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14-17 October 2012
I left Kanyakumari with Mairead, heading for Varkala by train. It was my first experience of the Indian Rail ways and it was a reason in itself to visit India. As we sped along you could see the coast and rice paddies on one side, and the Ghats and swathes of coconut trees on the other.
At Trivandrum we stopped to change trains and have a spot of lunch at a chain cafe called the Indian Coffee House. The building was very unusual, it was a spiral tower. Looked like a bizarre pigeon coup. The waiters also wore peculiar uniforms. White military style uniforms with fanned fabric hats. They looked like the peacocks of the culinary world. We sat on the top floor so the waiters looked quite angry as they served us. We were somewhat apprehensive about ordering more of anything or asking for another napkin from the kitchen at the bottom of the tower.
After three hours on the trains we arrived at Varkala and checked into a great guest house run by a family.
Varkala is stunning. It's a low key backpacker resort full of travellers, surfers, yoga classes and Ayurvedic doctors. All the accommodation, bars and cafes sit perilously on top of the cliff.
Next door to our rooms we met Filip. A Czech hairdresser who loves yoga and wants to be an Ayurvedic doctor after travelling around the north of the country. He gave Mairead and I a yoga lesson which was really interesting as I had never done it before. On one day we also met a group of Canadians who were really great to chill with. We spent a whole day by the beach drinking detoxing fruit juices. Everyone lost track of time here.
Before leaving I got an Ayurvedic full body massage and met an Ayurvedic doctor who gave me advice on what food and drink I should be taking to help with my asthma and allergies. The massage was incredible but very painful. After being massaged with a range of oils, the masseuse got some hot seeds wrapped in linen and started pressing it all over my body. It was like a massive cigarette end was being burned into me. When I used any form of expletive, the masseuse only got more hot wraps and pressed harder. However afterwards I hadn't felt so relaxed in all my life. No matter how hard I tried, I could not tense a single muscle in my body. I did not think anyone could be this relaxed without using a drug of some kind.
Another highlight was a surf tour of the coast for one morning. We drive around looking for the best surf in a great car, an old Ambassador that looked wicked with all our surfboards on top.
After having a course of soul 'n' surf in Varkala, I then set off for Alleppey.
- comments
dad funny you lost all sense of time after drinking detox fruit juices jake. i used to get like that after cider. x