Varkala,
India
Thursday, January 26, 2006
We were not very happy with the room we stayed in the first night in Varkala. The taxi driver took us to a different room than we had asked to go to and Toni and bargained with the hotel and accepted the lower price before I got a chacne to tell her we were not in the right hotel. Then the hotel manager wanted us to pay part of the room with cash upfront even though we had told him we wanted to pay with credit card. I was not happy and I think he wanted us to do this so he could pay the crooked taxi driver his commission for bringing us to his hotel instead of the one we wanted. We told him we wouldn't pay any upfront. So this morning went wandering around Varkala and found this really nice hotel right on the cliffs overlooking the ocean. The room has a balcony with a fantastic view of the ocean. There are palms trees swaying and little huts. It is paradise to us. The water is clean and clear, it's fiarly clean here for India standards. There is a little garbage here and there, but nothing like what we experienced in Rajasthan. Varkala is such a cute little town. The people are laid back and it is peaceful. They also have a great variety of food here. I was actually getting tired of Indian food. We actually ate some fish last night. First non-vegetarian food we had on our trip except for the goat we had at Abdul's.
We've decide were are going to stay here for a few days to bask on the beach and chill out after the hussle and bustle of Rajasthan. We are very happy campers right now!
Comments
Nice pictures
Varkala looks beautiful. Glad you got there safely. Good idea to stay put and relax. Is the water warm like Hawaii? Do people surf? What is the usual temp.? Too many questions? Oooops that was another question. Well, I been skiing. Skate skied last night and today went to Tronsen Trail. Took a new route and to up on the ridge at 6000 feet elev.. Great snow and blustery weather with snow flurries. I'm a little tired. Been keeping busy. Forot to mention the pictures are very nice. Don't have to wait til you get home to see where you've been. Cool. Supposed to get 4 to 7 inches of snow tonight. Hasn't started yet. It is about 8pm here. So, Aki and I are doing fine but look forward to giving you a big hug. Love ya.
Re: Nice pictures
I am guessing that the temperature is in the upper 80's to lower 90's, but I am not good at converting from centigrade to fairenheit. The water is warmer than Hawaii's water. No surfing to be seen. The waves are not that big here. Glad to hear you are getting good snow again. Right now, snow sounds refreshing.:-)
LA