Sunsets in Varkala...

On the advice of an American/Indian girl we met (from Tampa) we decided to head down to Varkala (near the southern tip of India) for a couple days of R & R on the beach. Having completely lost faith in the train system we headed straight for the bus depot. We fought our way on the bus and prepared to suffer through the 4 hour ride like true traveling pros. Of course, there was no stop near where we wanted to go so we told the bus 'conductor' to let us know where to get off (at the closest place). We got off in Kollam and negociated for a rickshaw to drive us 24km to the beach...what seemed like three hours later we stumbled into the beach town of Varkala. We have learned at this point to always tell the drivers to drop you at a restaurant instead of a guesthouse. Otherwise, they try to get you to go to their friends guesthouse/hotel, where they are sure to recieve a commission. They will go to any length to get you to their preferred hotel, even to the point of telling you that your hotel just burned down! Thus, we had the driver drop us at a restaurant called the Sunset Cafe...we couldn't have had it any better...the open-air restaurant sat right on the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean. In front of the restaurant were the fresh catches of the day (Swordfish, Tuna, Kingfish, Prawns, Red Snapper...) and for a whopping $3 they would cook the fish for you in any style you requested. We generally choose to have the fish wrapped in a banana leaf with Indian masala spices and grilled. The taste was amazing!!

While Leslie sat at the restaurant, I headed to a place we had heard of called the Red House. To our good fortune, they had had a 'no-show' that day and had a room available for us!! "Things are looking up!" We finished our dinner at Sunset, headed back to the Red House and found a group of Europeans chatting over some chai and homemade cheesecake. Of course we joined them and sat up talking for 3 hours exchanging travel war stories and making fun of each other's accents and countries. This was daily routine in Varkala. With each day we would have the best coffee in India (made by the Red House proprietor, Patrice, a wonderful Kiwi who was now living in India), some chocolate banana crepes, head to the beach for a couple hours of tanning & swimming, read Siddartha, head up the cliffside restaraunts for more eating, talking and drinking, sleep and repeat... We really could have stayed here for the entire 6 weeks and with each day it got more and more relaxing. We actually entertained the idea of renting the whole Red House out and inviting all our family and friends for a beach vacation. (Who knows... 2006???) We met some wonderful people here and had we no disipline could have easily been convinced to scap our whole trip and lay on the beach. In fact, when we told them all that we were heading to Northern India they all laugh for about 20 minutes and then proceeded to tell us all their horror stories from traveling North!

However, being the fearless travelers we are, these stories were not going to deter us, in fact they made the challenge that much more exciting! After 3 days we booked a ticket north and headed to the airport...It is worthy to note that one of the most exciting times in our trip to Varkala, was at the sucessful booking of our first train ticket. I am not sure if I have explained before, but Indians have no respect for lines (or ques as they are called). Usually upon arriving at a train station there are a mob of people at the ticket window all shoving their hands into the small opening in the window. Of course, initially, I would stand in line very patiently waiting my turn only to have someone shove their way right in front of me and get their ticket. To make matters worse, you have to fill out a form that resembles and resume, just to book one ticket. They want to know your address, phone number, your last job, how you like your tea, how many relatives you have, where you went to summer camp...all just to book a train ticket. AND if there is even one small mistake on the form, they throw it back at you without expaining why. Well, to be fair, they probably do explain why, but to me it sounds more like a grunt than an explanation. ANYWAY...in Varkala, I was prepared. I elbowed my way to the front, grunted and made throat clearing noises, looked very serious and mean and low and behold..WE GOT A TICKET!!! I think I can now speak the language fluently!

We left Varakala feeling very relaxed and a little sunburn...we actually coughed it up for a flight since we decided the 3 day train ride would not be the way to spend our time in India. We are heading up to Rishikesh (north of Dehli) on the overnight train, where we hear there are a bunch of Ashrams and Yoga centers...Who knows maybe we will shave our head and find a Guru. Rishikesh is where the Beatles met their Guru...it could happen to us, right?

Very relaxed,

Kevin & Leslie