Some of you may know that John and I are devotees of the Lonely Planet travel guides. They rarely lead us astray, so when our India guide had little to say about Kochi's Hill Palace, we figured we'd skip it. Kareem, however, had been watching us go, go, go all day and had taken our measure. You can't miss seeing the Cochin dynasty's royal crown, he said. It was given to the royal family by Vasco da Gama himself! What?! Where is this crown and why has no one told us of this before? It's at the Hill Palace (and here), of course, along with the rest of the crown jewels. Lonely Planet, you failed us!
Off to the Hill Palace, then, which the Maharaja of Cochin had built in the 1860s. Now it's a museum full of royal artifacts, paintings, coins, jewels, art, carriages, and the room in which the maharajas of Kerala officially voted to join the new republic of India. The building and grounds look very 1860s, in my inexpert view.
We arrived at the Hill Palace with only about an hour until closing time, so we had to run around to see the best parts. Sadly, no photos are allowed, but I swiped this one of the famous crown from the Internet. It and the rest of the crown jewels were kept in a room with a vault door and a sleepy, barefoot guard sitting nearby. Ah, India!
As in most buildings in India, we were required to take off our shoes before entering. Whoever designed the "flow" of this place, though, wasn't thinking too deeply, because to get from the shoe counter to the front door in your bare feet, you had to cross a long, hot, gravel pathway, dodging bits of glass and other trash. At least we had a nice view of the gardens.
After checking out the museum, we walked around the building and ran straight into this ...
What a random T-Rex has to do with the royal family of Cochin is totally beyond me, but whatever. The kids loved it.
It won't surprise you to know that the Hill Palace is on top of a hill. The hill is terraced with beautiful gardens leading up to the palace's main entrance.
It was a lovely couple of pre-dinner hours!
Off to the Hill Palace, then, which the Maharaja of Cochin had built in the 1860s. Now it's a museum full of royal artifacts, paintings, coins, jewels, art, carriages, and the room in which the maharajas of Kerala officially voted to join the new republic of India. The building and grounds look very 1860s, in my inexpert view.
We arrived at the Hill Palace with only about an hour until closing time, so we had to run around to see the best parts. Sadly, no photos are allowed, but I swiped this one of the famous crown from the Internet. It and the rest of the crown jewels were kept in a room with a vault door and a sleepy, barefoot guard sitting nearby. Ah, India!
As in most buildings in India, we were required to take off our shoes before entering. Whoever designed the "flow" of this place, though, wasn't thinking too deeply, because to get from the shoe counter to the front door in your bare feet, you had to cross a long, hot, gravel pathway, dodging bits of glass and other trash. At least we had a nice view of the gardens.
After checking out the museum, we walked around the building and ran straight into this ...
What a random T-Rex has to do with the royal family of Cochin is totally beyond me, but whatever. The kids loved it.
It won't surprise you to know that the Hill Palace is on top of a hill. The hill is terraced with beautiful gardens leading up to the palace's main entrance.
It was a lovely couple of pre-dinner hours!
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