Varkala, and the 'follow the monsoon' holiday

Kerala undoubtedly has some of the best places to visit in the country. But you go at the wrong time, and you could be in for a bit of a shock. Its quite clear that the best time to visit Kerala is from October to February. The weather's fantastic, the seas are calm, there's a festive atmosphere all round and the tourism industry's in top gear. But all this also means that the rush is near maddening, the hotel rates are pretty expensive and its quite challenging to find that quiet corner.

The next best time to go to Kerala is during the monsoons. I'd guess this is a great time for non-touristy couples to go there. The rain is obviously incessant and traveling a big problem. The only thing you do is sit in the room, sip hot chai, and watch the weather fog the windows. There'd be plenty of places offering rooms with a view, and, at throwaway prices. I'd bet there are quite a few people who'd want exactly that.

The summer's a real no-no, hot, humid & sticky. But then there's this period, between summer & the rains when things can get quite interesting.

I went to Varkala in the last week of May. We were to have a meeting there starting on a Monday. It was that time of the year... enduv summer and beginning of the monsoon. And I didn't want to catch either of them in full flow. Neither a hot Kerala summer day, nor a typical monsoon 'downpour', that could last the weekend.

I checked up the weather report and it said 'Chance of showers'! That pretty much meant that Kerala was going to receive its first rains that weekend!

There's something about that first shower after a long, hot summer.

The smell of fresh soil, the breeze caressing your face, the wind buzzing in your ears and of course, the water cooling the surface of your skin, as if from within.

GK & I arrived to a perfect Saturday afternoon, with a slight nip in the air and the warm sun beating down. A 1-hour or so cab ride from Trivandrum airport brought me to Varkala. GK was already there, after taking a rather fortuitous train journey from Coimbatore to Quilon (Kollam) where he missed his original train and somehow found a special train where he was the only person in the whole compartment!

The cab had been running along the coast for a while, and before I knew it, I was in Varkala. Going past the entrance of the city, I headed for the cliff & helipad, which is where all the action was! As the cab came out of the city and to the helipad, I had my first of several 'wohhhhhhhhhooo' moments in Varkala. On top of a hill top with a sheer steep cliff-face overlooking the mighty Arabian Sea with sunlight shimmering off the glistening water! I couldn't wait to drop off my bags in a room and head straight for a swim!

Hotels are a-plenty on both the North & South cliffs. I found the North cliff to be better off, in terms of view, price, general eating places etc.

Swimming just before the monsoons is quite risky and the coastguard (who're usually around) never let anybody venture too far deep. The water was quite choppy and I was circumspect throughout. Its a very different feeling, swimming in the sea when rain's just round the corner; you can almost tell that the sea knows there's a storm brewing somewhere far out and she keeps dropping these hints. There'd be this big wave from time to time, and it'll pull back just as quickly. Its exciting and scary at the same time!

After an evening swim, we headed back to our hotel which was bang in the centre of the North cliff. As dusk approached, so did the first signs of dark clouds and loud claps of thunder. The breeze picked up considerably, and before we knew it, the first monsoon downpour was absolutely drenching the landscape.

I think it must have rained all night. We awoke to a brilliant sunny morning with few clouds in sight. While having breakfast, our waiter excitedly pointed out a group of dolphins swimming in the ocean. It was my first sighting of dolphins free in the wild, and it was an exhilarating experience, despite the fact that they were a good 200-300 meters from shore.

The rest of the gang joined in during the day (Sunday), and brought with them the full wrath of the monsoon, as the rains plundered the coast. We didn't have much to do until Monday morning, when we made our way to Kovalam, for the national meeting.

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This trip had me thinking about a 'Follow the monsoon' trip, from the South to the North, as the monsoon broke across the country. Starting end of May in Kerala, right up to the first weeks of July up say, in Jammu. It'd be a nice trip to make. Getting to places just before the rains lash, joining people in becoming kids as they celebrate the end of summer...

(Completing this post exactly a year after I started it... Procrastination. Says the critical half. Combined with loads of work, says the other, lazy half, of my little head).