TRAVELLIVE 03-2017
March comes when every available space is full of flowers’ scents and lush green plants. It comes dripping rain, with white cherry-apricot blossoms, the murmur of green pine forests, and pure water sparkling under the first rays of the sun. I take a bus to the city’s suburb in the early morning. The bus is full of sleepy passengers leaning their head near the windows. The bus slowly runs along the familiar road, passing through familiar people. Some boys are playing marbles in front of their house, trying to catch the running spheres which glint in the light of the day’s sun. A girl wearing áo bà ba (traditional shirt) is preparing tea before visiting an old village. A Korean friend wearing nón lá (Vietnamese conical hat) is buying tea, busy with his phone. My girlfriend says she loves saving her trips by photos. The photos are not used to showcase where she has visited or who she has met. Rather they’re for her personal use. In her free time she opens her online dairy, goes through the photos and reminisces upon all the great memories during her trips. In my camera, March is beautiful. It retains the purity of spring but is tinted with a bit of the playfulness of summer. In my photos, a little girl standing on chair finds her March in little red Antigone flowers. Meanwhile, a farmer working in the plateau finds his March on hills covered with white coffee flowers. And, where is your March?
March comes when every available space is full of flowers’ scents and lush green plants. It comes dripping rain, with white cherry-apricot blossoms, the murmur of green pine forests, and pure water sparkling under the first rays of the sun.
I take a bus to the city’s suburb in the early morning. The bus is full of sleepy passengers leaning their head near the windows. The bus slowly runs along the familiar road, passing through familiar people. Some boys are playing marbles in front of their house, trying to catch the running spheres which glint in the light of the day’s sun. A girl wearing áo bà ba (traditional shirt) is preparing tea before visiting an old village. A Korean friend wearing nón lá (Vietnamese conical hat) is buying tea, busy with his phone.
My girlfriend says she loves saving her trips by photos. The photos are not used to showcase where she has visited or who she has met. Rather they’re for her personal use. In her free time she opens her online dairy, goes through the photos and reminisces upon all the great memories during her trips.
In my camera, March is beautiful. It retains the purity of spring but is tinted with a bit of the playfulness of summer. In my photos, a little girl standing on chair finds her March in little red Antigone flowers. Meanwhile, a farmer working in the plateau finds his March on hills covered with white coffee flowers.
And, where is your March?
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Text and photos: Ngo Nu<br />
destination<br />
If you have ever traveled to any Indian tourist destination and wanted to escape the<br />
crowds to enjoy your stay, Kanyakumari would be the best choice ever.<br />
Located in the southern state of<br />
India - Tamil Nadu, Kanyakumari,<br />
what used to be called Cape<br />
Comorin during the British period,<br />
is well known as the end of Indian<br />
main land. With three sides facing<br />
the ocean, this is an ideal place for<br />
contemplating sunrise and sunset.<br />
Until now, I still can clearly see<br />
each detail of that small and<br />
peaceful fishing town. Unlike the<br />
other tourism destinations in India<br />
that I have been, this place brings<br />
the true essence of what as Indian<br />
town is all about.<br />
It took us 9 hours by train to<br />
reach Thiruvananthapuram,<br />
the capital of Kerala, before we<br />
headed to Kanyakumari by an<br />
additional 3 hour bus ride. If you<br />
have ever traveled to any Indian<br />
tourist destination and wanted to<br />
escape the crowds to enjoy your<br />
stay, Kanyakumari would be the<br />
best choice ever. The bus took us<br />
through green villages along the<br />
road to the southernmost tip of<br />
India's mainland. I felt as if I was<br />
walking back to rural villages in<br />
Vietnam. That was amazing!<br />
The fishing village of<br />
Goddess Kanya Kumari<br />
Every place in India relates to<br />
a myth, and Kanyakumari is<br />
no exception. Kanya Kumari<br />
is actually the name of the<br />
Goddess Devi Kanya Kumari who<br />
is considered to be a sister of<br />
Krishna. Women pray to Goddess<br />
Devi Kanya Kumari for marriage.<br />
The goddess is believed to be the<br />
one who removes the rigidity of<br />
our mind and it is for this reason<br />
why the village is a notable site of<br />
pilgrim in India.<br />
We took a walk to the beach<br />
in the sunny afternoon. When<br />
we arrived, we found that the<br />
pilgrimage site was not so<br />
crowded which meant it was<br />
perfect day for wandering and<br />
enjoying the sound of the sea.<br />
Every step along the coast freed<br />
our minds from the noisy life back<br />
in the city from where we came.<br />
We could only feel and smell all<br />
the flavors of sand and sea. We<br />
could hear only the voice of the<br />
sea and the whisper of the wind<br />
in our ears as if we were walking<br />
in the mythological story of the<br />
town's origin, the feeling of an<br />
ancient time, of legend, and of<br />
the myth came to alive around us.<br />
We were surrounded by all the<br />
amazing things from the past and<br />
at the same time the calmness of<br />
the present.<br />
We took some time to discover<br />
the further reaches of the town,<br />
and found a small fish market<br />
and the harbor it serviced. The<br />
fishing town is really small, but<br />
colorful and lively. Everything was<br />
really simple. The intertwining of<br />
simple life and the charming view<br />
of the coast gave this town its own<br />
unique characteristic.<br />
Taking an early morning walk<br />
in this town is the surest way<br />
you return to the purest beauty<br />
of nature and life. The fish<br />
market opens quite early at the<br />
beginning of the day and it's truly<br />
the lifeblood of the fishing town.<br />
Boats of fish come back from the<br />
sea, and villagers sell their fish<br />
right on the sea side.<br />
Before leaving India after two years of living there, my best friend and<br />
Idecided to go for our last trip in the ancient country. So, why not a venture<br />
to the furthest flung corner of this nation?<br />
<strong>TRAVELLIVE</strong><br />
93
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