Varkala was to be our place of rest, a holiday within our travels and we wanted to have a little base here for a while before moving on within Kerala. The train journey from Kochi was pretty good, we got there in about 4 hours, the only down side was that we didn’t have a seat where our ticket said our seats were.

This is because on sleeper class during the day people just sit anywhere regardless of whether they’re ticket says so or not. In our actual seats there were around 12 people crammed onto the lower beds. We opted for the upper deck with the bags and hid away, the plus side of this being that no-one tried to sit next to us. It was a hot and fun journey but we were more than happy to be getting off at Varkala.

We got a rickshaw to the North Cliff, under the impression that we would be staying at Shiva Garden Guesthouse, who had offered a free pick up. The only thing we had to do was make a call from the station area to get them to pick us up, we couldn’t find a phone anywhere and people were not very willing to help. So we just made our own way there and were pleased we didn’t get them to pick us up as we decided not to stay there after all. We wanted something a little nicer, after all we were on our holiday time! So we moved on and had a look at a few places in that area at the top of the North Cliff and settled for a 800rs room at the Clafouti Resort, we thought we’d do one night here and then move on. The room was nice and the location not too bad but the owners are not the most hospitable and we wanted to be on the quieter side of Varkala cliff.

Varkala wasn’t quite what we imagined it to be, it had been over-rated by fellow friends and travellers we’d met along the way. We now realised that we actually had it quite good up in Palolem. It’s a busy cliff resort full of bright signs, craft sellers, hotels and resorts, most of the restaurants cater for the tourist with western menus and the beach, hmmm! Still we thought we’d give Varkala time to grow on us. The first thing we did was grab some food at Clafouti restaurant, with a nice cool breeze coming from the wild ocean below we enjoyed a massive mexican meal, we just wanted a light lunch! We then ventured out to find another place to stay for the rest of our time there. We had read about Varkala Villas on South Cliff and so went for a stroll out along the cliff to the area.

En-route we passed a man demonstrating para-gliding as he was attempting to take off on the section of cliff between north and south. We helped him untangle his kite strings from a car and then he was off with the birds watched by several Indian tourists in amazement. We found Varkala Villas on the South Cliff and negotiated to stay with them for 3 nights at 1500rs/night for their lovely bungalow overlooking their beautiful garden. The owners are very accommodating and friendly with it which helps.

After we moved to the bungalow we spent much of our time relaxing, decided not to take breakfast with the owners (500rs extra) we did our own in the form of curd (yoghurt), fruit and muesli. We’d been carrying the muesli with purpose since buying it in Kathmandu when we first got to Nepal, we HAD to use it! Plus it meant we weren’t spending so much money on food every day plus they had a small kitchen with a fridge we could us too. We enjoyed the hammocks in the garden and would spend time in the middle of the day on the beach. When we were on the beach we were surrounded by other tourists and backpackers taking the time to soak up the rays. We rented an umbrella each time for 150rs and picked our spot where we would read in between dips into the ocean and naps. It’s a hard life!

The sea at Varkala beach is a little wild, you can’t really swim out very far as the currents are strong and the waves fierce. On our first swim Helen got a little scared as she kept having to dive under massive waves and was getting further and further away from Dave. But after time we both over-came wave-scared moments and enjoyed them like they were roller coasters, often washed up and tossed around. The North Cliff end of the beach is where most tourists gather and so this is also a prime spot for local male onlookers having a good ‘perv’ at the girls in bikini’s. It’s quite off-putting and at the same time laughable but they don’t ever see so much flesh on show so who can blame the?!

We took 3 yoga classes whilst we were there, one with the local ayurvedic doctor who’s Hatha style session was a little un-rehearsed, Dave was urging Helen to take over. The main problem really though was the language barrier as the next 2 days we attended an intense Ashtanga Yoga class with a teacher who’s English was much better and his practice was very focused. This second class based with Namaste on the North Cliff in front of Juice Shack was much easier to follow, although we ended up in buckets of sweat each time.

We followed our yoga sessions with a very good omelette and juice at Coffee Temple a few doors down. Although it took over an hour one day to receive the omelette it was very good and they do a fantastic chai-latte too. As Varkala grew on us we ended up staying 6 nights in the end and enjoyed our little routine during the day. One evening we went to the Varkala annual festival along with what felt like thousands of others. The atmosphere was building and building, with dressed elephants, musicians, dancers and folk in tradition costume. The only thing was not much was actually going on. There was a problem with the amount of people on the sides of the road and traffic was making it’s way through at speed, so much so that at one point one of the locals was hit by a passing vehicle which didn’t stop. It was quite a moment, being witness to a hit and run accident and how it was dealt with afterwards. The police went off after the car whilst the injured man was quickly rammed into the back of a van, we assumed he was being taken to hospital. Crazy times!

Other things did come of the festival though in the form of fire crackers and fire-works, they were so loud we could feel the ground shake, and they continued on throughout the night. We found solace at Oceano, an Ayurvedic resort who also offer a great menu of what we found to be delicious Keralan and other Indian food. We ended up eating there 3 times in the end as the food was so good and it was very rarely occupied. Oceano is on the South Cliff next door to KR’s Guesthouse. (Whilst this was our favorite jaunt for food we did also have an award for Cafe Del Mar’s smoothies on South Cliff).

Halfway into our stay in Varkala we met Andy and Lisa who through the power of Facebook were introduced to us via a mutual friend back home. We were staying 30 seconds walk away and so it was easy to meet up with them and we enjoyed beers, food, smoothies, yoga and beach time with them too. Next door to where they were staying at Villa Jacadera is Absolute Ayurveda a clinic that had been highly recommended to us by the family staying in the bungalow next to us. I knew they had to be good as Katrin is an ayurvedic practitioner back in Germany.

