Kollam Beach

Between the boredom of the out-of-town part of Kollam where we were and the need for some activity in the day (which is the same feeling really) we had decided to go into nearby Kollam Beach. A whole 12 km bus journey. Which means it only occupied an hour of our time (each way). We'd heard the waters were rough and the tides had serious undertows and therefore people didn't usually go in the water. I suspect there are other reasons that people don't go into the water. Part of it has to do with the fact that Indians generally use waters for BATHING, not swimming. Even in Pondicherry I saw people in the water essentially for bathing purposes. No one would be crazy enough to SWIM in the water. So it was with Kollam Beach.

What should be an otherwise beautiful tourist spot is basically an Indian hideout completely littered with garbage. Literally littered with litter. Disgusting!
After sitting on the beach for a while and watching a couple of kids get about 3 feet deep into the water with all their clothes the wind started up. Part of Kollam's tide comes from the fact that the beach itself is steep. The water doesn't gently come to shore, but rather hits a shore with a serious incline. The wind therefore picks up sand in a funny way and threw it against us in a stinging manner. Ugh. Well, we kept sitting after that first blast of sand (what was considered a cool breeze is as my friend says "a searing wind") we watched these kids playing in the shallow water. Then we watched them throwing litter and more shit right into the water.

That did it. I went down and started grabbing shit out of the water and collecting it. I walked all the way to the sidewalk to grab a huge trash can and carry it about 50 m in toward the water. I demanded that people throw away their garbage. F*cking trash. I hate India! Why do you just litter everything? Destroying your beautiful beaches... Bastards!

Anyway, I actually managed to get about 4 people to pick up a piece of garbage close by and toss it into the bin. I figured if every person took away one more piece of trash than they left, the beach would be clean in about a week. This belief is actually two combined statements.
1) There is a lot of trash
2) There are so many more indians visiting that beach.

Anyway, a little sun, a little sand, picking up a little trash, attempting to go to bar. Oh wait, they have a full menu, but aren't carrying ANY of the drinks on it. What is this place. Ugh. Ok, back to the bus to our hotel with a bar carrying no drinks and walking toward the closest restaurant a mile away and listening to the loud "devotions" playing 20 hours a day right into our room. Gotta Love India.