In the Lonely Planet it tells me that Kovalam (kov-a-lum…spoken quite fast together) was once a calm fishing village and now it has turned into tourist heaven (or hell…depending which way you could look at it…). I didn’t really know what to expect…but so far, happy with what I found.
I got the bus from Trivandrum into Kovalam, which cost ₨9 each…yes the journey cost about 12 pence per person. I recon it was the equivalent of Mildenhall to Newmarket in distance, which costs about five British Pounds.
The Auto-Rickshaw driver got a bit lost when I asked him to take me to the hotel that I wanted to go to (that I had found in the Lonely Planet), so I ended up just getting out at another one, but I think I’ve actually lucked out here (in a good way). The room is spacious and incredibly clean with a large bathroom along the back. I opted for a downstairs room, but I still have a perfect sea-view and a little sort-of balcony to sit on and watch the world go by!
I really just spent the day on the beach (which I am sort of planning to do for the next few days…) and sunbathed and went in the sea. As it’s off season the room was cheaper than normal and there doesn’t seem to be many people at all on the beach…just a few other tourists.
13th: Walking and sunbathing
After an eventful opening to the day involving cockroaches, I went and got breakfast and were besieged by monkeys and birds. Well, one monkey and one bird…but that was bad enough! The rest of the day was decidedly uneventful, with a walk to another beach and back being the main highlight.
After spending so much time walking in the sun, I have ended up getting that warm glowy feeling that you have once you’ve been in the sun for a little too long. I felt like my wrists were on fire, but thankfully they’re not red or burnt, ust had a little too much sun.
After one day here I’m loving it and I would happily spend another week here.
14th: Sunbathing
Today I basked in the sun again, spending a lot of the morning in the water and dodging the rip tide.
The coastguards/sea police here are really quite good (or bad however you want to look at it), if someone gets a little too far out they blow their whistle constantly until that person is back into the ‘safety area’. It does get a little annoying after a while though!
This morning I got talking to a few people. First a girl from Wewlyn Garden City (how random) who told me that Varkala and Allappey are lovely and worth checking out. She was travelling with her boyfriend, but he’d just gone home so she was now travelling with a friend. Secondly a lovely couple, Andy and Claudette, from the Midlands. They also told me the same thing. So I guess Varkala and Allappey are where I’ll go next.
I had planned, based on these conversations, to head to Varkala next, however, the bus/taxi/train drivers are on strike tomorrow so it looks like I’ll have another beach day. Shame.
15th: Lighthouse adventures
I went up the Lighthouse today! The beach was quite boring today as there has been an influx of jellyfish. They’re everywhere. I didn’t want to risk a jellyfish sting, so I kept well out of the water, only risking a little paddle for about ten minutes. With a lack of anything else to do, I decided to go up the nearby lighthouse and get some awesome photos. It was a little scary as it’s very high and India doesn’t seem to be very hot on safety rails and all that!
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