Houston & Galveston: Temples, Fish Tanks and a Giant Cruise Ship

Some trips don't need a long checklist to be memorable — just the right mix of things that make you stop and look twice. Our weekend in Houston and Galveston was exactly that kind of trip. We went in not expecting too much, and came back with a little bit of everything: quiet devotion at a temple that could fool you into thinking you were back in South India, a face-off with a moray eel underwater, an evening under a 64-foot wall of falling water, and a very unexpected close-up with a ship the size of a small building.

Meenakshi Temple: a little piece of South India in Texas

We started the trip on a peaceful note at the Sri Meenakshi Temple, and it turns out this place is a lot more special than it first looks. Built in 1982 and expanded in 1995, it is the third-oldest Hindu temple in the United States — and, remarkably, the only temple outside India dedicated to the goddess Meenakshi, modelled directly on the famous Meenakshi Temple in Madurai. The main shrine honours Meenakshi, Sundareswarar, Venkateshwara and Lakshmi, with smaller shrines for Ganesha, Murugan and Durga scattered around the complex, and the whole thing was designed by architect S.M. Ganapathy Sthapathi in white granite, in true South Indian Dravidian style.

Walking in, the smell of incense and the sight of the deity dressed in garlands and silver gave that familiar warm feeling — the kind that reminds you of home no matter how far away you actually are. There's even a peacock sanctuary and a South Indian canteen on the grounds, which somehow makes the whole place feel less like a tourist stop and more like a little community of its own, tucked quietly into Pearland. A calm, grounding way to start a trip before the sightseeing rush that followed.

Face to face with a moray eel at the Downtown Aquarium

From temple calm to underwater chaos — next stop was the Downtown Aquarium, and the numbers alone are worth knowing before you go. It opened in 2003 inside two converted historic buildings, Houston's old Fire Station No. 1 and the Central Waterworks Building, and today holds over 200 species across 500,000 gallons of water — including a 200,000-gallon shark tank and a 110,000-gallon cylindrical tank built right into the restaurant, said to be the largest cylindrical aquarium tank in the country.

Our favourite moment, though, wasn't a shark — it was a spotted moray eel that had wedged itself into a broken pipe in the shipwreck exhibit, peeking out at everyone like it wanted its picture taken too, while a school of bright yellow fish drifted past in the background. Places like this always work because there's something for everyone — kids pressed up against the glass pointing at fish, adults just as amazed a few seconds later.

Evening lights at the Waterwall and Williams Tower

As the sun started going down, we made our way to Houston's Uptown district to see the Gerald D. Hines Waterwall Park, and honestly, no photo does it justice until you're standing in front of it. The semicircular fountain is 64 feet tall — built to echo the 64 storeys of the nearby Williams Tower — and pushes 78,500 gallons of water down its curved brick walls on a loop, the entire supply recycling itself roughly every three hours. It was designed by Philip Johnson and John Burgee back in the early 1980s and later renamed in 2009 to honour Houston developer Gerald D. Hines. Standing underneath that huge curved wall of falling water, with people gathered around clicking photos and just soaking in the evening light, it felt like one of those picture-postcard moments you don't rush through.

Later that night, downtown Houston's skyline lit up too — tall glass and stone towers glowing gold against a dark sky, a nice quiet way to end a busy day of sightseeing.

Out at sea: Galveston Island and a giant called Carnival Jubilee

The real highlight came with our boat trip out to Galveston Island. Out on the water, we suddenly spotted something massive floating in the distance — the Carnival Jubilee, docked right there at the Port of Galveston. This isn't just any ship: it's 1,130 feet long, weighs about 180,000 gross tons, and can carry up to 5,200 guests across 15 decks. It only set sail for the first time in December 2023, complete with its own roller coaster (billed as the fastest at sea) and water slides, and it runs on LNG to keep things a little cleaner on the environment front. Seeing something that size up close makes you realise just how tiny your own little tour boat feels in comparison.

Not long after, a cargo ship went gliding silently past too, its dark silhouette cutting across the shimmering water — a quiet reminder of just how much bigger the world of ships and sea trade really is, right outside a small Texas beach town most people only know for its sand and seafood.

Quick facts

• Sri Meenakshi Temple: built 1982, third-oldest Hindu temple in the US, only one outside India dedicated to Meenakshi
• Downtown Aquarium: opened 2003, over 200 species, 500,000 gallons of water total
• Waterwall Park: 64 feet tall, 78,500 gallons recycled roughly every 3 hours
• Carnival Jubilee: 1,130 feet long, 180,000 gross tons, up to 5,200 guests, first sailed December 2023

Looking back

By the end of the trip, we'd gone from folded hands in front of a silver-clad deity, to a moray eel staring back at us through glass, to standing under a waterfall taller than a six-storey building, to floating next to a ship carrying more people than a small town. Not bad at all for one short weekend — and proof that a good trip doesn't need to be long, just well mixed.