My Indian Adventure, Cliffside Views
Friday, August 24th, 2007The second half of my trip to India was spent at the Leela Kempinski Resort in Kovalam, located in the state of Kerala. The property was absolutely breathtaking - a far, far cry from Mumbai (although the Leela does own a nice property in Mumbai). My room had a balcony overlooking the cliffs, and I fell asleep at night to the waves of the Arabian Sea crashing onto the rocks. Luckily for me, the rains held off during my stay here. However, I was told the area takes on a different kind of beauty when it rains.
My stay here was brief and jam-packed, but the environment still helped me feel relaxed. On my first day, I had lunch overlooking the infinity pool and the sea, and then I took a tour of the expansive property, which houses three different sets of guestrooms, a convention center, an old castle, a private part of the beach, three restaurants, a spa and more. Then I had a traditional Ayurveda massage of my head, neck and shoulders, after which hot oil was dripped over my head for half an hour (more about my spa experiences next week!) - this was very peaceful, relaxing and highly recommended.
Day Two sent me around the city of Trivandrum. I saw a temple and a museum and took a cruise of the backwaters. This was a totally different India than I had experienced in Mumbai and it was a welcome change. After another massage and various dinners and meetings, it was back aboard a Jet Airways flight to Mumbai. And only a few hours after that, I was onboard my Air India flight back to the U.S.
There is so much more to say about my trip to India - I could probably write blog entries until the end of the year about even the smallest details that I noticed on my trip. There is only one more experience I want to share with you next week - I think you will find it humorous, everyone else has! Be sure to check out our coverage of India, my reviews of the flights and properties and a spa report on Ayurveda in the upcoming issues of Global Traveler. Until next week!
-Kimberly Krol, Circulation and Public Relations Executive
