Varkala itinerary, 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. It took 2.5 hours to finally leave #siliconvalleyofindia & hit the highway to Varkala. It made a dinner stop near some highway restaurant at around 9.30 pm. I had brought my dinner along with me as the foods in these roadside restaurants are exorbitantly priced & tasteless. After dinner, nothing much was there to do other looking out of the window in the dark, sometimes looking at the sky from the window & seeing the clear night sky full of stars.

I sometimes realize how much climate change is real. I remember when I was young, I used to go to the roof of my house after dusk & stare at the night sky for long hours. I had & I still have an inexplicable love for the space, beyond the stars, astronomy, astrophysics. The sky in my childhood was clearer & cloudless except during rainy seasons. But now, with so much pollution & damage to the nature, I never get to see a clear sky in the cities, not even the towns.