Palaces

Today is the last of the entire group trip. We went on a tour of Trivandrum. This is the official capital of Kerala. Their parliament sits here and the Palace of their monarchs is here also. We visited the latter after the tour. The Palace is grand and beautiful. I was shocked that it was so lavish and runs independently of the government. There were lots of jewel studded ornaments in the rooms and the walls were really intricately carved.

After the guided trips we were given some free time for shopping. The guide took us to a liquor store. All of the liquor stores are state ran and separate to any other stores. It was down a back alley and up 2 flights of stairs. We were the only tourists in the place. The alcohol in the hotel is super expensive, £9 for a glass or £35 for a bottle of cheap wine. I bought a bottle of barcardi ginger and barcardi guava to take back to the UK with me.

The rest of the day was relaxing. I walked to the beach and people watched a bit. The beach had potential to be lovely but the sand was filled with litter and no shade at all. Also there were boats everywhere and the water was rough. I'm looking forward to the beach at the ayurvedic treatment centre tomorrow.Read more