Wednesday, 13 February 2013

Kovalam - Day 1

And so……off yet again on the bus, this time the ‘modern’ a/c type, rare to find! But going from varkala at 9 am (in theory-it came at 9.40….) and marginally more comfy, although the a/c plus windows=same heat as no a/c and no windows!
The public strikes as usual brought the road to standstill much of the way, so 2 and a half hours later, double the expected time, we crawl in Tivandrum bus station.
Instead of the peace of Varkala beach, I found myself in a mad manic mayhem of stalls, peddlers, beggars, buses, animals, ….
Luckily, I spotted a british couple grabbing a rickshaw to Kovolam, who agreed to share the cost-14 kms in a rickshaw with three people and luggage took almost as long as the bus….
The room my guest house host Tina in Varkala has recommended is tiny, and in a family house set amongst palm groves and a labyrinth of paths away from Lighthouse beach.
The room is next to the family’s lounge/kitchen, and very noisy, dogs and children bound up as I open the door, and there is smoke everywhere from the village shacks burning rubbish for fires and cooking.
But the beach is lovely, people are friendly, and I had a great supper with a Canadian couple, teachers, from Toronto, where we passed several hours discussing intellectual authors and the state of education!

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