking a single photo 🤣}

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Since we couldn’t spend time at the beach as planned, we decided to head back so we could have a proper visit to Padmanabhaswamy Temple. I quickly booked a cab, and we set off straight to our room. Before that, we were feeling really hungry, so we ordered burgers from McDonald's online. By the time we reached our hotel, our order had already arrived.

We all got out of the cab and went to the hotel. The first thing we did was eat a burger, and then we got some rest. Afterward, I told everyone to get ready as soon as possible to go to the temple because everyone had to wear temple-specific attire—like sarees for the women and dhotis for the men. We got ready, but it seemed to take much longer for the girls to get ready. I got a little annoyed, but what can you do, their makeup just never seems to end. Once everyone was ready, I booked a cab, and we headed to the temple. My cab arrived first, so I took some pictures in front of the temple and admired the beauty outside. When everyone else arrived, we deposited our mobiles and wallets in the cloakroom since they weren't allowed inside the temple.

We entered the temple where there was a security check at the main gate. Once we got inside, we saw that the temple was very old and beautiful. The architecture and designs inside were incredibly stunning, creating a marvelous feeling in the mind. When we entered, we saw a long queue for the darshan of Lord Vishnu, so we quickly joined the line. As the line moved slowly, I thought it would be better to take a couple of rounds (parikrama) around the temple while waiting. After completing two parikramas, the line started moving faster. My travel group was already ahead, so I hurriedly joined them, and together we went inside for the darshan.

^{Beauty of Padmanabhaswamy Temple 🛕}

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After the darshan, we all carefully walked around the temple and experienced the amazing feeling there, which was truly incredible for me. I felt how most temples in the South are built in the Dravidian style, and how everything, from the clothing worn during worship to every other detail, was so different, reflecting the unique culture of India.

^{Night view of Padmanabhaswamy Temple 🛕 is really class}

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After the darshan, we went back to the cloakroom to collect our mobile phones and purses, and then we clicked a lot of pictures of each other.

^{At Lulu Mall Trivendrum}

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After the darshan was completed around 9 PM, we headed back to our room. We were also a bit hungry, so we asked the cab driver where we could find the best food nearby. The cab driver told us that the largest Lulu Mall in India was right near our hotel, and we could go there to order any food, which would be both cheap and of great quality. Without wasting any time, we went to Lulu Mall and ordered ₹3000 worth of food, which included dinner for 200 people.

When my friend and I brought back the dinner after shopping, everyone was very excited to see so much food. Without any delay, we quickly started dinner, and honestly, we all really enjoyed it. Everyone praised the dinner a lot. With this, our journey in Trivandrum concluded with a delicious dinner. So, let's meet again in my next post about the Alappuzha backwater lake. Until then, my warm regards to all of you.