India: Seaside Adventures in Varkala & Kovalam

Moving southward along the western coastline, we stopped in the seaside village of Varkala, a cliff side community perched above the sparkling, blue ocean. The beach town has a well-established backpacker scene, yet seemed to cater to all age ranges. Inexpensive restaurants, plentiful accommodations, “shacky” shops galore, and several lovely, beaches are the area attractors, and we enjoyed all of the available option. Varkala seemed to be an epicenter of Kerala Ayervedic massage and spa treatments, and also a hotspot for yoga enthusiasts (mainly for Western “seekers”). Our stay was eventful in many ways, and it served as a rendezvous spot for a few of Deb’s Adobe colleagues, who live and/or work in India. Pawan and his wife Shalini and son Aadi (from Noida, near Delhi), Susan and husband Don (from Seattle/Sacramento), and Helen (from San Jose) joined us during a break from their work-related duties.

Our group lodged at a fancy, hillside hotel for a few nights of revelry and several days of fun. The Gateway Hotel (part of the high-end Indian Taj Hotel chain), featured a large swimming pool with swim-up bar and an incomparable sea view, and familiar comforts like thick, plush beds with billowy pillows, delicious dining opportunities, and nightly entertainment on the poolside lawn. We relished the luxurious surroundings, yet still ended up spending most of our days on the sand or in the sea – which was a five minute stroll down the hotel’s walkway.

One day the 8 of us ventured away from the ocean side, spending a pleasant afternoon on another of the bamboo/wood houseboats, this time exploring that regions Backwater canals, which were even more scenic (and far calmer) than the ones we’d seen previously further north near Alleppey. After a large and tasty lunch aboard the boat, it was time to return to the hotel grounds. The drive back became exciting after we realized that our driver, who’d been waiting for us, had become rather intoxicated during our little excursion. We had to yell at him to stop the car, and 5 of us got out and began to walk the 5 km back to the Gateway (Pawan and his family had a separate vehicle – fortunately with a sober driver). Eventually, an auto-rickshaw (aka – tuk-tuk) came rambling down the road, so our 5-some squeezed in to the small cart (meant to carry 3 or less adults), and ferried forth, happy to have survived the scary encounter with the drunken driver!

Our other days in Varkala were primarily beach-related, though we did explore a local and interesting Hindu temple one morning. We were blessed with many days of sunny and breezy, 90 degree weather, with perfectly warm, ocean temperatures – allowing us to make good use of seaside lounge chairs and beach umbrellas that were available to rent. The waves came with surprising abundance and were of medium-size, allowing for plenty of fine body-surfing, and we swam and played to our heart’s content. Interestingly, the locals and the travelers had separate areas for beaching/swimming, mostly to dissuade the ever-present male gawkers who walk the beach while gazing at the silky-white women in their skimpy bikinis (a persistent habit of some Indian boys and men). Our late afternoons were divided by cliff-top lunches, followed by shopping for trinkets and goods along the paved boardwalk, and sunset viewing. Evenings found us back on the cliff top for more dining and shopping in the cool of night.

We bid farewell to our companions and the two of us headed a couple hours further south, to our final stop in India, a coastal resort town called Kovalam. There we found a similar, but slightly more upscale beach scene, with a somewhat older (our age), and primarily European crowd. The main beach – Lighthouse – was extremely beautiful, framed with boulders and rocky outcroppings. At the southern end was a functioning red and white “barber-pole” colored lighthouse (hence the name), which spun it’s greenish hued light once the sun went down. The beaches in Kovalam were exceptionally clean, and we saw hardly any debris, or plastic of any kind, floating in the ocean.

