Hearing about overcrowding and "paradise lost" in Goa, we decided to skip it and Showed up in Varkala, Kerala, India for our 1st beach time on this trip....What a pleasant surprise to find that the Varkala Beach has most most of the guest houses and shops on the North cliffs and on the South cliffs (where we stayed) was quite a bit more subdued....The cliffs had access stairs down to the beach, from the mundane to the downright scary. Where the south and north cliffs meet is a beach area with access for the village locals and also the funeral ceremony beach for the area...Culture and beach life...That"s India...
 |
The view down from our favorite cafe...
Only open for 4 days when we arrived. |
 |
The colorful fishing boats ....Looking out the night we arrived
It looked like the sky had landed on the Arabian Ocean.
I counted over 200 lights from fishing boats working
the night away. |
 |
The cliffs were mostly red rock with the
vibrant plants and everyday blue sky. |
 |
Here's Bec at our fav. restaurant (Green Pepper), excellent coffee
seafood, lassis and everything we tried......... |
 |
Big funeral day....the bodies are cremated elsewhere and then
a ceremony at the beach with the family for last rites... |
 |
| A family pays their last respect as they scatter the ashes of the deceased. (Becky) |
 |
| We would usually stroll between North and South Beaches daily.(Becky) |
 |
Simple table light: a can filled with sand,
a glass lantern and a candle.
But Yikes! that smiling face!
I think somebody said "cheese".(Becky) |
 |
fishermen prepping their nets..in the foreground
is one of their canoes....just 2 logs tied to a big log.
Way too simple |
 |
So, now we know why they're called water buffalo.
This dude was at the beach, swimming around in a cool lagoon,
making a lot of happy mooing noise! (Becky) |
After a great stay in Varkala, we decided it was time to exit India and take an easy flight to Sri Lanka from the capital of Kerala....Thiruvananthapuram (quite the mouthful, shortened to gringo to Thrivandrum) for the holidays...We only had 2 weeks left on our Indian Visa, so we were coming close anyway....
INDIA
It's been "Incredible" and that is their current tourist promotion "Incredible India". Every town, village or temple on the road has been different, culturally and in it's character and beauty. For everything in India you can add the word "Incredible".....Beauty, Culture, History, Poverty, Wealth, Filth, Crowding, Frustration, Serenity and the list goes on...We're glad to have come and happy to go.....confusing yet clear.....
Namaste India!
No comments:
Post a Comment