Okay, so shortly after the trip to Khajuraho and Orccha I once again headed to the deep south. After a week in Mumbai I made my way to Trivandrum in southern Kerala. This is THE place that many Americans would love to immigrate to considering that it is overwhelmingly communists, as is the entire state, but is also overwhelmingly Muslim. You could write a book on this paradox. I didn't stick around long, as my main destinations were further south. A few hours later, by local bus, I arrived in Kanyakumari. This began as more of a symbolic journey for myself, i.e. to reach the southern tip of India, but I quickly learned that there was much more awaiting me. This is the site of a significant moment in Swami Vivekananda's life, a guru who has had some pretty major influence on my own spirituality. I won't go into anymore details on that here. Outside of the temple that attracts hundreds of thousands of Hindu pilgrims a year this place was laid back, characteristic of this entire trip south. 
After I had my fill I caught another bus to Kovalam Beach. I was happy to discover a beach paradise that must resemble what Goa did before the dirty hippies overran the place and the tourist industry exploded, not that Kovalam was without hippies! It was just still a majority of Indians. Given the chilled out nature of this trip there is little worth mentioning. I mean, I didn't see or smell any death, nor was I kicked by any lepers (unless you count the train station before I departed for Mumbai). It was just an overall good experience. My hotel room was separated from the beach only by a small sidewalk and cost less than $5 USD a night. How beautiful is that!
From Kovalam I made a quick stop in some other small town the name of which I have forgotten for a short backwater float. It was just your typical backwater experience that can be had at seemingly any point along the Keralan coast. I will not go out of my way for another canoe ride.
From Kovalam I made a quick stop in some other small town the name of which I have forgotten for a short backwater float. It was just your typical backwater experience that can be had at seemingly any point along the Keralan coast. I will not go out of my way for another canoe ride.
Next on the itinerary was a trip to Periyar Wildlife Preserve. Most visitors to this park go in the hopes that they will spot a tiger, I didn't get my hopes up and instead decided to content myself with "wild" elephant sitings that never occurred! This hike, however, provided endless 
encounters with the leeches that come out to play in the rain (like the 'after' shot?). Interestingly the highlight of this trip was not the eventful hike through the preserve, but the illegal hike into, or along the Tamil Nadu border euphemistically referred to by my hotel manager as "this side of the park". It was cheaper and every bit as spectacular. All I had to do was pay for the guide and enough so that he could buy off the authorities along the way.
encounters with the leeches that come out to play in the rain (like the 'after' shot?). Interestingly the highlight of this trip was not the eventful hike through the preserve, but the illegal hike into, or along the Tamil Nadu border euphemistically referred to by my hotel manager as "this side of the park". It was cheaper and every bit as spectacular. All I had to do was pay for the guide and enough so that he could buy off the authorities along the way. 
I allowed myself enough time to return to Kovalam Beach, having had such an enjoyable time there. Here's one last shot.