Our accommodation was more modest than the swanky Gateway, but was ideally situated for enjoying the beach activities on hand. We lazed even more, read in the shade, played Frisbee by the sea, and took many dips in the Indian Ocean. Deb got her boogie board fix, and Stevo did more body surfing in the fun-sized breakers. The boardwalk ambiance was also similar to what we’d experienced in Varkala - lined with eateries, shops, and money exchangers. In the evenings, the boardwalk came alive with the glow of street lamps and many strands of colorful, “holiday-style,” twinkling lights. Again we found ourselves dining on magnificent, spicy, and unusual delicacies in the open-air cafes, followed by more late night strolling/shopping. The vendors and salespeople were a bit more aggressive than necessary, but this was a minor annoyance and actually became a source of fun-filled entertainment. Needless to say, we bought a variety of gifts and accessories for ourselves and for our family of friends back home.

The past couple of weeks along the Kerala coast were more relaxed and easy-going than were our first weeks of temple touring in Tamil Nadu. The people of India treated us well by-and-large, and nearly everyone greeting us with big smiles and hearty handshakes. Though things didn’t always proceed as planned, and we had more than a few difficulties, there were no serious setbacks or insurmountable events encountered. India is mysterious in so many ways, and some of the customs are not easily understood – nor is the way they speak English. Sometimes we were baffled by the lack of basic communication, yet with a little faith and a lot of good intention, everything worked out in a most remarkable way. No doubt, we’ll always cherish the memories of the many marvelous sights and the incredible experiences that Southern India has provided over these past 4 weeks, and someday we’ll return and explore deeper and wider in the ancient land of wonder.

India: Kerala Backwaters

We journeyed to the town of Alleppey specifically to enjoy the area’s “Backwaters” – the name given to the inland waterway that is just a short distance from the coastline. It’s a calm, “Venice-like” river/canal system that stretches for many miles/kilometers, running down much of the length of the state of Kerala. The people that live along the water seem to rely on it for everything – from cleaning, bathing, and washing, to transportation, fishing, and for watering the rice fields, which are everywhere along the Backwaters.

The Backwaters provide for a large and growing tourism industry, and the houseboat “rental” business is the main draw. We hired a local fisherman turned boat entrepreneur to ply us down and around these tropical canals on a 3-hour day excursion, and then on the following day we embarked on an overnight houseboat trip through similar, watery terrain. These houseboats were unlike anything called a houseboat in our native land, and don’t resemble the standard Western variety in the least. The Kerala boats are constructed of bamboo and wood, and are lashed together with rope and string, making them more like a “Kon-Tiki-ish” vessel than houseboat. Ours included a 3-man crew – the boat captain, a first-mate, and a cook – each looking after our needs in their “specialized” way. We especially enjoyed the never-ending supply of delicious food that our cook prepared, as well as a groovy, upper-deck area for the sunset over the rice fields, and for some full moon/star gazing in the evening. Needless to say, it was a very relaxed and pleasant afternoon and night on the water-boat.

 Appelley Beach provided another highlight of our time in the town. We spent a lazy afternoon with hordes of Sunday locals, with very few other Western travelers sighted. The beach-goers were of the typical Indian type – women, younger girls, and female children were wading in the sea wearing their lovely, colorful saris, while the men and boys had on jeans and t-shirts, or were wearing nothing but their underwear, or a traditional, sarong-like wrap (called a lungi) splashed and frolicked in the water. It seems that the majority of Southern Indians, and Indians in general, do not swim in the ocean in the same way as we Western-folk often do - and apparently most do not own any swim attire.

The friendly and gawking locals all lined-up along the shore to watch the sinking sunset, some with cameras, and most with cell phones with which to photograph the scenery and each other (and us). Nearly everyone was with their family – and grandparents, kids, and babies happily posed for our camera, and we did the same for theirs. We saw ice-cream vendors, cotton-candy sales boys, and camel rides on offer, but the most surprising event of the day was our meeting with the Indian Frisbee team, who were “jamming” along the breezy shoreline. The fun really began once I (Stevo), joined the young men in a spirited fling of the disc, teaching the guys a few new tricks, and bringing smiles to their happy faces. There was much rejoicing and excitement, and a large and interested crowd gathered around to observe and photograph the “white-guy” playing with the well-known local team.

