Kanyakumari is located at the southern most tip of India. It has a totally different feel than both Chennai and Pondicherry because it seems to be much calmer. This city is known for the fact that the Indian Ocean, Bay of Bengal, Arabian Sea meet. The beach and water are very key focal points of the city and there is a huge bazaar (market) that is set up all around the water.
We followed the beach bazaar to the Ghandi memorial, which was where Ghandi's ashes were kept. As we walked into the memorial, the curator of the museum greeted us and immediately led us to the middle of the memorial where he made us hold hands and he sang a very beautiful song. He then went on to tell us the story of Ghandi's life and the significance of the memorial as we were led through the memorial. There were many other Indian tourists visiting the memorial but this man decided to give us a special tour (obviously because we were western and have money). He did a very good job and we definitely got a lot more from the memorial. He made us pose for pictures at about every significant point in the memorial in a very formal pose. It became very humorous because it felt like the tour that never ends. The man would disregard the other people in the memorial and get them out of our way the whole time. He would yell at them and shoo them away and at one point he blew his whistle at a boy who was sitting on the second floor because he was in the background of our picture. At the end of the tour we paid him for his expertise and he insisted that we come back at sunset. We were not able to leave the memorial until we agreed that we would come back later that night (which we unfortunately could not).
In the afternoon, while visiting a fort on a bus tour of the city, I met a group of Indian girls about my age who were studying at collage to be teachers. They wore beautiful matching yellow saris as their uniform and were very excited to see foreigners. They tried to teach me a little bit of Tamil and they would laugh each time I tried to pronounce the words then cheer when I was very close. Their English was very good and we were able to have a conversation about where they are from and where I am from. All of the girls were wearing beautiful gold jewelry and they asked me why I didn't even have any earrings on. I asked the girls if any of them had any henna and they showed me the inside of their hands.
In the evening we went to sunset point to see the sunset at 6:15. As we arrived at the point there were already many Indian families and groups of men on the rocks and the beach getting ready. There were also stands set up selling ice cream, chai tea, and some sort of Indian rice dish. As the time drew near more and more people arrived to see the sunset. The sunset itself was very nice but at the same time I was thinking that it was just like any sunset that I have seen at home. It was amazing to think that even on the other side of the world, at the southern most tip of India, I am still looking at the same sunset.
We followed the beach bazaar to the Ghandi memorial, which was where Ghandi's ashes were kept. As we walked into the memorial, the curator of the museum greeted us and immediately led us to the middle of the memorial where he made us hold hands and he sang a very beautiful song. He then went on to tell us the story of Ghandi's life and the significance of the memorial as we were led through the memorial. There were many other Indian tourists visiting the memorial but this man decided to give us a special tour (obviously because we were western and have money). He did a very good job and we definitely got a lot more from the memorial. He made us pose for pictures at about every significant point in the memorial in a very formal pose. It became very humorous because it felt like the tour that never ends. The man would disregard the other people in the memorial and get them out of our way the whole time. He would yell at them and shoo them away and at one point he blew his whistle at a boy who was sitting on the second floor because he was in the background of our picture. At the end of the tour we paid him for his expertise and he insisted that we come back at sunset. We were not able to leave the memorial until we agreed that we would come back later that night (which we unfortunately could not).
In the afternoon, while visiting a fort on a bus tour of the city, I met a group of Indian girls about my age who were studying at collage to be teachers. They wore beautiful matching yellow saris as their uniform and were very excited to see foreigners. They tried to teach me a little bit of Tamil and they would laugh each time I tried to pronounce the words then cheer when I was very close. Their English was very good and we were able to have a conversation about where they are from and where I am from. All of the girls were wearing beautiful gold jewelry and they asked me why I didn't even have any earrings on. I asked the girls if any of them had any henna and they showed me the inside of their hands.
In the evening we went to sunset point to see the sunset at 6:15. As we arrived at the point there were already many Indian families and groups of men on the rocks and the beach getting ready. There were also stands set up selling ice cream, chai tea, and some sort of Indian rice dish. As the time drew near more and more people arrived to see the sunset. The sunset itself was very nice but at the same time I was thinking that it was just like any sunset that I have seen at home. It was amazing to think that even on the other side of the world, at the southern most tip of India, I am still looking at the same sunset.
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