After breakfast we checked out of the hotel today, to venture further south to Tamilnadu and then Kanyakumari. There we would visit the Palace in which the royal family of India resided, full of history.
There were so many components to the Palace, all centered around the Queen Mother. To describe the experience at the Palace, I am going to post pictures with captions as they serve the most justice.
The name of the Palace was Padmanabhapuram and below are pictures I will use to illustrate different rooms.
This was the room we entered first, after walking up wodden stairs. The room was used a meeting area, to make judicial decisions, and discuss importat issues pertaining to the area.
Here you can see an opening in the floor which was filled with water to keep temperatues cool. It was also used as a method to transcend fresh scents throughout the Palace by placing roses inside as well.
This was the King's bed.
Here note where the women stayed. The windows are designed so that they can see out, but cannot be seen.
These two illustrate a bench for kneeling and small windows in the wall used for women to watch events in the dance hall as they were not allowed to be seen by the public. To the right, you can see the dance hall.
After touring the Palace, many people enjoyed sweet coconut water sipped from a fresh coconut.
We arrived in Kanyakumari with time in the evening to explore, and decided to walk to "the beach." As we walked to the beach, I was able to see an acutal informal settlement. It was similiar to homelessness in the States as these individuals possessed few items and lived on the streets. However, they camped in open, public spaces and they were not displaced (at least not the same day). We also encountered beggars which I hadn't seen before in Kerala. Not only had I not seen them before, but NEVER, even in the States have I seen children beg. It was difficult for me to walk past, and I sense the children could tell because I allowed eye contact.
We make it to the non existent beach which consisted of a small portion of sand filled with fishing boats. However, this trip wasn't completely unsuccessful. Friends and I had seashells engraved! It was actually a neat process. The shells were painted and then dipped in a hydro-chloric acid which made the shell erode, but the surface under the paint remained. Here are two pictures but the final product is a gift and an element of surprise must remain!
There were so many components to the Palace, all centered around the Queen Mother. To describe the experience at the Palace, I am going to post pictures with captions as they serve the most justice.
The name of the Palace was Padmanabhapuram and below are pictures I will use to illustrate different rooms.
This was the room we entered first, after walking up wodden stairs. The room was used a meeting area, to make judicial decisions, and discuss importat issues pertaining to the area.
Here you can see an opening in the floor which was filled with water to keep temperatues cool. It was also used as a method to transcend fresh scents throughout the Palace by placing roses inside as well.
This was the King's bed. 
Here note where the women stayed. The windows are designed so that they can see out, but cannot be seen.
These two pictures were windows on the side of the house that provided ample space for the Royal Family to watch parades and activities on the street. Note the size difference of the one to the right, as that was the King's space. The photo below is a view of the streets today.
These two illustrate a bench for kneeling and small windows in the wall used for women to watch events in the dance hall as they were not allowed to be seen by the public. To the right, you can see the dance hall.
After touring the Palace, many people enjoyed sweet coconut water sipped from a fresh coconut. We arrived in Kanyakumari with time in the evening to explore, and decided to walk to "the beach." As we walked to the beach, I was able to see an acutal informal settlement. It was similiar to homelessness in the States as these individuals possessed few items and lived on the streets. However, they camped in open, public spaces and they were not displaced (at least not the same day). We also encountered beggars which I hadn't seen before in Kerala. Not only had I not seen them before, but NEVER, even in the States have I seen children beg. It was difficult for me to walk past, and I sense the children could tell because I allowed eye contact.
We make it to the non existent beach which consisted of a small portion of sand filled with fishing boats. However, this trip wasn't completely unsuccessful. Friends and I had seashells engraved! It was actually a neat process. The shells were painted and then dipped in a hydro-chloric acid which made the shell erode, but the surface under the paint remained. Here are two pictures but the final product is a gift and an element of surprise must remain!
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