The state of Kerala appears to have more tourists and travelers than we had noticed while traveling throughout Tamil Nadu. It seems “less” dirty here and there is considerably less hand shaking and horn honking going on (though there’s still some very chaotic driving). The surroundings in this part of South India are more lush and tropical, the beaches appear cleaner and are mostly “cow-free,” and the pace is somewhat more relaxed. There are also fewer Hindu pilgrims and Hindu temples, and many more Christians, Sikhs, and Muslims – though the majority of people are indeed Hindu.

To our ears, India is a loud and boisterous culture. Many people speak in rapid-fire, thunderous voices, the music tends to be static-y and blaring, and street noise can be deafening. We’ve also noted some interesting, if not mundane, oddities and observations. For example, there are never just 1 or 2 light switches in our hotel rooms. Instead, we have always found there to be a vast, and confusing, array of switches with at least a half-dozen, and often times many more options (though most are inoperable). Indian mattresses are of the rock-hard variety, pillows tend to be boulders, and our bed sheets are always tucked-in with extra-tight, and extreme, military-like precision. It’s also been hard not to notice how frequently and constantly the men need to re-adjust and re-tuck their wrap-around lungi’s – though we’ve yet to see one fall off or sag inappropriately!

Our experiences have been mostly positive, though miscommunication challenges abound and seem to lurk around every corner. We’ve been told by both helpful locals, and by more seasoned India travelers, that one has to have “faith” that all will work-out in the end – and so far that has been true for us.

India: Arabian Nights in The Arabian Sea - Lakshadweep Islands

The Lakshadweep Islands, an hour by propeller plane from Kochi, and are a small chain of coral atolls set in the Arabian Sea. There are about two dozen or so small islets with a tiny, local population, but all the islands are off-limits to foreign visitors, save for three. We had a bit of difficulty receiving a permit to fly out to the islands, and it wasn’t until the last possible moment that permission was granted (a fax arrived at the Kochi airport with our permit about an hour before our flight!), so everything was literally “up in the air.”

We arrived on Agatti Island, walked a short, five minutes from the miniscule airport to our mini-resort, The Agatti Island Resort, and then settled-in for a 4-night stay at our beachside accommodations, which sat directly on the powder white shore. Our room was three steps from the sand and thirty paces from the emerald sea, and the “resort” was both quiet and simple – a virtual vacation from our hectic, holiday hiatus.

The Lakshadweep’s (“dweep’s” to us), are isolated and remote, and are considered to be a luxurious honeymoon spot for the average Indian tourist – of which there were few. The other guests were primarily French tourists, with a smattering of other Europeans, and most were there primarily for fishing or scuba diving. We did neither, but we did bring our snorkel gear and mini-flippers along and spent a great deal of our time floating and splashing in the very warm (80 degree) water. We swam with the resident green turtle family, and explored an undersea world of colorful corals and abundant sea life. The rest of our days were filled with sunbathing, reading, napping, and good ole relaxing.

The islands are home to small and traditional Muslim villages, and Agatti Island was “dry” (as in alcohol-free), but our state of mind remained jubilant nonetheless. Fortunately, the landscape was not as dry, and was just what you’d expect a tropical paradise to be - tall coconut palms swaying in a persistent sea breeze, with nothing but turquoise ocean as far as the eye could see. 0ur room was west-facing, so the sun set right out front of our patio. And since the island was a thin sliver of coral sand, the east side was only a short stroll for  sunrise – though we didn’t make it up quite that early.

The other intrepid travelers that we met on Agatti Island, Indian and European alike, were friendly and fun, and we enjoyed both making new friends, as well as getting some romantic alone time together. There were no vendors, salespeople, and no infrastructure to speak of, and we remained shoeless and in our swim suits for most of our stay, never having to carry around wallets or money (the resort was of the all-inclusive variety). Though hardly a resort, the location was primo and the scenery sublime. All-in-all we couldn’t have picked a better respite from the craziness on the mainland.