Chill out in Varkala, India
India's Hindustan Ambassador Cabs
As a first time traveler to India, landing in Trivandrum airport and being picked up by taxi to take us to the beach town of Varkala, was a very pleasant experience. If anyone is worried about the craziness of India or just doesn’t want to start of their vacation with a hassle. We highly recommend flying directly to Trivandrum and catching a pre-paid taxi to Varkala.
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Smooth Travel
We completely lucked out in every way. Dave was browsing the website IndiaMike and found a recommendation for Skylark Guest House. We took a chance and emailed them the night before we left to see if they had any rooms. They quickly got back to us and not only did they pencil us in for a booking, they sent a taxi to come and get us at the airport. We loved seeing all of these famous Hindustan Ambassador Cabs.
Relief
There is nothing better than seeing your name on a card in the middle of a crowd of people. After 20 hours in transit, we just didn”t feel like dealing with touts and haggling over places to stay. We whizzed through customs and easily found our packs and we were out of the airport in a heartbeat. Our driver motioned us to follow him and we weren’t disturbed by anyone. It was heaven. He was a man of few words, so we never did get his name and he didn’t have much to say on the drive, but he was an excellent driver and made us feel comfortable.
The trip from Trivandrum Airport to Varkala is about and hour and it cost us 1000 Rupees which is $20 US dollars. We arrived at Skylark at about 5:30 am and were greeted with welcoming smiles by Sanji and Faith who showed us our room. I am enjoying our Guest House very much. Faith, our hostess is from the States and she has been giving us excellent advice. It has free wifi a rooftop patio and the rooms are large and clean. For 400 Rupees it is a great deal with the added bonus of being only a short walk to the beach but far enough back for some peace and quiet. (although tonight there is some sort of celebration going on and people won’t stop lighting firecrackers)
Checking out the Beach
After sleeping until well past noon, we finally awoke and went for a walk with Faith down to the cliff top over looking the Indian Ocean. I instantly felt the first burst of excitement towards the trip. It is so beautiful here. The high cliffs are perfect for gazing over the sea and the sandy beach is inviting far below. Beach umbrellas are scattered along the shore and we even watched some paragliders fly overhead.
A Chillaxin’ Place in India
We had read that Varkala is chilled out and this is certainly true. Vendors are not aggressive at all compared to many places that we have been.
As we strolled along the brick path lining the cliffs edge on one side with restaurants and shops on the other, I could picture us staying here for quite awhile.
We are visiting Varkala right at the end of rainy season and it is a perfect time. No crowds yet, the weather is perfect with warm days and comfortable evenings and I think that the prices are very low.
Yoga is the star attraction here and we are thinking of taking a week introductory course as a primer for our intensive instruction later on in the trip. Classes run daily on the beach in the morning and I am looking forward to working out my stiff muscles from the long plane ride.
Varkala is chilled out for sure, but I see this place growing quickly. Construction is going in all parts of the town and resorts have sprung up. Faith has been here since 2007 and she says that it has grown quickly over that time. It is still a mellow spot in my opinion it has a long way to go before it is a tourist mecca like Bali, Indonesia or Phuket, Thailand.
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We wondered about Varkala since we didn’t make it quite south enough on our tour of southern India. Glad you chose this as your first stop… we found the south, especially in Kerala, to be very relaxing, friendly and even-keel. We did very well with our budget and found english speakers to help us out everywhere. Can’t wait to see India from your perspective!
The ambassadors are great aren’t they? We arranged for one for a full day and took it to the gorgeous tea plantations in Munnar.
Love the pictures guys! I could use some beach weather right meow! Love the way you guys flew in. India’s on my list, the one thing I’ve always dreaded about it is knowing that I’ll likely be that lost guy with the backpack walking the wrong direction because I’m too cheap for a taxi. Glad you guys are doing good! Lookin’ forward to the next post,
.-= Corbin´s last blog ..Wicked Camper Van Rentals in Canada =-.
Thanks Trisha. Yes we are looking forward to the yoga. We are thinking of doing the intensive classes up in the north, but there are certainly a lot of places here in Varkala. We just found a place that has 2 1/2 classes each day and you pay by donation only. Pretty cool.
Hi Corbin, I will enjoy some sun for you:) I will think of you in the cold Canadian winter. We are certainly happy to miss the snow this year. And yes, we highly recommend starting in Varkala. It has been the nicest introduction to India that we could imagine. It will be difficult to leave.
Very smart! A long day of travel can leave anyone feeling a bit stressed and out of sorts – so I think it’s brilliant to make your first stop a very relaxing one – it sounds terrific! And you should DEFINITELY do the intro to Yoga course….Yoga is the BEST exercise ever but can be a little daunting at first so you will appreciate the primer before you take an intense course later.
.-= Trisha Miller´s last blog ..Suzy: Week 15 Goals–Affiliate Advertising =-.
Varkala is a very famous beach for its quietness.
I am glad that you did not face any problems. I told you, India is full of contrasts if you go with an open mind. In India, we treat our guests as Gods.
Ah, not really. Sometimes one does get cheated but that’s not applicable to only foreigners.
And the rates you’ve mentioned are very competitive.
.-= Nisha´s last blog ..Wandering Wednesday Photo – Church of Mary Immaculate Conception, Goa =-.
Thanks Nisha, We really have enjoyed our time in Varkala. And we are going to keep an open mind, I promise. So far everyone has been amazing and we can’t wait to see what the rest of the trip has in store for us!
Hi Amy, it really is a great start, we are very relaxed and working on the tan. Soon we will look like we’ve been traveling for awhile and be ready to move on.
Hi Nisha, thanks for the comments. You are right, just keep an open mind and everyone is wonderful. We find that people love to talk. Glad to hear that the rates are good. When starting out at the beginning of travels especially, we never know how much we should be paying. As time goes on, you learn the approximate value of things, but at first, you just pay what you think might be fare and go with the flow. cheers!
Sounds like you guys off to a great start. Yoga by the beach sounds so peaceful. I would jump for that.
.-= Amy @ The Q Family´s last blog ..5 Best Animal Shows and Encounters in SeaWorld San Diego =-.
wow! this is cool. Enjoy yourself.
Can’t wait to hear more details of your journey
Rasheed
.-= Rasheed Hooda´s last blog ..Learning in Your Own Peculiar way =-.
That just looks tooo beautiful! Next time I’m in India, I’m staying longer to enjoy the beach!! hee hee!!
.-= GotPassport´s last blog ..Rebuilding New Orleans Part 3- Thanksgiving 2006 =-.
@Gotpassport Thanks you two, Varkala really is quite amazing. I know that it is going to be completely different from the rest of India, but we are enjoying it for now.
Wow, Glad to know there aren’t any aggressive vendors which is the opposite of all places we’ve been to in India. Enjoy it though, that may not last very long!!
.-= GotPassport´s last blog ..Rebuilding New Orleans Part 3- Thanksgiving 2006 =-.
Hello to both of you in India! You were so smart to land in Kerala, the “softest” place for a landing in India. If you want an Ayurvedic treatment, there’s a great place south of Kovalam called Shinshiva Ayurvedic Resort. And when you get tired of beaches (as if!), spend a day or two in the historic city of Cochin. For yoga, the Sivananda Ashram inland from Trivandrum is great.
Have fun you two! Maybe I will see you up north in the new year ….
Mariellen
aka BreatheDreamGo
.-= BreatheDreamGo´s last blog ..World Literacy of Canada: Gandhi’s legacy lives on =-.
Hi Mariellen. We will definitely keep in touch and hook up in the North. I will watch your blog to see where you are:)
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