From Alleppey beach we grabbed a tuk-tuk to the nearest train station and after a wait (it seemed every train we got was late) we hopped on and headed to Varkala. The journey took a couple of hours and at the other end we began our search for a cash machine. Prior research told us that there was no cash machines in be found in the Varkala beach area and our best bet was to grab some out at the train station before we left. Thankfully there was several different machines as the first two banks wouldn't accept our card, we grabbed our cash and found a tuk-tuk to take us to our accommodation.
Our accommodation wasn't quite what we had expected, it did look like the photos but the photos failed to show quite how boxed in it was with other guesthouses all around. That being said, we didn't mind too much it was only a five minute walk to the beach and there was a hammock outside our room. Varkala beach was different to all other beach towns we had seen in India. The beach town was set on top of a cliff, with stunning views over the Arabian sea and the most beautiful sunsets, to reach the beach itself several sets of steep stairs have been built along the cliff face leading down the 100 meters to the sea.
The area is split in two, north cliff and south cliff. The North cliff has completely been taken over for tourists, in fact it has a complete divide from where the locals live, along this beach there is only shops, hotels and restaurants. The south cliff, although it does have some hotels, restaurants and shops has retained more of it's identity and is a more relaxed area, this mostly due to its importance as a religious site. The beach is fairly large but during the evenings and weekends it can still feel over-crowed with sunbathers; we tended to avoid it during this time because for us it was just too busy.
Within a few days of our stay we bumped into a friend we had made in Alleppey, she told us about a surf school she had been learning with and invited us to a party they were attending that night. After working out if we were too lazy to attend we decided to give it a go, we also decided we would give surfing a go the next day too! Probably not the best of plans, not only is surfing hard but being hungover and tired surely wasn't going to help at all. The party was fun, the cocktails were great and it was fun watching the Indians bringing out their Bollywood style moves... but we were definitely tired in the morning with the 7 o'clock start.
Surfing was ridiculously difficult. Not only does it take skill, co-ordination and more upper body strength than you'd imagine but even getting out past the break was a trial in itself. We were taken to a small beach 15 minutes away from Varkala, as the waves would be better... they might be better for people that could actually surf but for us they were just too strong! Both me and Ben lacked the skills and speed to pop up in time for the wave, in most cases we had just pushed up our arms by the time we had zoomed along to the beach, where we would again be faced with the mammoth task of getting back to our instructors past the break.
Although our improvement was slight it was great fun, everyone in the class got along really well and would shout encouragements and cheer at improvements. By the end we were absolutely exhausted, to be completely honest by half way through the lesson I was ready for a nap! After a couple of hours, we packed up the surf boards and headed back, but not before a well earned cup of chai. We did learn later that the currents in this area make surfing a challenge for those with experience let alone beginners, but i doubt we can blame our troubles on just that alone. That evening, we met up again with some of the surfers for dinner and planned to meet our friend in a couple of days for a yoga class.
The next morning we were more that glad that we hadn't arranged yoga for that day, we were still exhausted, our arms trembled and we hurt in places we didn't even know we had. When we did go to yoga, that too was an amazing class. Being joined by a couple of friends we had made in Alleppey helped us be brave enough to go. Although they both had more yoga experience than us, (this being our first ever class that wasn't from YouTube) they assured us they were by no means pro. The Hatha Flow class mainly concentrated on gentle stretches and a repeated sun salutation, it really helped to ease our still hurting muscles but was hard enough that we all had a sweat on towards the end. For 300rs each, the hour and a half long class was a bargain; but with our muscles hurting again the next day we decided to have a break before trying it again.
For the rest of our time in Varkala, we rested, ate good food and swam in the sea. We also visited the local aquarium for no other reason that it was there. To be fair, it completely surpassed our expectations; although it was just a strange spiralling building filled with small fish tanks they had some fish that we'd never seen before. It wasn't all great, in the lobster tank there was a decapitated lobster that we assume was the loser of a fight with the others; but what can you really expect for 20rs each.
Varkala definitely grew on us, our first impression was that it was over-crowded, far too touristy and over-done but by the end we had actually enjoyed our time there. It has somehow lost it's Indian-ness, while you're there you could really be at any sea-side destination but that doesn't mean it's not a nice place to visit or how it was a great place to meet up with friends. Oh, and there was a rather adorable chubby sausage dog...
Not ready to give up on the sun and sand, we headed to one more beach destination in Kerala. We heard about Kovalam from fellow travellers we'd met along the way (John and Elaine), their recommendations hadn't steered us wrong so we thought why not?
There are no direct trains from Varkala to Kovalam, so instead we needed to get a train to Thiruvananthapuram and then catch a bus from the central bus station. The bus station is helpfully located just across the street from the train station. The train ride was simple but what we really had trouble with was finding the right bus, everyone we asked seemed to send us in a different direction! The station was split in two with a small shopping complex in the centre and after being sent from section to section without finding the bus (or anyone who knew where it would be), we gave up and hired a tuk-tuk instead. The tuk-tuk only cost us 350Rs for the 30 minute journey so it wasn't too inconvenient, and at least it took us directly to our hotel.
Our first impressions of Kovalam was far from favourable. It was just so over-developed, we couldn't walk a few steps along lighthouse beach - where we were staying - without a hawker trying to sell us something. They were nothing compared to the restaurant workers, they seemed almost desperate for custom and would jump in front of us to get our attention, dodging waiters tends to get a bit annoying after a while, you know! It was strange, the place seemed all at once too touristy, too developed and almost abandoned. It just wasn't the sort of place for us.
We decided to walk the 20 minutes to the next beach to see if it would be a better place to stay, it wasn't. Not only was the beach filled with hundreds of children on a school trip, there wasn't really anything there. The small mosque that sits in the centre of the beach seemed almost forgotten, it was surrounded by stalls selling clothes and other tat, with ice cream vendors dotted in between. Even if we had wanted to stay here we couldn't have, the only hotel was an expensive resort sat on one end of the beach. The other space behind the beach was reserved for coaches, which makes me think these school trips are a regular fixture.
We did walk past the resort to another small beach town area, this one seemed even more depressing. A few restaurants in a run-down area surrounded by more resorts. They must have had swimming pools as the sea here was in-accessible, just a wall of rocks instead of the beach. We quickly decided this wouldn't be the area we would be staying in.
Having decided to make the most of it, - we still had a few weeks until our flight out of India and we didn't want to rush around - we booked into somewhere with a pool instead to relax, still along lighthouse beach. Although it wasn't our favourite place, the bay was pretty with the lighthouse standing proud on the rocks looking over the bay and the sunsets could be amazing. The sea wasn't too rough either, and although the life guard seemed to have a problem with people going deeper than waist deep, it was a good place to swim without the sea giving us a beating. From what we saw, it was a good place to go surfing also, one guy we talked to was staying in Kovalam for several months to improve on his surfing skills.
Sadly, a lot of our food in Kovalam wasn't really that great. We did stick to the cheaper options to keep the costs down, but it was unlike many places where the cheaper local food is actually better. The other food we had tried in Kerala had been wonderful, so this was disappointing. The Beatles cafe was Kovalam's saving grace, their food was lovely especially breakfast, and we did enjoy going to the local ice cream shop. Situated near the road that leads to the lighthouse this small shop did amazing ice creams, in a large rang of different flavours. My favourite was the butterscotch, me and Ben would grab a cup each and sit on the seawall in the evening, watching the twinkling lights of boats far out at sea.
After a few days here it was time to slowly work our way across to India's east coastline where we would be getting our flight.
Next, stop Madauri.
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