We subjected the kids to more than 1,000 km of road-tripping on our little jaunt to Kerala, and we got started racking up the miles on our very first full day. The real reason we were in Trivandrum had little to do with the luxurious hotel and a lot to do with the
Padmanabhapuram Palace (and
here), which was about a two-hour drive back into Tamil Nadu.
One of John's colleagues had seen the palace and come back raving about the wood carving. That was enough to hook John, and off we went! I might as well warn you now that this post might break a record for number of photos, because it was all so cool that I had a hard time editing things down.
The palace is in a small town just across the state line into Tamil Nadu. Here are a couple of street scenes taken just outside the palace complex.
Evie nearly puked right in front of this snacks shop, but we successfully moved her around the corner and into relavite privacy before the deed was done. (This may be too much information for my more squeamish readers.) Alas, my children seem to have inherited my motion sickness. She perked up quickly.
You have to remove your shoes to enter the palace compound, which is all well and good for preserving floors, but for some reason they've put the shoe station across a huge courtyard from the palace entrance. That ground was HOT. Here's an exterior door facing the courtyard ...
The palace complex was built around 1600, and the style reminded me much more of things we've seen in Nepal than anything we've seen in India. I wonder if it's the influence of Kerala's ancient spice trade? They've been trading with the Middle East and the Far East for thousands of years. There would have been Chinese influence, for sure, just as in Nepal.
The first building we explored was the king's council chamber, or Mantrasala.
There were detailed carvings everywhere we turned ...
This is a hanging oil lamp ...
I have a thing about doors, though this shot is marred by the lounger ...
Johnny and Evie were pretty impressed with these boomerang-like weapons ...
The kids are checking out the natural air conditioning. The upstairs rooms had wind tunnels around the edges of the building. When you open one of the little doors, a nice breeze comes through.
I really loved the roof lines of this place (as will become apparent through my photo choices) ...
These man-sized pots were at one end of a huge, two-story banqueting hall. The royal family would serve 1,000 free meals each day.
Anybody home?
Most of the ceilings and pillars throughout the palace were intricately carved ...
The buildings all had these narrow passageways along the outside. I wonder if it had something to do with cooling? Notice the shiny floors, which were my favorite palace feature. They're black, shiny and cool. We were told they're made of burned coconuts, charcoal, sand, lime and
jaggery.
These two photos are the inside and outside views of the same hallway ...
The narrow passage between these two buildings was crisscrossed with elevated walkways. The entrance to the treasury is in the passage. That brick pathway was so hot, we all raced on tiptoe from shady patch to shady patch.
Check out the ceiling in this bedchamber, not to mention the bed itself, which was a gift from Dutch merchants ...
Detail on the bed ...
Many of the windows were paned with colored mica ...
A better shot of the girl in the background :)
This is Samuel, who insisted on wearing my sunhat through the entire tour, peeking down from an elevated passage into a worship hall below.
Johnny and Evie feigning friendliness while looking out a window. These two are darling children, but they bickered the whole day, driving me to near insanity (not a long drive, I'll admit).
Carved ceiling beam ...
Samuel with hat ...
View out the palace window ...
These wood elephants are at the base of stairs leading to a balcony where the king gave public audience. Samuel loved them, and we had a hard time getting him to move on.
The eyes of Johnny (and Perry) are upon you ...
The elephants' stairs led to this windowed balcony or alcove or something ...
I love this one of Evie looking out the window. It shows how huge this passageway was, not to mention the shiny floors.
Getting goofy in the window ...
We saw this bright blue temple from the palace's rear balcony ...
Yes. That's a toilet. Apparently it's a 17th century toilet, though it looks almost exactly like a 21st century Indian toilet, and we have no idea what it was doing in an open passageway. The kids are clearly fascinated. Evie is demonstrating how to straddle, though you usually don't stick your foot in the middle like that. She is the queen of squats, but that's a post for another day (or never, maybe).
The rear balcony from outside ...
Fortified walls around another section of the complex ...
This is the worship/performance space Samuel was peeking down at earlier. It's much more in the South Indian style we're used to seeing, with carved stone pillars and a small temple at one end.
Samuel, in a rare burst of friendliness to strangers, agreed to have his picture taken. I think he might be reconsidering ...
The door to the temple, decorated with a flower offering ...
The royal family were
Vishnu worshipers, so the
Krishna avatar was everywhere ...
The 300-year-old clock tower ...
We broke up the long drive home with a stop for lunch at a roadside restaurant, where they handed us a menu and then informed us that they didn't have anything on said menu. We ended up with so-so biryani, good paneer makhani, and really good parathas. Good enough.
Coming soon: Cruisin' the backwaters!
