Cliffs and Yoga
Trip Start
Mar 15, 2008
1
69
86
Trip End
Jul 15, 2009
Trivandrum, Kerala, India
Friday, March 20, 2009
We weren't expecting much from Varkala, at least not up to par with the beauties of Southern Thailand. We had some time to kill waiting for Ana's friend Linda to come to India and then Ana and Linda are going to do a week in an ashram while I wait for them. My only stipulation was that I be close to a beach so I have something to do for a week all by my lonesome.
It turned out to be a blessing as Varkala beach is an exceptional place. I usually spend about 12 dollars a day for everything. Varkala beach is a cross between California and Thailand beaches. A deep blue and emerald green sea runs into white sand with giant red cliffs as a backdrop. There is a walkway that extends for miles running along the top of the cliff stretching down the coast near the shoreline. The cliff overlooking the beach is devoted to tourism with shops, restaurants, hotels, yoga centers, travel agents, internet cafes and everything else you could possible need. The restaurants all have panoramic views overlooking the main beach with open air seating on second and third floors that have views with nothing but ocean in your line of site. There are tons of hawks, egrets and crows soaring above the beach with migrating dolphins in the distance. The path extends for miles and there are too many beaches to count, many with little to no people on them. The main beach has tons of people, many doing yoga at sunrise or sunset, The palm trees have a dominating presence as well, I have never seen such a dense population of them so close to the shoreline, it is quite beautiful. There are numerous fishing villages dotted along the coast where every morning they roll out their nets on the beach and go to work, at night they try to sell you marijuana, usually next to the Mosque, go Allah. We are staying next to a Mosque, which we usually try to avoid due to the five prayer calls daily, quite an annoyance, but here they are pretty short. The liquor and beer is shit as well in India. I haven't had a taste since Ana and I split a beer the first day we got here, it was more disappointing than our former president's IQ score. I really want to get him in a room and see if he knows his multiplication tables, I mean seriously.
Ana and I found a lone guest house away from the main strip, but right on the water. It's hard to avoid the constant sound of the ocean, actually I'm writing this entry while enjoying the ocean front view from our porch, not bad for $4 dollars each per night. I've spent the past week in a haze of breakfast, books and beach, though sadly minus the beer of Thailand. I've read about 50 books on this trip and I hope to get to 60, having the time to read is one of the major blessings about traveling. I'm usually too tired to read after work and just end up watching TV or a ballgame, I hate falling into that pattern. Varkala beach has turned out to be a great place to kill a couple of weeks.
