Of trains and beaches - The Varkala Travelogue

Part I

Varkala beach

I write this sitting at a restaurant at the edge of the Varkala cliff, sipping a hot cup of tea. The view from here is scenic, the Varkala hill on one side and the Arabian Sea on the other. I've finally ticked off Varkala from my places-to-visit list.

I started off from Mumbai at 0520 PM on Friday, the 24th of March, after leaving office in a hurry and almost missing my train. I was on the Gareebrath express to Kochuvelli. I wanted to make this journey primarily because it had been a long time since I travelled solo on a train, and Varkala was just a break between the to and fro journeys. 

I associate a lot of nostalgia with train journeys, coz as a kid, whenever I used to travel to my native; it was on the train, with mom and dad, sitting at the door, with a Kodak camera. The memory just stayed. Since then, I used to think of a long-distance train journey as a travel in itself rather than just a means of getting somewhere.

Shooting from the train

This time as well, the journey was spent mostly on the door, with the camera in one hand and a cup of tea next to me. The company was pretty good as well, and some memorable conversations happened related to travelling, businesses and life in general. It was a 30-hour journey and the Konkan route was scenic even though summer had begun. I couldn't sleep to well at night, since I had the dreaded middle berth for myself. I went off at the door with my guitar, played it till I felt sleepy. Next morning, we had reached Udupi as I woke up, and I was eating everything that the hawkers had to sell! I got my copy of 'One Hundred Years Of Solitude' out and spent some time reading, at the window seat! Meanwhile, the medu wada at Udupi and Parota at Calicut stations were delicious! 

Kappil lake

By the time I reached Kochuvelli station, it was 8 PM - bang on time! From here, I took an auto to Trivandrum Central, booked a ticket to Varkalasivagiri station in a train that started at 1030 PM. After a quick dinner at a street-side restaurant, I got into the train. I reached Varkala at 1110 PM, everything was closed. I took an auto from the station to Varkala Helipad. It was 5 kms away, but the autowallah charged me 100 bucks and I was not in a position to bargain. I got a room at SS Hotel Resort for 1600 bucks for 2 nights, which was decent enough considering he quoted 1100/night. It took a lot of bargaining to get that 600 bucks worth of discount! The room was pretty neat and clean as well, worth the money. 

Tea on the cliff

The next day, I got up at 6 AM, went down to the beach. The sea waves on my feet had a nice calming effect. After freshening up, I walked into one of the cafes at the cliff and that's where I am writing this part. I'll try and get a bike on rent to get around the place.

Part II

My ride

I got an Avenger for rent at Rs. 700 a day from this place called Coco travels. After getting the bike, I explored the nearby places a little. It was humid. So I came back to the beach and this time, jumped right into the waves. And all the heat was forgotten! I stayed in for almost an hour. Once I was out, I decided to visit an aunt who stayed around 55-60 kms from Varkala. 

My family at Kollam

I started off after lunch, at around 2 PM. The sun was beating down really hard now, and I was experiencing The South Indian Summer. If not for the bike, I would have stayed in my room that afternoon. But I am glad I made that journey. As my aunt remembered, it was 17 years since I last visited her. And I could remember glimpses of that visit like after a hangover. It was so good to meet everyone, click pictures and get a tour of my aunt's vegetable garden. And listening to dad’s childhood stories from her, priceless!

A Temple at Varkala

I started the return journey at 6 PM, decided to take the coastal route. On the way, I ran into some sort of fair, clicked pictures there, lost my way a few times and finally got to ride on the road running along the beach. It looked beautiful at night and I promised myself that I'd come back there the next morning. And I also lost trust on the GPS on my phone. 

Reflection on a lake

Next morning, I was up at 6 AM again. Vacations are not meant for sleeping, are they! It was cloudy, beautiful weather to ride. I had a train to catch at 1030 AM from Varkala. So I set out early for a little more sightseeing. The beach that I was looking for from last night was called Kappil. I visited a temple on the way, spotted quite a few birds, cormorants and brahminy kites were in abundance. I left the temple and went off to the beach-road. It was perfect to ride. There was sea on the west and the Kappil Lake on the east. A couple of fishermen were in the lake on their boat, casting their net. I waved at them and they waved back, clicked there pictures as well. Next destination was the Black beach which was closed to my hotel. I had tea this place called Jayram's cafe, right at the edge of the sea on the beach. 

The Jump shot!

I came back to the hotel, packed my stuff, returned the bike, hauled my rucksack onto my back and went to the cliff, to get last few pictures of the place and get my trademark jump shot! The rick back cost me 100 bucks and I got a few eatables for home. The return journey was on the Netravati express. It was pretty slow. Again, I spent more time eating, clicking pictures and reading, the journey was uneventful. I’ve almost reached Panvel as I write this part. 

Overall, it was a wonderful journey, although one day is too less to visit a place like Varkala. I am glad that I did make this journey. I hope to go back here, soon!