Namastey Varkala!

Can it be true?

I was expecting my flight to be delayed, but it was on time. I expected my connecting flight to be stressful, but I had all the time in the world. I was sure that my luggage would get lost somewhere on the way, but it was one of the first bags that arrived on the band. And I was certain that the pick-up at the airport wouldn't find me, or wouldn't arrive, but he was there waiting for me with my name written on a piece of paper. I expected the streets to be bumpy and dirty, but they were well maintained and had proper shops on their sides. I expected the hotel to be small, dirty and stinky, but it turned out to be super clean and the owner is super nice. I expected the beach to be dirty and over crowded, but it was clean and pretty spacious. And finally I expected it to be way too hot and humid, but it is just hot and nice during the day and perfect with cool breezes during night!

What a bliss!

I almost started crying arriving in Varkala, and it's not until now that I understand how shaken and slightly traumatized I got in Kolkata... I was thinking of staying here in Varkala by the beach a couple of days before moving on with my trip, but I just realized that it is SO NICE to be here, and I really need to wind down and relax a bit... So maybe maybe I'll sty here all the way until I go for my Ashram Yoga retreat? Hmm we'll see...

Also I must say that my first day in Varkala (yesterday) really was brightened by a new friend I met on the beach (Stephen) who unfortunately had to go to Mumbai this morning. He showed me a place to have great chicken momos and  really good sea food, and told me a little about the places in Kerala worth seeing, which was very nice for me who was newly arrived. However, I am sure I'll be fine now with my books and my mp3-player (I have all these podcasts with Thich Nhat Hanh that I still didn't finish for example) and also I have my yoga (my hotel has the perfect roof for yoga in the morning!!!)

There are only two major drawbacks with Varkala.

The first one is all the shop owners here, there are so many many many shops (with many many colours!) and all of them have their owners outside the shop saying - Hello! Hello! come inside, looking, please just look, very nice things, very good price, please come.... after politely saying No about twenty times you end up feeling a bit jiggered, and just the thought of walking back (I live on one side of the beach and the beach is on the other side) makes you exhausted. However, today I took some time to actually talk to the shop owners who approached me, trying to explain to them that I am not interested in buying their stuff since I can't carry it around on my back while travelling. Some of them understood and became more friendly and we had a got chat, some just got angry.

The second drawback is that there are no locals here, only tourist and shop/restaurant owners. One thing that was good with my work in Kolkata, and something that makes me feel very privileged, was the fact that I was working with local on daily basis. You get to see the real India when you live among the locals, and this place (even though it's a really nice place) is just artificial.


Well well... Enough complaining for today :) I am really really glad to be here, and I'll try to find some massage treatments and excursions to do while I am here. Now it's beach time!

I'll keep on giving you updates of course - luckily there are internet cafes even here in Varkala (I must say it feels so strange being surrounded by tourists all the time - this world is so very very different from the India I know).

Namastey Varkala!