Based on her recommendation we chose a day package (it’s actually 2 hours ish). For 2700rs we enjoyed a full body massage, a chidroreah treatment involving 45 minutes worth of buttermilk, honey and other medicinal things being dripped onto our forehead. This was followed by a herbal wash (for Helen) and a facial for the both of us. Bear in mind that you are completely naked during this kind of treatment aside from a very small cloth thing! We both felt really good afterwards though an our skin felt amazing. Any of these treatments back home would cost a fortune so we figured we may as well do it in the home of Ayurveda.

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f2.0, 18mm f4, 90mm Tele-Elmarit f2.8, Olympus PEN, 17mm f2.8 processed in Lightroom 3)

Up early and out the door with our baggage we headed to the Ocean Tours office. We were able to leave some bags at the tour office to lighten the load whilst on our trip to Halong bay with our new friends Justin, Jules, her brother John and his wife Lisa. The six of us piled into the tour bus with the other adventurers and began our 4 hour journey to the bay. We arrived at midday after a stop at a service area which sold assorts of tourist paraphernalia including huge tapestries which were made in the shop by a bank of ladies at sewing machines.

Once we arrived we boarded the Junk boat and set sail into the bay which had some nice views if a little cloudy. The boats have accommodation for up to fourteen people so they are nice and cosy. Due to the limited space we were staying on Cat Ba Island for the first night and on the boat on the second.

We were served some very good food on the afternoon which included some fresh seafood which we all loved. After some more sailing and relaxing on the top deck we dropped anchor and a boat arrived with some kayaks for us to venture into the bay under our own power. They were double person kayaks so we both jumped in and paddled around into bays and caves. Even though the weather wasn’t the best we loved the kayaking and the water was a decent temperature, there was even talk about going for a dip in the water at some point!

We boarded another junk boat that had docked with the first boat and the six of us headed off to Cat Ba Island for the evening. The sun poked through the clouds and it made the whole area just that little bit more magical. Our tour guide was chatting to us, supplying us with information on the area and answering any questions, he was very knowledgeable and helpful. Upon docking at the island we headed to our evenings accommodation via push bikes for a few km, maybe taking around 20 minutes to get there (our bags were taken onwards via motorbike). The village is very small and quiet with a new custom built area for the tourists to stay in basic but practical bungalows with en-suite bathroom, hot water and a double bed.

To save some money we purchased a little present from Hanoi in the form of a bottle of Rum priced at 90,000 Dong (£3). Justin and Jules had the same idea, so out came two litres of spirits which got the night off to a good start. Dinner was served and again the food was very good, they even catered well for the vegetarians and also wheat intolerance. We were informed in Hanoi that there would be AC heating in the room, but this was not the case, however more blankets were supplied and this kept us all fairly snug.

Breakfast was served at 8am which included some very good apple pancakes and omelettes. After some relaxation time and packing we all got together and headed off for a hike up the nearby karst peak (around 300m in height). Its quite a climb and you will need some good footwear, boots recommended, to manage the rocks and steep assent, apparently the record is around 35 minutes but we managed it in around 45/50 minutes. At the top there are some great views over the whole bay and down to the village below, however it started to rain so we headed down which was made more difficult by the slippery rocks underfoot.

We also ventured out to a nearby cave before heading back to the village for some lunch and then we jumped on the bikes to ride back to the dock to rendezvous with our evenings watery accommodation. The double rooms on the boat were very well presented, clean and comfortable, with hot water from the showers. The temptation to take a plunge in the water was just too much for some and after stripping down and braving the now chilly air, Justin, Jules, John and Dave all jumped in. It was chilly to say the least, but bearable for a few minutes, in the summer it must be lovely. The boat headed off and dinner was served including seafood and a plate of chips which all went down very well.

You can have a go at Squid fishing from the boats edge, however it was a quiet night in the ocean and nothing was caught, good job we weren’t fishing for our food, otherwise we would have been very hungry. After some card games and an offer for Dave to play some Texas Holdem poker with the Vietnamese boat staff, which we declined when we found out they were playing for money, I’m sure we would have got shafted, we headed to our cabin for a night at sea.

After a good sleep in our cabin, breakfast was served on deck and we were informed that due to bad weather we had to move to a safer bay which took us too far away from the Amazing Caves that we were due to visit. This was unfortunate but out of anyones hands, government orders apparently, so we set sail back to port. Upon arrival at the port we had lunch at 11am, so we were all feeling pretty full after two meals in the space of a few hours. The food wasn’t as good as on the boat but it was ok. Generally speaking the food on the trip was very good indeed, often at times we felt like each meal rolled into the next, you certainly wont go hungry if you book with Ocean Tours!

The journey back to Hanoi was uneventful and we arrived safely back at Ocean Tours at around 4.30pm. We had a sleeper bus booked for that evening so we were glad we had the time to get to the hostel pickup point and grab some food before our departure of Hanoi. Street food was a quickest option and we had some rice dishes. Helen’s vegetarian option was sticky rice and pickled cucumber, which was tasty but basic, Dave’s was a type of salami, a fried boiled egg, rice and sauce which was very tasty, almost like a mini full English breakfast.

At 6pm we were picked up from the Rendezvous hostel via mini bus and taken to the sleeper bus for the journey to Hoi An via Hue, a 13 hour journey to Hue and then 4 hours onwards to Hoi An.

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f2.0 & Olympus PEN, 17mm f2.8 & 100mm f2.8, processed in Lightroom 3)