Cliff beaches of Varkala

Kollam was boring. The house boat was beautiful, but boring. The people were friendly, but boring. Also, they have no sense of real customer service. So, Yvonne and I set off to Varkala. Lonely Planet had some good suggestions, and we decided to take them up on their suggestions. Despite being mildly anti-taj, we stayed in a Taj hotel in Varkala. The room wasn't that cheap, but wasn't really that expensive either.

Varkala is famous for one thing, and one thing only. The cliff. Since Varkala is so far south in India (on the west coast) the water is much cleaner. It's crystal blue. All the industrial crap from mumbai and pune and the other big cities which dump filth into rivers and tributaries leading into the ocean are far enough away that varkala hasn't YET been ruined. (However, I don't put is past the Indian people to completely trash it too.)

So, the cliff... The Arabian Sea is gorgeous, and the beach is only about 100 meters deep before you hit a big cliff. By a big cliff, I mean something like 200 meters straight up. Directly on top of the cliff, right to the very edge are hundreds of little shops and restaurants. Varkala is overcrowded with european tourists (many of them russian) and the cafes and restaurants TRY to cater to that. They fail, but at least they try. I was so sick of curry I went to an italian restaurant that claimed to serve "authentic" italian food, so I ordered the Penne. Oops. I should have known better after having been in India over 5 months not to order "authentic" italian food. What an Idiot. Oh well. We strolled up and down the cliff several times jumping in and out of shops, using internet cafes and catching some time in the shade. From the top, the view of the beach is fantastic. It's really an incredible sight. No two ways about it.

From the beach though, the view is entirely different. Looking up at the cliff which is completely composed of red clay and strong roots that have been brave enough to grow on the side of a precarious cliff one can see throngs of tourists haggling with tibetans and kashmiris from afar. There is a little yelling that makes it way all the way to the beach. Looking just below all the shops and restaurants you'll see something that reminds you that you're in India. No matter how nice and pristine a place is, if you're in India, you cannot escape India. The gorgeous cliff is completely covered in trash. Thousands upon thousands of water bottles litter it, along with newspapers, unwanted magazines, wasted food, umbrellas and anything else people have "dropped" over the side. A f*ckin' mess. One would expect that something so beautiful might garner at least a little more respect, but then again, I'm an anal retentive American. I believe we should handle our garbage correctly. I think we should hire people and services to collect, compress and recycle our garbage and NOT THROW IT ON THE SIDE OF A BEAUTIFUL CLIFF at an otherwise beautiful beach. Ugh.

Well, all told, go to the top of the cliff and look down and you won't be so disappointed. Just try to avoid anything called "italian" food while there. I highly recommend the seafood.