VARKALA

Well, here I am in Varkala, the little beach resort at the bottom of Kerela. Its a very strange experience!

I realise just how tired I was before I got here. After all the intensity of the last month and a bit - the excitement, the vividness, the newness, the feeling of liberation - I was in danger of wearing myself out. I needed a break and crashed out in my Varkalese hotel last night into a deep deep deep sleep. Woke up today with that strange feeling you have when your body starts to unwind and insists you take everything sloowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww...

I got here via a train from Ernakulam. As has become usual, I found myself in conversation with a Western couple who were on their way down to. I had arrived early for my train in order to ensure I could get a ticket and it so happened that the seller told me I was in time for an earlier train. I ran across the heaving footbridge and platform but had no way of knowing what train to get. I saw this couple and went up to them and asked 'Is the next train to Varkala?' and they replied, 'We hope so. That's where we are going.' The guy, Dean, shook my hand and introduced himself and we all three got on the train together.

Again, as with all my other encounters so far, these were people interested in culture. It turned out they were in India for a year travelling round, studying, doing yoga etc. They ran a jewellery business back in the UK which sold medallions made from meteorites, some millions of years old. We ended up in an enormous conversation ranging from religion, culture and spirituality to more out-there subjects like aliens, conspiracy theories and End Times scenarios. Interested though I am in spirituality, those last three subjects aren't entirely my thing and I wondered what it was about the West that so many people who are interested in spirituality are into these things? As with everything, I like to keep an open mind and, indeed,everything is possible, but as a friend of mine pointed out before I came here, there is no history of UFO sitings in India - its primarily a Western phenomenon. While I was in the UK, there was a lot of discussion about 2012 and the supposed shift in Consciousness it was supposed to herald. But once again this was a Western idea which, my hunch is, has no swing over here. I guess its the old melange of ideas - religion, spirituality, New Age stuff - some of which is valuable, some of which is not, all of which in different ways reflects our desire for transcendence. You have to work your own way out as to what it all means to you, pays your money and takes your pick... Perhaps the way New Age thinking is a result of the way in which we have smashed spirituality out of our society. The impulse is still there but, unconfirmed externally, it is emerging in all sorts of different ways, some positive, some more fragmented. Maybe until something genuinely new comes through and we are able to connect up it will become more unified and less prone to ridicule... Who knows? Another sign, perhaps, of how being out here changes your perspective.

Nevertheless Dean and Sophie were great people, gave me some terrific advice and helped me to my hotel. One of the best insights we shared was the way in which all the different religions and cultures we saw out here coexisted. Sure, there are tensions on occasion, but usually in the poorest areas and at times of international unrest, but by and large people coexist peacefully. I wonder if this is because India has been multicultural for centuries, while we have only had to tackle an end to our monocultural nature recently? The shock of that is hard for everyone. Its unprecedented. I can also see how hard it must be to come to the UK if you are an immigrant with different values and poverty behind you. The UK must seem a very empty, self-indulgent place to many...

Anyway, Sophie and Dean's jewellery looks magnificent. If you want to take a look, go to www.moldavitewonderlust.co.uk. I'm hoping to catch up with them while I am down here.

So. A much needed rest. But Varkala is strange. Its still India but its not India. Its a beach resort, quite a relaxed but very Western beach resort. Hedonistic, as far as I can see, and with a tripped out young hippie elememt which is new to me. I haven't been down to the beach yet which is meant to be beautiful but there is something wierd about being in lavish comfort after all these weeks of travelling around and living in a different way. While the body is very happy the Soul is a bit restless. Maybe I am being too Virgoan about it and need to just give myself to the rest and relaxation. Yes. That's pretty much it. After all, I have a month and a half of intense travel ahead of me! Nevertheless it is bizarre being back in a Western environment and the different feel that gives you. Perhaps a taste of what awaits me when I get back?

As for the rest of my time here - well the wierd thing is the intinerary I had doesn't fill it up! I am going to have to rethink and add some extra days to some of the trips - maybe even enlarge my list of destinations! Not such a bad thing!

And on that note, I am signing off. Time for a relax. As there isn't going to be much going on here except for swimming and resting (as far as I can see!) you may not hear from me for a while! So hasta la vista, amigos!

STOP PRESS

Well its a little bit later in the day and I have started to explore Varkala the resort. I have also - rather brilliantly - managed to get sunburnt! No mean achievement considering I have been out here for six months and not been sunburnt at all (not really gone brown either). Bad news.

It is really bizarre being here, suddenly surrounded by Sun-Worshipping, dreadlocked, Body Beautifuls from the West after six weeks sharing life with Indians! Bit of a Head-Fuck actually. Like living in a bubble! Very strange. A very different vibe to everything that has come before, with everyone seemingly oblivious to the extraordinary country around them.

Never mind. Its cheap (just over ten pounds a night) and the hotel is luxurious. I need the rest before what comes next. But I hope this sunburn clears up!

:-)