After a 4 hour, cramped and bumpy bus ride, a drawn out negotiation and another half and hour in an even more cramped and even more bumpy rickshaw, we arrived at the north cliffs of Varkala. Although it was dark, I could hear the constant murmurs of the waves and was incredibly soothed to finally be at a beach.
We quickly found a bungalow, literally seconds from the cliff top, and headed out for food. What most shocked me was again how similar it was to Southern Thailand. This time though it wasn't due to the gorgeous scenery, which there was plenty of, it was because of the bustling shop fronts and sheer amounts of people trying to hustle you into their restaurants! It was relentless and the tiny path along the cliff meant it was also unavoidable!
Three little words brought us to a stand still - "Gin and tonic!" After weeks of beer and lemon soda, a gin sounded like the perfect pre-dinner tipple. We ordered, along with a Thai green curry for Debs, and garlic prawns for me.
The gin came first, we took out first refreshing sip, only to find the gin, branded Amazon, did indeed taste like Amazonian river water. This should have been sufficient warning, however when the food came we tucked in with great gusto. Unfortunately for me the prawns were definitely off and I pretty much spat my first mouthful straight back out. There wasn't even an argument when I told the manager, he just nodded and removed my meal from the table and the receipt. Maybe we should have done the same with the gin...
I stocked up on nuts and crisps and headed to bed, the next day was for the beach!
We spent most of the next day lazing in the sand, drinking lemn sodas and wandering in and out of shops, before eating delicious Japanese food of all things! Topped off with a couple of mint packed mojitos. It was the perfect day.
The next day would be our last, we were getting the train from Varkala back towards Thuravoor, a place which was fast becoming our home and refuge. We'd decided to factor in a bit of a scenic detour, first to Kollam, next a boat to Alleppey, and finally a bus back to the farm.
First was breakfast in coffee temple. This place was just what we needed. They served proper coffee, thick brown bread and best of all - marmite! Just as we were about to leave, we witnessed a brilliant moment! We'd been watching a crow play with a fish head in the trees, and just as a couple in front of us placed down their coffees, the crow dropped the fish head and it landed right between them. Crow, knowing he was in trouble, quickly flew away, leaving Debs and I looking like guilty fish head pelters! We tried to explain, but were too caught up with the giggles!
When we made it to the train station, we were greeted by a heavily bandaged leper. I made my excuses and tried to dash though Debs reassured me he probably wasn't contagious. In my eyes, if someone has furry lesions and bandaged fingers and toes, I'm not taking the risk! We picked up our ridiculously cheap tickets - maybe 50p for an hour long ride, and set off squidged in with a group of studious college girls.
It was my first experience of Indian trains and it was surprisingly calm and easy. We alighted at Kollam, grabbed a newspaper and headed for the boat.
The boat ride was 8 hours long, so it was pretty important that were were stocked up. As soon as we'd got our tickets, we marched in to town, swiped a selection of fruit and sweets and quickly ran back to get some of the last seats on the deck.
The boat ride was peaceful and slow, the perfect place to really get in to my book and watch the world go by. We stopped for lunch in a tiny little village with one restaurant and one shop. With all that choice, we settled for thali and fish fry - a tiny mouthful of fried river fish. It was admittedly delicious, however nobody had even though to ask the price an we were amazed when they asked for 200 rupees each! It doesn't sound like much, but generally in such a small place it wouldn't cost more than 80!
After a leg stretch, we headed back on to the boat for another 4 hours of rest, reading and slow tempo life.
We docked in Alleppey a little after a gorgeous sunset and I was feeling particularly pleased that I'd opted to spend my time in the backwaters in Thuravoor as opposed to the crowded, loud and overbearing Alleppey.
After a mad dash for a certain birthday boy's celebrations, we were back on a bus to Thuravoor.
We quickly found a bungalow, literally seconds from the cliff top, and headed out for food. What most shocked me was again how similar it was to Southern Thailand. This time though it wasn't due to the gorgeous scenery, which there was plenty of, it was because of the bustling shop fronts and sheer amounts of people trying to hustle you into their restaurants! It was relentless and the tiny path along the cliff meant it was also unavoidable!
Three little words brought us to a stand still - "Gin and tonic!" After weeks of beer and lemon soda, a gin sounded like the perfect pre-dinner tipple. We ordered, along with a Thai green curry for Debs, and garlic prawns for me.
The gin came first, we took out first refreshing sip, only to find the gin, branded Amazon, did indeed taste like Amazonian river water. This should have been sufficient warning, however when the food came we tucked in with great gusto. Unfortunately for me the prawns were definitely off and I pretty much spat my first mouthful straight back out. There wasn't even an argument when I told the manager, he just nodded and removed my meal from the table and the receipt. Maybe we should have done the same with the gin...
I stocked up on nuts and crisps and headed to bed, the next day was for the beach!
We spent most of the next day lazing in the sand, drinking lemn sodas and wandering in and out of shops, before eating delicious Japanese food of all things! Topped off with a couple of mint packed mojitos. It was the perfect day.
The next day would be our last, we were getting the train from Varkala back towards Thuravoor, a place which was fast becoming our home and refuge. We'd decided to factor in a bit of a scenic detour, first to Kollam, next a boat to Alleppey, and finally a bus back to the farm.
First was breakfast in coffee temple. This place was just what we needed. They served proper coffee, thick brown bread and best of all - marmite! Just as we were about to leave, we witnessed a brilliant moment! We'd been watching a crow play with a fish head in the trees, and just as a couple in front of us placed down their coffees, the crow dropped the fish head and it landed right between them. Crow, knowing he was in trouble, quickly flew away, leaving Debs and I looking like guilty fish head pelters! We tried to explain, but were too caught up with the giggles!
When we made it to the train station, we were greeted by a heavily bandaged leper. I made my excuses and tried to dash though Debs reassured me he probably wasn't contagious. In my eyes, if someone has furry lesions and bandaged fingers and toes, I'm not taking the risk! We picked up our ridiculously cheap tickets - maybe 50p for an hour long ride, and set off squidged in with a group of studious college girls.
It was my first experience of Indian trains and it was surprisingly calm and easy. We alighted at Kollam, grabbed a newspaper and headed for the boat.
The boat ride was 8 hours long, so it was pretty important that were were stocked up. As soon as we'd got our tickets, we marched in to town, swiped a selection of fruit and sweets and quickly ran back to get some of the last seats on the deck.
The boat ride was peaceful and slow, the perfect place to really get in to my book and watch the world go by. We stopped for lunch in a tiny little village with one restaurant and one shop. With all that choice, we settled for thali and fish fry - a tiny mouthful of fried river fish. It was admittedly delicious, however nobody had even though to ask the price an we were amazed when they asked for 200 rupees each! It doesn't sound like much, but generally in such a small place it wouldn't cost more than 80!
After a leg stretch, we headed back on to the boat for another 4 hours of rest, reading and slow tempo life.
We docked in Alleppey a little after a gorgeous sunset and I was feeling particularly pleased that I'd opted to spend my time in the backwaters in Thuravoor as opposed to the crowded, loud and overbearing Alleppey.
After a mad dash for a certain birthday boy's celebrations, we were back on a bus to Thuravoor.
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