Varkala to Thiruvananthapuram

After Sherin Cottage and Shiva garden trying to entrepreneur rupees from me over the 10% deposit i'd paid i say goodbye and good riddance to the Americans, Germans and English of Varkala and get a tuk-tuk to the station. The grunting metal monster of a train rolls in as soon as i arrive and i board. There's no-where to sit, and only a few spaces to stand: next to the non-existent door! You really feel like you're travelling when crammed into a train, half-pushed out while it noisily clacks along. Love it. No more tourists or people trying to sell you trinkets, just genuine locals who stare, but smile if you smile at them. This is only a 50 minute journey along the stunning palm-lined steamy backwaters of Kerala. As the train pulls into the station i'm squeezed off before the train even comes to a halt. Imagine this happening on the 7:30pm London to Bristol!?

Follow my progress on this map

Varkala

Said goodbye to my Dutch saviour and arrived to an unsurprising issue with the hostel i'd booked. Seems someone wanted to stay an extra night so they obviously had priority. Go figure. The owner did have a friend with a room spare though (also unsurprisingly). He leads me to the seafront, right on the cliff and opens the door to the room. Basic... very basic! "300 a night" (£4) he says. "you want?" It has a double bed, desk, mosquito net, en-suite and a tree growing through it. What else do you need! £4 a night is ridiculously cheap for a private room next to the sea, even in India. I take the room. The ceiling is fabric with what looks like tarpaulin behind it. I can just see sky where the tree pokes out of the roof! I make a base with the mosquito net. Laptop. phone. kindle. earplugs. check. I'm so tired from the crazy journey before that i decide to get an early night and climb into my base. The mosquitoes hungrily hover around me. I mock them.

Varkala is a breathtaking place. Crashing warm waves (with dangerous rips), a long sandy beach surrounded by cliffs with shops, restaurants and accommodation on top. My morning routine is 7am beach for a swim and jog then back up the cliff for "muesli fruit", coffee and a delicious apple, watermelon and ginger juice. These are definitely the best few hours of the day. The only people on the beach at 7am are yoga enthusiasts, fishermen, some ex-pats swimming and worshippers. This is a very holy beach and Hindu's come from everywhere to pray and scatter the ashes of their dead in the sea.

I couldn't hold concentration in a beginner Hatha yoga class due the rather large American chap to the front-side of me, most amusing. I think yoga should be a private thing, classes are too distracting, or maybe that's just me.
 I had an Ayurveda massage. These are everywhere here, and are designed to be relaxing using natural herbs and oils. Mine was performed by a slightly odd but insightful Indian man who told me that I have "busy knees" and informed me of bad digestion. I found it hard to relax here also as he was panting  heavily whilst oiling me up ready for the massage. Some Indian mantra in the background would've been nice!

Most people here are secreting natural beauty. The green tea, fresh fish, sunshine, sea, yoga, meditation and alcohol restriction diet can do wonders i'd say. Some of the expensive resorts have 7 to 30 day programs to "enrich your life". I can't take the super-slow pace any more (and locals asking if you want taxi, food, drink, souvenir, massage, yoga etc.) so hire a moped, spending the rest of my time here exploring back roads, temples and towns around the resorts, occasionally dipping back to jump in the sea :) ahhh!

I'm not sure i'd recommend Varkala to another backpacker, it's absolutely beautiful but there's no dorm's, everyone's a couple and/or in a happy ali-baba trouser wearing trance. Which is fine, but not for me.

Next stop Thiruvananthapuran

Anjuna to Varkala

I'm currently reading "the worst journey in the world" but Scott didn't have anything on my epic 30 hour journey from Anjuna to Varkala!

Put a reclining seat in a giant fridge and get an enemy to violently shake the chair for 20 hours, occasionally tipping you out of it. This was my coach journey from Panaji to Cochin. The aircon was permanently on (and couldn't be turned off) so i wore all my clothes. The roads are SO bad on this journey I thought my brain was going to ooze from my ears. About 8 hours into the journey i began to get severe stomach cramps, I could feel something trying to escape, and this wasn't a gas. I thought about sleeping but decided I might not have as much bottom control so powered on with a bottle of water and music for company. Don't sleep... don't sleep... don't sleep...

The bus stopped violently, it jolted me awake and my bottom ejected liquid. I sat bolt upright expecting a smell to engulf the coach. A slight waft but nothing too bad, this was good. It was 4am, with 6 hours to go. Everyone was sleeping. I decided to sit it out. I suddenly feel dizzy, and start sweating lots. I don't know what happened then. I woke up not knowing where i was for a second, but the dizziness and sweating had stopped.

On reaching Cochin the coach dropped us at the coach station, which i'm still convinced is someone's back garden. I begin a hunt for a toilet, so i can at least get changed before the 3.5 hour train journey to Varkala. Sanitation in India is not particularly widespread, even here in a city. People look at me like i'm crazy when i ask for a toilet. After about an hour a tuk-tuk driver can see i'm obviously distressed, still with cramps and asks if i'm ok. I ask where he would go to the toilet, and he points me off down a road and gives me the name of a hotel. "You can use. Just buy tea" he said. I distribute the little reserve energy i have and head off quickly in the searing heat. The hotel is more of a curry house with some rooms attached. I head in, order a tea and head to the toilet. I won't go into detail but fresh pants can cheer you up wonderfully.

After paying tourist prices  for a tuk-tuk to the train station (i wasn't in the mood for haggling) i grab a bottle of water and lie down in the shade on the platform, still feeling ropey and exhausted. My saviour comes in the form of a very kind Dutch backpacker who's also getting the train to Varkala. She keeps me company, taking my mind off events. She makes me drink some warm pepsi and tries to get me to eat something. Feeling ill on your own in a unknown place is daunting. We board the train and head to the coast. The train journey is beautiful. I feel better already.