I am so very much happier here than in Mahabalipuram. Kerala is more relaxed, there's more to do and the food is better. In the morning's you can look out into the sea and see dolphins playing. Fundamentally, Varkala is very dramatic. a whole palm shaded town reclining on a cliff's precipice. All that seperates the cliff and the ocean is a gently sloping expanse of sand. Sitting in the cafes or the restaurants the views are of a perpetual turquoise sea, stretchi...

Given the hassle it caused us with travel, and the episodes that resulted from it, I feel I should give Pongal, and our experience of it, an entry unto itself. Pongal is the festival of the sun. It also marks the New Year. And like any good festival, affords the country the chance for a good stretch off work. We first came across it when on the 12th when we were trying to book travel for the 16th and were told that everything from Mahabalipuram to Varkala was bo...

Given the hassle it caused us with travel, and the episodes that resulted from it, I feel I should give Pongal, and our experience of it, an entry unto itself. Pongal is the festival of the sun. It also marks the New Year. And like any good festival, affords the country the chance for a good stretch off work. We first came across it when on the 12th when we were trying to book travel for the 16th and were told that everything from Mahabalipuram to Varkala was bo...

First actual travellers blog entry. We're about 2 hours drive outside of Chennai and by the sea. But you can't swim because it's rough as anything with big rip currents and a rocky bed. We saw a sign saying "You're life is precious! DO NOT SWIM". So that was that. Yesterday we walked down the path beside the shore temple (one of the main attractions here). It was a long path, the sand filled with little bits of plastic and at least a mile of stalls jus...