8/feb varkala & the arabic sea
I had breakfast in the other Indian coffee house, and this time was better. The building was quite strange. A 4 story building, but in spiral, made by brick, with one single floor that starts in the street level and goes up till the forth, without stairs!
After 3 buses, and thousands of unanswered questions, I reached varkala!! And that was quite a lot, because buses here drive so crazy. The prefer to use the other side of the road, and if another vehicle comes, instead of going back to the ‘suposedly’ right side, they start horning. Then, they speed up so fast, and if there’s no room enough, brake as fast as they can. And yes, the people inside is moving back and forth all the time. And as buses use to be always crowded, it’s a one single big mass moving… But I was lucky, and reached varkala safe!
Once there, I checked a few guest houses, and I found a very nice one 5 minutes from the sea, in the low part of varkala, in the sea level. Varkala, the main area with most of the lodges and hotels, restaurants and shops, and internet cafes, are up in the cliff, a 30 or 40 meter cliff, with a great view over the Arabic sea… wow, the Arabic sea!!!!
Well, I took a room/apartment with bathroom, for RS80, 1,3 euro. And it was in the middle of a kind of jungle, a very dense jungle, with lots of trees, and palm trees. The only way to reach my room was through a 40 cm path, crossing a couple of very small rivers. And at night, no light at all, and lots of noises. My urban boy imagination was flying so fast while listening all these noises! And maybe because the last places were not that nice, I felt so good in this place. I was feeling home here!!! But in this less turistic area, restaurant (only 2) were very expensive.
The beach reminded me another beautiful beach of brasil. It was a nudist beach, and I was alone there. But I can’t remember the name. I’m sure that ribas would be so helpful now. My brasilian friend!! The sand was also noisy here, and the water… so warm!! Maybe 25 degrees (maybe more). First bath in the Arabic sea, that to me has a lot of romantic connotations, with all the tales that happen in arabia, ali baba, sultans… People seem to be a little bit older than me. A few families, a few groups of old people, and a few young couples (30 and up). Many people come here to practice yoga, and so everyone is sitting in the lotus position, during the sunset. I was told that the sea here is quite dangerous, because of the current. There are beach/policemen controlling. And after the sun has set down behind the sea, after only one second, they start whistling, and people has to go out of the water. And this sunset, was quite amazing. Behind the Arabic sea. It’s like the sun entering into the sea, and I’m more used to see sunsets on the land side. Once in the cliff, I saw many more restaurants, with different prices, a lot of Tibetan shops, thalis… I spoke to many many Indian people here, and their English it’s so easy to understand. I guess it’s because this is a ‘famous’ touristic area, even if now is not crowded, due to the tsunami, that didn’t affect this area.
Reaching my place late at night wasn’t that easy. No light around, and I had no lantern… but I like this place!!
18/2/05
After 3 buses, and thousands of unanswered questions, I reached varkala!! And that was quite a lot, because buses here drive so crazy. The prefer to use the other side of the road, and if another vehicle comes, instead of going back to the ‘suposedly’ right side, they start horning. Then, they speed up so fast, and if there’s no room enough, brake as fast as they can. And yes, the people inside is moving back and forth all the time. And as buses use to be always crowded, it’s a one single big mass moving… But I was lucky, and reached varkala safe!
Once there, I checked a few guest houses, and I found a very nice one 5 minutes from the sea, in the low part of varkala, in the sea level. Varkala, the main area with most of the lodges and hotels, restaurants and shops, and internet cafes, are up in the cliff, a 30 or 40 meter cliff, with a great view over the Arabic sea… wow, the Arabic sea!!!!
Well, I took a room/apartment with bathroom, for RS80, 1,3 euro. And it was in the middle of a kind of jungle, a very dense jungle, with lots of trees, and palm trees. The only way to reach my room was through a 40 cm path, crossing a couple of very small rivers. And at night, no light at all, and lots of noises. My urban boy imagination was flying so fast while listening all these noises! And maybe because the last places were not that nice, I felt so good in this place. I was feeling home here!!! But in this less turistic area, restaurant (only 2) were very expensive.
The beach reminded me another beautiful beach of brasil. It was a nudist beach, and I was alone there. But I can’t remember the name. I’m sure that ribas would be so helpful now. My brasilian friend!! The sand was also noisy here, and the water… so warm!! Maybe 25 degrees (maybe more). First bath in the Arabic sea, that to me has a lot of romantic connotations, with all the tales that happen in arabia, ali baba, sultans… People seem to be a little bit older than me. A few families, a few groups of old people, and a few young couples (30 and up). Many people come here to practice yoga, and so everyone is sitting in the lotus position, during the sunset. I was told that the sea here is quite dangerous, because of the current. There are beach/policemen controlling. And after the sun has set down behind the sea, after only one second, they start whistling, and people has to go out of the water. And this sunset, was quite amazing. Behind the Arabic sea. It’s like the sun entering into the sea, and I’m more used to see sunsets on the land side. Once in the cliff, I saw many more restaurants, with different prices, a lot of Tibetan shops, thalis… I spoke to many many Indian people here, and their English it’s so easy to understand. I guess it’s because this is a ‘famous’ touristic area, even if now is not crowded, due to the tsunami, that didn’t affect this area.
Reaching my place late at night wasn’t that easy. No light around, and I had no lantern… but I like this place!!
18/2/05
posted by Unknown at 16:11
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