Birthday Trip

Hello everyone,

Happy and content, I have returned to the Ashram and I want to share with you some impressions from my birthday trip to Varkala.

Together with a lovely family from Brandenburg with three young kids and a dear friend from the Ashram, I took a taxi on Friday to go to ... Varkala :))

I liked it there so much that I decided to spend my birthday there.

After two hours of driving, we arrived and it didn't take long until I was laying on the beach. 😍😍

During the day, we spent some time in a cafe that served delicious fresh fruit juices. In the evening, we indulged in Indian delicacies and filled our bellies.

The next morning, on my birthday, I woke up early to experience the sunrise by the sea. After a while of eagerly staring at the sea, hoping to witness the rising sun on the horizon, it turned out that I was looking in the wrong direction. As it turns out, the sun actually rises behind the cliff on the other side. 😓

Nevertheless, it was a beautiful morning atmosphere, which I took advantage of for a leisurely stroll.

Back at the bungalow, I hopped on a rickshaw to pick up my personalized 'Black Forest' cake from a nearby bakery. Armed with the cake box, I headed back. Luckily, the cake survived the bumpy ride on the road 😃🤣.

For breakfast, our lovely Indian host Rita prepared Dosa (pancakes made of rice flour and lentils) with spicy coconut sauce and hot chai - a special Indian birthday breakfast just for me :) It was so sweet of her :))

At the same time, the friendly family from the Ashram prepared a Raki biscuit 'cake' for me. 🤣🤣 They stacked about 50 biscuits in the shape of a cake and placed small candles in them. So creative and unique. 😃😃

After spending two hours alone by the sea, basking in the sun, we went on a rickshaw tour to a nearby temple. Sounds harmless at first, right? However, there were 7 of us squeezed into the rickshaw, making it quite a fun and adventurous experience. 😂😂

When we arrived at the temple, we found out that it was closed and will only reopen in the late afternoon. So, after an hour, we headed back to the bungalow.

As an alternative, I chose a cute little café right on the cliff where we enjoyed delicious Mango Lassi.😋

In the late afternoon, after our successful shopping tour 😍😍, I prepared a fruit picnic for all of us at the beach. We also had Indian sweet specialties, including Rasgulla - we called it coconut sponge in ultra-sweet rose water. But after taking a bite, we immediately spit it out, as it tasted absolutely awful.🤣🤣🤣

After a nice swim and a proper sand rinse :D - unfortunately, we couldn't swim directly on Saturday due to the dangerous currents :( - we all went for a shower.

After my reservation at my favorite restaurant was simply 'forgotten' 😫, we decided to go to the restaurant we went to the night before. Definitely a good choice 😍 After our main courses, the long-awaited 'Black Forest' cake was finally served - instead of cherries, grapes adorned the surface of the cake. 🤣🤣 In India, it is customary that each guest feeds the birthday person with cake directly from their right hand. Then the same ritual is repeated in reverse and I feed the guests cake from my hand :) Such a sweet and social gesture, I think. 😊

After three hours, all the kids were almost falling asleep under the table, so we headed back home with full bellies.

I am very grateful for this beautiful and very different, special birthday, where so many people thought of me and wished me well.

The next day, my wish was finally granted and we could all joyfully jump into the waves. I even swam quite far out and let myself drift in the water. What a feeling of freedom!!!

In the late afternoon, my girlfriend and I took the train back, while the family preferred to take a taxi.

Train travel in India is definitely not for the faint-hearted and you need to be open-minded for such an experience :D

With all the compartments packed and virtually no oxygen left in the air, we decided to take the audacious method.

In India, you stand directly at or in front of the open train doors and only hold on to an iron bar. Meanwhile, the train rushes over the rails at what feels like 200 km/h. In an inattentive moment, it can quickly happen that you end up on the track. 😂

But given the foul odors coming from the 'bio toilet', we had no other option :D

Finally, we took a rickshaw back to the Ashram. On the way, we unintentionally encountered a dead accident victim lying on the roadside. This sight was terrible - I will spare you the further details.

All in all, it was a very fulfilling weekend, and I am very grateful for it.

Take care and see you soon!

Yours, Tine