Next stop was the cliff top 'resort' of Varkala, beautiful sea views, gorgeous sea food ,good beaches with a bit of surf. Also hardly any traffic! So it was a few days of relaxing and kicking back.I made the mistake of having a massage in which I was declothed and wrapped in 2 tiny pieces of fabric in a fashion which would have made a sumo wrestler look over dressed. On hearing my cries of protest my 'masseur' convinced me it was "traditional". I wanted to tell him that although sacrificing virgins is "traditional" somewhere ( where, I'm still not sure) , it still doesn't make it 'alright'. The only positive thought was that he remained fully clothed. He then proceeded to cover me (baste, I think is more apt) in heat producing oil, probably chili based. Once I was nicely marinaded the real torture began. Thankfully the whole ordeal didn't last for as long as I thought it was going to, maybe my concentrating on not slipping off the table produced a false sense of time.
"So? Feeling relaxed?" he asked. " I am now you've finished!" I replied, but I don't think he understood the humour. So quick sharp I got out of my minimalistic mummy suit and gave him the slip , I knew all that oil would eventually come in handy.
We then took a "superfast" train down to Trivandrum to catch our flight knowing that we wouldn't be in this country again for about 6 weeks. It gave us time to think and reflect on this first section of India. As with all countries there is good and bad and this is certainly true with India. In my opinion most of the bad points stem from the gross overcrowding, but it also means getting around is quite easy, as the transport system has to be good to accommodate such a large population. We've just about got a handle on the train system, but there are always a few surprises like figuring out a 'Fast' train is actually quite slow, a 'Superfast' train is actually somewhere near approaching fast, and the word Express , as in the Delhi Express, simply means ' train'.
Oh India, we will miss you!
