Thiruvananthapuram

[Dipendra]

Can any body from Trivandrum please suggest me the places that I can go to in & around Trivandrum during the evenings ,when I visit it during the second week of December 2007, as because during the day time I will be busy in a seminar. I will be there for a WEEK . THIS WILL ALSO BE MY FIRST VISIT TO THE PLACE.
Dipendra Kumar Mazumder
dkmazu@rediffmail.com

[tapati]

You can visit Kovalam beach from Trivandrum. It is a beautiful beach very scenic. One gets good sea food in beach side resaurants. Kanyakumari and Vivekanand rocks are also close by. Kanyakumari is a small town, but it is worth taking the ferry ride across the sea and go to Vivekand rocks. There is a temple and the ashram of Ramakrishna. One can also see India , our dear motherland standing on that isle.

[Ingo]

Dec is a good time to be there - should be cool or at least less warm. Kanyakumari is a day trip from Trivandrum. Another interesting day trip is Ponmudi which is a hill. Kovalam beach is close by and you can do it one evening. The other places to check out are Aakulam lake and Veli lake where you have pretty scenic boating and Shanghumugham beach which is closer to town (near the airport) than Kovalam. If you are the pious sort or interested in seeing a really magnificent temple, go to Padmabhaswamy temple. Only remember, you need to wear a dhoti and take off your shirt before you enter the temple. If you are non-veg foodie, you can check out a small restaurant (dhaba variety) in the centre of town in a market called Chalai. It is called Rehmaniya's and has awesome chicken. Another little known facet of Trivandrum is 'Ayurvastra' - here is my blog post on that. You might want to check it out. http://harinair.wordpress.com/2007/05/10/ayurvastra/

Trivandrum is a small place so dont expect things to get 'incredibly exciting'. But I find it a soothing, greenery-filled oasis after big-city life, especially if one is there only for a few days. I go there once a year at least.

Do check out the HolidayIQ page on Trivandrum before going. Have fun.

http://www.holidayiq.com/destinations/T ... rview.html

[Tapan]

Dear Dipendra,

Kovalam Beach is heavenly during evenings. You must reach there before sunset. Please go to Samudra beach which is closest from Trivandrum, have dinner at Hotel Samudra KTDC. Early morning visit to the beach is also wonderful.
Second evening visit Sankhamugham beach (close to the airport) again before sunset. There is a good eating joint just across the road.
Third evening visit Veli village and park; this again is close to airport.
If you have a day off, leave for Kanya Kumari in the morning (3 hours drive) Kumari temple is a must; it closes at 12:30 PM Also take the boat to Vivekananda Rock (mad rush for tickets) On return to shore visit the Gandhi Memorial and the Tsunami Memorial. Good vegetarian Thali lunch is recommended (plenty of eateries). On your way back visit the Padmanabhapuram Palace which is 35 KM for KK. Suggest hire a cab for full day (You have to pay Rs.400 extra for the Tamilnadu road permit when you enter the state. Otherwise KTDC has a day tour to Kanya Kumari.
Other famous landmarks of T'drum is the Temple complex and museum and Napier Museum.

[Zircuu]

There are lot of Temples to see in Trivandrum. Trivandrum is home to Hindu ancient Temples like Sri Padmanaswamy Temple etc., Entry is restricted to Born Hindus.

[sunita]

You could visit the Napier Museum and art gallery which has the original Ravi Varma and some Roerich paintings.It really is worht viewing.It would close early .Do check the timings.
I would recommend an early morning walk from the Museum to the Kowdiar palace.It is in my opinion the best road stretch in India.Trivandrum wakes up early and at around 6am the place will have a lot of people on their morning walk.

Evening one day you must go to "Karalkada" for traditional Kerala saree shopping.They also have a good collection for men and children.(salwar material in the traditional Kerala cream and gold cotton material)Any taxi driver will take you to Karalkada but if you do need directions it is near the passport office.The road leading to karalkada also has a lot of banana chips vendors so you could pick up some too.
Trivandrum is infamous for its bandhs and chances are that if you spend a week there you will encounter at least one...So keep that in mind while planning!!

[mano]

Dear Dipendra,

Kovalam Beach is heavenly during evenings. You must reach there before sunset. Please go to Samudra beach which is closest from Trivandrum, have dinner at Hotel Samudra KTDC. Early morning visit to the beach is also wonderful.
Second evening visit Sankhamugham beach (close to the airport) again before sunset. There is a good eating joint just across the road.
Third evening visit Veli village and park; this again is close to airport.
If you have a day off, leave for Kanya Kumari in the morning (3 hours drive) Kumari temple is a must; it closes at 12:30 PM Also take the boat to Vivekananda Rock (mad rush for tickets) On return to shore visit the Gandhi Memorial and the Tsunami Memorial. Good vegetarian Thali lunch is recommended (plenty of eateries). On your way back visit the Padmanabhapuram Palace which is 35 KM for KK. Suggest hire a cab for full day (You have to pay Rs.400 extra for the Tamilnadu road permit when you enter the state. Otherwise KTDC has a day tour to Kanya Kumari.
Other famous landmarks of T'drum is the Temple complex and museum and Napier Museum.