Varkala

View from the cliffs

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We arrived in Varkala just before 3pm and took a rickshaw from the station straight to some bamboo huts that we had decided it would be fun to stay in. When our rickshaw driver followed us into the reception area and shouted something to the owner, we realised that he had decided to pretend he had persuaded us to go there so that he could get some commission (the commission is then added on to the price you pay for a room). As it turned out, all the huts were full. We then had half an hour of being followed by the rickshaw driver whilst we walked around with our bags in the heat looking for somewhere else to stay. Whenever we showed any interest in looking at somewhere, the rickshaw would swoop in from the side of the road and overtake us so that the driver could attempt to claim some commission from the owner. We eventually lost the rickshaw by walking off the road and in amongst some trees and were rewarded by finding a very cheap and pleasant hut to stay in which had a great view looking down from the cliffs to the sea. Varkala's main attraction is the beach, which is surrounded by red cliffs and lots of palm trees - it's a popular place with backpackers. Aswell as admiring the great views from the clifftop, we were pleasantly surprised to see that lots of people seemed to be drinking beer as most of the places we'd been to so far had been alcohol free. As soon as we had settled in our hut, we went straight to a clifftop cafe and found a great spot to have a beer whilst watching the sunset. It turns out that the beer was all being sold illegally by the cafes so you had to keep the bottles on the floor so that they could be quickly whisked away in the event of any police coming. After a second drink there was no question of us moving from our comfy seats so we stayed in the same place for the rest of the night and had a huge meal. It was great to completely relax for a bit in beautiful surroundings and we wished we'd had longer to stay in Varkala. The next morning, though, we surprised ourselves by managing to make it out of bed in orser to catch the train to Kanyakumari.