Week 4 Begins: Happy Halloween

Hellooo!
This is what has happened since yesterday, or the last time I wrote...yyeeeeash I have trouble remembering what day it is here...

We left Suma's family today..larme! And I never got to do a backwaters boat ride because all of the coastal towns/backwaters flooded because of the monsoon rain. On the plus side, during my voyage to find a good place to see the backwaters I paid a visit to Varkala Beach. I was blown away, but we only saw it for about 20 minutes and had to move on. But just my luck, since the backwaters were cancelled out, and Ryan wanted to go back home cause he's not feeling well, I got to go back and spend the day alone at the most beautiful beach yet.

Varkala Beach (and I'm only telling you this because I know you'll keep it a secret) is the best tourist spot so far. For one thing, the air was actually breathable. I have this cough that will not go away, and the air in India isn't helping, but yesterday I could breathe. Secondly, there are not a tonne of tourists here because this water is pretty violent so it is kind of hard to swim there (that is the one and only down side). The beach lies directly beneath these gorgeous red cliffs, and on the top of the cliffs are all the little shops and restos where you can watch the sunset perfectly (and I did). The other major difference that sets Varkala apart, is the lack of loud noise. I will write a separate blog about silence in India, but the gist is that there is nowhere to go that is quiet here. The main reason being that, without exaggeration, cars all use their horns as signals instead of lights, and if you have ever experienced driving anywhere like India, you'll understand why the horns are constant.

Varkala is set aside from large roads so the noise pollution is minimal. Man, I really needed a day to rest my brain, and I got it. Oh, and a minor sunburn :)

Now we are waiting to take a train overnight to Chennai and then we're off to more beaches in Pondicherry (which hopefully aren't spoiled by monsoon weather as well, we'll see)

A bientot mes cher(e)s!
Leanne