Blogs from Varkala, Kerala, India, Asia

Well after the stress of being in a completely controlled environment (the Ashram) I needed a bit of sun, sea and relaxing, with no chanting and no crazy people dressed all in white trying to convert me! So to the beach of Varkala I (and friends) did go. That place is really nice, wish I had spent a bit longer there really but time is getting tight now!! Will be heading back to UK soon and soooo many places not been to on list! Beach time is always nice but I also had the added enjoyment of a beautiful ayreuvadic full body massage! It was soooo good, think I may become addicted to massages. So so relaxing. Worst thing about the beach is the price of the 'tourist food'! Had some trouble since my card wouldnt ... read more

Day 9 Bad night sleep last night, we chose a hostel off the main road to avoid the noise, but ended up oppostite a church where they had an all nighter for easter sunday so chanting and music blaring out of speakers all night - they can't get enough of jesus out here... Had an early start anyway got picked up at 5.30am to go on a jeep safari into the Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary/Tiger Reserve. Was wicked felt like Attenborough. Saw wild elephants with a baby, Bison, Deer & Black Monkeys. Was a fabtastic experience, as always we were the most ill equipt safari goers wearing flip flops and shorts and t shirts, everyone else had the proper gear on - hiking boots etc. That meant we couldn't do the 3 hr hike (guttted NOT) so ... read more

10 avril 2012, Varkala, Inde Namasté! Enfin il pleut! Depuis que nous sommes au Kerala, nous avons la chance d'avoir une pluie torrentielle à tous les deux jours. Elle ne dure qu'une heure en soirée, et elle est souvent accompagnée de tonnerre et d'éclairs, et de 2 ou 3 pannes d'électricité. Privés de ventilateur, c'est la fin du monde, croyez-moi! Il doit faire 30° plus l'humidité le jour, et à peine moins le soir. C'est pour ça qu'on vénère la pluie, et notre douche! Dire que l'autre jour une touriste a demandé à l'hôtel s'il y a avait de l'eau chaude. Elle devait surement souffrir d'un coup de chaleur! Nous sommes actuellement à Varkala, sur la côte sud-ouest de l'Inde. Chanceux comme on est, on est encore arrivé la journée d'une fête, sans le savoir. Wouhou! ... read more

ഹലോ ഫ്രം കേരള (Hello from Kerala in Malayalam...). I'm writing this latest installment overlooking the Arabian Sea as our Indian adventure comes to a close. We've spent the last few weeks travelling around the wealthier states of Karnataka and Kerala in South India, a far more straightforward affair than negotiating the craziness of Rajasthan. Following our Spicejet flight from Delhi to Bangalore we caught the sleeper train to the stunning ruins of Hampi. The landscape in Hampi is like a scene from Jurassic Park - huge boulders and ancient temples haphazardly scattered around banana plantations and palm trees with monkeys scampering about everywhere. Due to the heat, exploring in the daytime was a bit of a challenge, so the hottest part of the day was generally spent reading in the riverside cafes drinking fresh coconut milk ... read more

So we arrived in Varkala with the hope of a well deserved beach break (after not working for 3 months, yeah right). On arrival the place looked like everything we wanted, the sea, restaurants that sort of looked clean and shops. We decided to take a gamble and book into the mother palace guesthouse, which had ok reviews on hostelworld, but none on our favourite resource, trip advisor. When we got there all we wanted was a cold shower as it was absolutely boiling that day, and with around 8 hours of travel under our belts we could no longer blame the smell on nearby locals. Our room was nice and had a good view from the balcony to the sea. We only paid around £5 between us too. We were happy, until night time. After ... read more

So we arrived in Varkala (north cliff) with the hope of a well deserved beach break (after not working for 3 months, yeah right). On arrival the place looked like everything we wanted, the sea, restaurants that sort of looked clean and shops. We decided to take a gamble and book into the mother palace guesthouse, which had ok reviews on hostelworld, but none on our favourite resource, trip advisor. When we got there all we wanted was a cold shower as it was absolutely boiling that day, and with around 8 hours of travel under our belts we could no longer blame the smell on nearby people. Our room was nice and had a good view from the balcony to the sea. We only paid around £5 between us too. We were happy, until night ... read more

I didn't manage to upload a any photos on here until now.... so see below!... read more