Day 11 - Varkala

HOLY HIPPY SHIT!!!  This place is utter utter paradise!  Very green, with B&B's nestled in among the trees, along dirt tracks leading to the path along the clifftop, that's lined on one side with eateries and wee hippy-esque shops.  If a place was made for me, this is it.  On the other side of the path, there's the view, and OMG, what a view.

View from the clifftop path - Varkala

We went for a walk, and I picked up a pair of baggy white cotton trousers for just over £1.  Also picked up a couple of t-shirts, one with a mandala, and one with Ganesha (the elephant god).

We've not been down the cliff to the beach yet, but we stopped off for a drink (mint tea).  Going to have a veg at the pool for a bit, then head back out later this afternoon.

(........LATER)

So the beach is small, but perfect.  The backdrop of the cliffs is just stunning.  This is possibly the nicest place I've ever been to.

The beach.

After a wander along the beach, we headed back the way we'd been this morning, for a drink.  A lot of the shops sell cd's for about £2.  It's either Bollywood soundtracks or Goa trance.  Well, since Goa is just up the coast, between here and Mumbai, I went for the Goa trance. Pretty much chose it by the fact it had the trippiest cover.  Seemed as good a method of choosing as any since the tracklist meant absolutely nothing to me.  Fingers crossed it's not shite, but at £2 I can't really complain if it is.

Before heading out again, I went for another swim in the pool, then it was time to hit hippy heaven, where we ate in the Cafe Del Mar, which had good write ups in Lonely Planet, and damn the food was good.  As they weren't licensed, the beer bottle was wrapped in paper and hidden under the table, and the beer itself was poured into a mug.  It was pretty cool drinking an illicit beer.  Felt 16 again.

After dinner, we went for another walk and got talking to a couple of Tibetan refugees, who had a shop.  There's quite a few Tibetans here, nice guys.  On the way back we stopped off at the Reggae Bar for a legal beer.  No price difference though, R120 (about £1.40) for a 650ml bottle of beer.  Damn good value for money.  Now we're back at the hotel and it's time to veg out.

I seriously love this place.

Day 10 - Mumbai

Last day in Mumbai, well morning really, so, a lie in, followed by breakfast, then packing and off to the airport for the flight to Kerela, after a last couple of photos in the hotel.

A last pic before leaving the hotel in Mumbai

After all the travelling, we checked into a nice hotel, which is basically made up of bungalows round a nice wee pool, before unpacking and grabbing something to eat.  Karen went for a peanut masala and I had a really nice butter chicken.

At the airport on the way here, we realised that the ban on batteries in your hand luggage that were told was aviation law, in Jaipur, is just a scam.  Mumbai airport sell batteries in the departure lounge, and where else can you put them if not in your hand luggage?  Travellers beware if your flying out of Jaipur, put any batteries in your hold bags, as someone in security at Jaipur obviously has a brother with a battery shop who re-sells your confiscated batteries.  We're going to complain to customer services at Jaipur airport.

Now we're just chilling out and watching tv in the room.  Looking forward to exploring tomorrow.