I had a couple of days in Thiruvananthapurum (aka Trivandrum) before meeting Cath and Helene.
When I think of Thiruvananthapurum, I wonder if it’s twinned with that Welsh town with a very very long name.
For my first full day, I headed to Sree Padmanabhhaswamy Temple. If you tell taxi drivers you want to go to the temple, they’ll know where you mean.
On my previous trip to India, visitors could go in temples. I don’t know if this is a change or just specific to Kerala. You had to be a Hindu and wear the appropriate clothing to go in this temple.
There were shops capitalising on this by charging people to use a room to change their clothes. They charged another fee for looking after their clothes!
A reviewer had said to head for the temple’s east entrance for the best photos. You couldn’t see the whole temple from the other entrances.
I played cat and mouse with the security guards as I tried to take a photo. You have to be outside the temple perimeter to take a photo. Many people weren’t. Since I didn’t have a zoom lens, I tried to take a photo closer to the temple. The first time they told me, “No photos”, I said, “No camera?”. The second time, I said, “Not event mobile?!”
After eventually circumnavigating the temple in search of a better view, I headed to Chalai Market. This was a long, sprawling market. When I went to it, it was far less crowded than the main roads around it!
By the time I’d walked through the market, it was very hot. I headed back to my hotel and swam in the rooftop swimming pool. I’d never swum after sunset but it was good turning my head swimming front crawl and seeing the moon.
Before my swim, I’d contacted my dining friend from yesterday (Sid). I told him that I was eating at the same place, Mothers Veg Plaza. He had already eaten but said he would join me and have tea.
When Sid came, he ended up ordering some food anyway! Again, we talked to closing time. This time, one of the waiters came and talked to us. He showed us photos of himself and his family.