Friday 28 December 2018

Varkala - Kerala, India

Time for some beach time!

From Monroe Island we happened across a friendly tuktuk driver (who was also an excellent salesman) who convinced us to let him take us via the scenic route to Varkala. It turned out to be a great call as he showed us temples, churches, beaches and colourful local fishing villages along the way.
The beaches were golden and unspoilt all the way down the coast and it was great to cut out the main towns, transport interchanges and busy main roads on a direct route to our next destination.

Varkala is a small town with a string of golden-sand beaches set up against a high cliff.
Perched right along the cliff edge is a narrow road of shops and restaurants. It’s a very pretty setting, and a lovely stroll along the street to browse the shops whilst simultaneously looking out to sea - and what a view! However it is certainly an accident waiting to happen with it being so precariously balanced on the edge! 

Apparently in the recent heavy rains and floods that Kerala experienced, there were a series of landslides and so the shops are even closer to the edge now than they were earlier in the year. Some shopkeepers even lost an area of their shop used to hang clothes outside.


The beach is the main attraction in Varkala and is popular with locals and tourists alike, especially as it’s tropical weather in Kerala in winter - compared to cold weather in the north of the country (and even snow in the mountains at this time of year).

The beach is also very popular with westerners so the dress code and modesty rules for ladies are a bit more relaxed and it’s ok to wear a bikini without a constant consideration of whether I should be covering up! To be fair, I am sure I should technically be covered up, as all the Indian ladies were swimming fully clothed (as we saw in Alleppey), but it’s a lot more relaxed here and I selfishly enjoyed having the chance to work on my tan for a few days!

The sea is safe for swimming and there are lifeguards on duty - though there are constantly big waves crashing into shore from across the Arabian Sea.
I couldn’t quite figure out what the lifeguards were up to, however, as at regular intervals, they would get up and blow their whistles, seemingly pointing at Indian men and telling them to get out of the sea, or move further down the beach. They weren’t telling tourists or families to get out of the sea, just the Indian guys and especially groups of lads! I should point out also that everyone was keeping themselves to themselves and it’s not like the groups of boys were being intimidating or a nuisance, so I’m not sure what the lifeguards were up to - or whether I have just got the wrong end of the stick and imagined this!

In any case it was lovely to be able to frolic in the waves and cool off in the sea.

Our hotel was away from the cliff area on an adjacent hill and we also had a sea view from our room. Breakfast was served on our own private balconies each morning - a very pleasant was to start the day. 


Most days fell into a similar rhythm, mainly involving sunbathing and reading on the beach, swimming and when we weren’t doing that, we were enjoying the local seafood (huge swordfish, barracuda or grouper on the grill), or a drink and enjoying the view. 

Happily, the alcohol rules are slightly more relaxed here and most restaurants serve alcoholic drinks, though whether they are doing this discreetly out of sight of the authorities I am not sure! It’s nice to enjoy a refreshing sundowner after a hard day on the beach in any case.

The town was lively in the run-up to Christmas, though still fairly quiet in terms of tourist numbers, as we have seen throughout our entire trip. 
There’s a tradition here for teenagers to dress up as Santa with red robes and masks and take to the streets with loud drums, dancing and wishing people a merry Christmas along the way. We must have seen five groups of Santas in one evening.

We decided to try one last Ayurvedic massage and, fortunately for me, I had a better experience than the previous time in Cochin. We were sold a 45 minute treatment, which confusingly went on for 90 minutes - for a princely sum of £10 each! This treatment was a deeper tissue massage than we had previously and involved massaging heated oil into the back and shoulders using herbal compresses. It was pretty good, though it sounded like they were heating the oil in a frying pan - and as I was lying face down I couldn’t see what the therapist was doing - so I was a little nervous they were about to scald me with boiling oil - but it was fine!

Whilst I was there, I also got my haircut for £2, which certainly beats having to pay the extortionate London prices!

From Varkaka it was homeward bound, flying from Trivandrum to Delhi, then from Delhi back to London. 
Fun fact about Trivandrum: the zoo there is the zoo that book ‘The Life of Pi’ was based on.

It was a chilly 11 degrees Celsius when we landed in Delhi, late in the evening on Christmas Day - good preparation for our imminent return to London! It makes you realise what a huge country India is, to experience such a broad range of temperatures.

So, now we’re back home to open our Christmas presents, try and squeeze in a Christmas dinner or two, and stock up on discounted mince pies before they leave supermarket shelves!

Happy new year, everyone!


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