Kanyakumari redux

What can I say, I had been to this place last year, but I just had to go see it again. So I boarded the express at 5:40 in the evening and was at Kanyakumari at 7 next morning. I knew just where I was headed, the same hotel I had boarded at last time, only this time I was staying alone, but they don’t have any single rooms, so took a double room at 500 per night. Took a shower, a quick sandwich and set out. Unlike the last time when it was raining, this time there were no clouds in the sky, ergo, the cap and sunscreen were on. The Vivekananda rock memorial ferry line seemed a mile long, and I had to wait for almost 45 minutes before it was my turn to board the ferry.

The ferry takes a nice 10 minutes to get you to the rock memorial about 300 meters into the sea. The nice sea breeze, and the small ferry (carrying about 60-70 people I guess) jumping up and down on the waves, all makes for a nice waterborne trip. I’m afraid of water and don’t know how to swim, so anything which keeps my journey on water to within lifeguard distance from shore, I enjoy. But here I do have to mention one important point, there were absolutely no good looking females on my ferry, none, zilch, and to rub salt to wound, I saw a whole group of young girls boarding the ferry when I returned back to shore. There really is no justice in this world.

Anyway, the memorial has a couple of temples erected now, its like a big rock in the sea which has a couple of structures on it. Obviously I did not study which deities are inside, but I did sit for a good 20 minutes inside a nice meditation room that they have there. It’s a dark room with the Om sign in front, and obviously you have to keep quiet. The afternoon heat was a bit too much to handle, so I clicked snaps from whatever shade I could find, but eventually I would end up standing next to the railings at the edge of the rock memorial. You get the best view, just nothing but empty sea in front and the breeze trying to knock you, well, at least your cap over. From here you can just about see the entire KK shoreline, I could see the stony piers, the church at the end of it, the shore temple and the old lighthouse beyond the bend. I sat here and enjoyed the view for a very long time, then took the ferry to the Thiruvallur statue next door (about 30 meters away). The giant statue again looks majestic standing out into the sea, staring back at the Indian landmass.

The last time the statue was closed for renovation, but this time it was open, so I climbed up the inner steps to the feet of the statue, that’s till where you’re allowed to go. But even this height matches the top of the rock memorial, so it really is quite something. Had a quick meal after returning, and then ventured out into the evening, I wanted to hit the old lighthouse. Believe it or not, this became my favorite spot in KK, and I visited this place once more the next morning. Its nothing great, situated about 200 meters from the shore temple, the about 7-8 storey high lighthouse is not in use anymore. It’s a place rarely any tourist frequents, so it’s a great place to be alone and just take in the beauty around you. You can get an entry ticket for just 3 Rs, and then hike up the winding stairway (not steps, a gradient) with the wind rushing in from all sides. From the top you can look down on the waves breaking on the rocky beach, the memorial and statue in the distance, as well as the beautiful greenish tinge of the sea in front of you. I played with the wind, and let it play with my tee for some time before heading down. In another hour it would be getting dark, so I headed towards my other favorite destination here, the end of the stony pier.

Now, there are a few stony piers farther away as well, but this one is closest to the town , and well, again, has almost noone on it. So I cross the ferry booking gate, and walked through the local fishermen houses next to the sea to get to the pier. Its about 400-500 meter long, jutting out into the sea, bending slightly mid-way. It’s a little tricky because it get splashed with some waves, not very big ones though, and the closely arranged big rocks can get a bit slippery. I did see a couple walking back, but for the rest of the 1.5 hour I was there, I met noone else. I walked down to the very end of the pier and looked back at the beautiful town, with the sun almost down behind it. Before I could decide to turn around and sit down, a wave splashed in to the rocks behind me, and sprinkled a generous dose on my backside as well. I decided that this was where I wanted to sit, so for the next 40 minutes I sat enjoying the place, with the waves splattering me with water, as if giving me company.

The next morning I got up at 5 am as I wanted to see the sunrise, the waiter came to wake me up at 5:30, and I had to reluctantly tip him 20 bucks. I spent the first 30 minutes on the hotel roof, where I could see the dark sky still very much there. I then decided that the shore temple would be a much better place to witness the sunrise, and what do you know, there are already almost 150-200 people on the shore. I joined the horde with my camera in hand, ready to click the moment the sun came out, which happened after 20 minutes. It’s a sight completely breathtaking, you see the sun rise out from behind the rock memorial and Thiruvallur staute, the silhouettes making it even more amazing. After I had visited the old lighthouse again, I headed back to the hotel.

I enquired about the bus to Vattakottai, as there was the fort I wanted to see, and the owner told me that he could arrange a cab and guide for a nice sum, but I decided to take the bus instead. Caught the bus at the bus stand very close to the hotel and after a 25 minute ride for the 10 km or so, I got down at Vattakottai. I confirmed the stand thrice from my fellow passengers as I was the only one getting down, and the bus stand is simply a small crossroad made up of small tea shops and general stores. Nothing here says bus stand. So I asked around for the fort, and set out on one of these roads. Turned out to be about 2-3 km to the shore and the fort, and it was blazing hot. The fort was almost like what I had read and seen on the net, a small rectangular wall, with the four corners having small elevated grounds, and a pond in the middle. Nothing else, but a few store houses, and a few workers working on renovation. I rested in the shade of neem trees at one of the corners and clicked snaps from there. I asked the caretaker of the fort on how to get to the beach on the right side of the fort, and he told me to walk around the fort next to the sea. I thought he was out of his mind, as I had not seen any route between the fort and the sea. I still decided t check it out, and on the left side I passed through the bushes for 60-70 meters, before I came to a path made up of big rocks next to the fort. Its about 10-12 feet wide on the outside, so was easy to cross over on to the other side, where the beach is quite serene and, again deserted. I guess noone makes it an effort to see this fort out of town, or the rocky beach on a sunny afternoon. I wanted to walk on the beach down to the settlements about a km or so away and the rocks over there, but a few more steps in the sun and sand and I was tired and dehydrated already. The only day that I venture out without water and there’s none to find in this deserted place. I walk back to the fort gate where there is a small water tanker, I don’t drink, rather I doused my head to keep it cool. Thankfully I find a shop on the route back, and its open, and serves maaza and cold water, heaven be praised. The dear shop lady even offered me a chair and switched on the fan, now that’s hospitality! In the 3 hours that I spent in the fort area, I saw just one jeep come with a coupe of people who left within 10 minutes, but if the weather had been nicer I would have spent some more time here. Even the hills on the other side of the road seemed quite alluring, but I had an evening train, and I got my rear back in the gear. Not surprisingly, I got a bus only after waiting for 20 minutes in the sun, but that still did not take away the high that this trip had put me on. If you want to go there, let me know, I’m game for a third time as well!