To bring you up to date, we had quite an arduous journey arriving in Vailar, Kerala. We crossed three states in one day and were exhausted at all levels when the semi sleeper bus deposited us at 4:00am opposite the Chertala railway station.
My older, very protective cousin had given us strict instructions to wait outside and not attempt to arrive home by ourselves. The moment we got down from the bus, I realized that I did not have my wallet with me. I rummaged around our countless things for the next 5 minutes pretending to find tissues. Finally I had to break it to my husband, Ro, that I did not have the money bag. All hell broke loose as we stood and argued outside the train station, resulting in an annoyed baby and a very surprised and sleepy crowd slowly gathering around us.
My cousin, M, finally arrived and we gave chase to the bus which had left 15 minutes earlier. After a few kilometers, we finally resigned ourselves to our fate and turned back. Our journey had to be cut short. There were close to USD 100 in the wallet. We had thankfully divided our money before we left so we still had some cash but it would not be enough to explore the state as we had planned. When we arrived home, I opened the baby bags and behold, there was the offending wallet. We were back on track. We were in Kerala, amid the backwaters, near the ocean and it looked like heaven.
Morning greeted us with the fresh aroma of dosas and chutney, a staple breakfast food in Kerala. We hogged like 3 famine victims and proceeded on to a nice calm walk along the countless coconut trees and small lakes around the house. The house was a very old traditional south Indian home with a huge front courtyard and cool red colored flooring. The air smelled fresh and the day seemed full of promise. The area had a flourishing coir (raw material from the coconut tree) industry and all the households were busy making rope and baskets.
The beach near Chertala was not for swimming. The sea was very rough and one could hear the roar of the sea for miles around.
The backwater boat rides are what make Kerala famous. Its simple people have become very cunning and worldly wise in extracting the maximum from the tourists who flock to Kerala in droves, be it to enjoy the backwater rides, the numerous beaches, the massages, the mouth watering cuisine or the dangerous martial arts and dance forms. It remains God’s country but the people have apparently crossed over to the evil side – or so they say.
The backwater rides in Vailar were very cheap at only 70 cents per person, in contrast to Allepy, where after hard bargaining, we got a nice boat for 3 hours without lunch at USD 21. To be fair, the boat ride in Allepy was more the real deal with beautiful clear waters and a nice big vessel. My baby, SW, really had the best seat right on top of the hull where she promptly fell sleep, lulled by the soothing rhythm of the boat, leaving the hassled parents to finally relax and enjoy the calm.
A small suggestion – 3 hours is a long time so unless you want to have lunch, 2 hours is more than enough. We hopped off after 2 hours and headed to a nice restaurant called Arcadia for a wonderful south Indian style fish curry and rice (warning: very spicy and not for the faint hearted).
In the evening, we really wanted to visit a nice beach and my cousins took us to Marari beach in Alappuzha. This was actually an eco friendly resort where they had a private beach. The resort was simply breathtaking with its own butterfly and flower garden and water treatment system. The beach was perfect – white sand, a rough sea with the sun setting on the horizon.
We were to leave for Varkala the next day. We had heard only good things about this place – a dream town with a cobbled pathway running along the edge of a cliff, with quaint places to stay along this path. One could lay awake all night, listening to the waves crashing against the cliff wall.
We got train tickets at a very cheap USD 12 for the three of us. The journey was beautiful with a lovely view and comfortable seats. Arriving in Varkala, we quickly realized that there were 2 parts to the town, one on top of the cliff and the other cheaper option, downtown. We decided to check out this hotel called Santa Clauz at the top. We saw the place and we knew we had touched base. I had never seen a prettier sight. The place was a cheap USD10 per night and the rooms were excellent and sea facing. A few steps forward and you reached the edge of the cliff. It was a trek to reach the beach every day but we relished the cool sea after the walk.
There were countless restaurants and shops all along the edge of the cliff and amazing seafood. I would greatly recommend Funky art café and Sunshine café. All places had both western and Indian cuisine and an extensive choice. Needless to say, the following days were spent in utter decadence, relaxing and lazing on the beach, shopping, getting massages and hogging on excellent seafood.
This was what made it all worthwhile; the horrible journeys, the tensions and the continuous nagging thought to move on, until you reach a place where it would be a pleasure, not an obligation, to stay a while and rest.
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