Varkala, Kerala, India

Sunset from Varkala South cliff

Ever since I moved to Bangalore in 2022, I have been hearing about Varkala as if this is the "Goa" of Bangaloreans. I started planning for a Varkala trip but due to many unavoidable circumstances, the planning didn't see light of the day until September 2023 during the Ganesh Chaturthi extended weekend. I didn't drive down to Varkala (I usually drive to any nearby holiday destination as I love driving) but took an overnight AC sleeper bus from Punchiry Travels. I'm mentioning their name as I found their bus to be very comfortable, hygienic & less rolling compared to other sleeper bus companies. For the return journey, I booked train tickets for 16525 KSR Bengaluru Express (Kanyakumari t KSR Majestic) from IRCTC. While there is still daylight, one can get to witness some spectacular Kerala landscapes form the train window.

Coming back to the trip, I wouldn't say I had a "fantastic" trip because of many factors which I will elaborate further as you continue reading this blog.

The AC sleeper bus started at 6 pm from Kodathi gate and was supposed to reach my stop at around 6.30 pm but the driver decided to start at 5.50 pm & I had to hurry with all my luggage at the bus stop. On top of that, it started raining suddenly and there was no shade. I boarded the bus at around 6.15 pm; the bus proceeded picking up many more passengers, waited for about 45 mins at the office of Punchiry Travels near Madiwala and finally left Bangalore at around 8.30 pm.