Kochi - Varkala

So we went on our merry way to catch the train to Alapuzha from where we would do the backwater trip to Kollam. It turned out that there was in fact no train to Alapuzha that day so we had to get a train straight to Varkala instead further down the coast. Oh the joys of the unexpected. We subsequently missed our stop and ended up in Trivandrum, the last stop before Sri Lanka and an epic treasure hunt at the station ensued, worthy of one of Mums "Chasse au tresor" from our childhood days. Point A tells you to go to Point B. Finding Point B takes anouther 20mins as you battle past the rickshaw drivers jumping at your throat. You finally arrive at point B after going up and down several flights of stairs where they tell you to go to Point C and get a ticket and queue for half an hour. When you get to the counter they land you with the bomb that infact it was at point A that we where meant to go. You get the idea! We finally got the train for Varkala and headed back up the coast for an hour. We found ourselves in the "female only" seating carriage drowning in Jasmin perfume and multicoloured Sarees. I spent the following hour with an armpit in my right cheek sharing a bench made for 2 with 4 women, and a very robust and clammy bum against my left arm. Elodie had a large handbag in her face for the better part of the journey as she tried to read the latest Harry Potter. The entire expericence merited a photo so you will see for yourselves. The 3 (though it seemed more like 12) women sitting on my right where all reading what I think might have been the personals. The entire double spread was full of passport sized photos of men. Either that or it was the Obituaries. No doubt they where checking out the talent for their daughters.