I'll take a hot beach with a side of some oil rubs ...
#Kovalam beach is a tourist hotspot. During the Winter months, it's beaches are packed with Europeans and Russians. It's a tropical heaven that promises an abundance of yoga and #Ayurvedic treatments. Even with the local tourist price gouging, it's still wildly affordable. Gift shops, jewelers, and restaurants line the beachfront boardwalk. Narrow pathways extend behind the boardwalk to create a maze of more shops, restaurants and hotels. Kovalam is mostly a maze of foot traffic and small shops. It's impossible to find anything until you get lost in it and figure it out. It's layout is bizarre to a foreigner, but it's a way of life here.
...the ATMs in Kovalam are a hike to get to, and most were incompatible with my card,
How Do we Eat? How Do I Survive?
Breakfast is included in Daren's current house set up, but for other meals you are on your own. There are plenty of restaurants all over Kovalam, but eating out everyday can get expensive in this tourist town. For home cooking, there are limited options for groceries and everyday essentials that Westerners may be more accustomed too--i.e. there isn't a Whole Foods, a Walgreens or even a 7-11, but the locals make it work so can you. The tiny shops they do have are primarily cash only and rarely have the right change, so be as close to exact as possible or prepare to bargain. Some ATMs distribute only 2000INR bills so break those at the larger business establishments when you can. Also the ATMs in Kovalam are a hike to get to, and most were incompatible with my card, but a 100-Rupee taxi ride can alleviate the burdensome walk and when you find the one that works, just remember where it was because you'll probably need to go back. While visiting the ATM, the most fully stocked grocery store in Kovalam is at the same junction at the top of the hill. It has a lot of what your Western mentality might desire, so stock up with shampoo and deodorant before you head back towards the beach. If you are desperate for more familiar city offerings, Trivandrum is the nearest big city. It's a 30-minute, 700-Rupee drive and it offers more of what you would expect from a city: stocked grocery stores, street markets, department stores, Western-style coffee shops, universities and the price gouging is minimal since it's less touristy. It's still very much an Indian city, so don't expect anything overly Western.
It's essentially 3 hours of different kinds of massage and spa treatments, but it's all rooted in purifying.
Why Kovalam?
Kovalam tries to gear itself towards health and wellness. Yoga is the big draw to this region. Some of the top yogis in the world come to this beach-town to train and practice. Daren has been coming for 19 years and has no plans to stop anytime soon. He shares stories of his teachers who have also been coming for years. There seems to be a storied history of this region being tied to yoga, but I think people just like the way the warm sun feels on there bodies. Down here the weather, the food, and the exercise all seem to meld well together. Aside from yoga the other big draw to Kovalam is the Ayurveda treatments. I'd never explored them before I came here, apparently they are available at some places in the US at an astronomical cost, but here, by comparison, they are significantly more affordable.
What is Ayurvedic and Why Do I Want This?
Ayurveda is an traditional eastern approach towards health and wellness. It utilities natural medicines and focuses on a combination of intense massage and detoxification therapy to help purge your body of undesirables. I was pretty skeptical of the whole thing, but it has proven to help people with otherwise untreatable ailments from the Western medicine world. I've also now witnessed firsthand how long-term treatments can affect someone's body in a positive way. A few of my fellow retreat attendees have had a major body transformation in a short time--abs were popping out all around me. I signed up for a 7-day treatment at the top place in town, Dr. Unni Krishna's, at a cost of roughly $350 for the week. Even if you don't buy into it early on as a "medical" practice, it's worth the cost solely as a week long spa treatment--Which is what the Russians seem to use it for...And what I was OK using it for until I started to see results. It's essentially 3 hours of different kinds of massage and spa treatments, but it's all rooted in purifying. Each treatment starts with an hour oil massage by a set of feet. The therapist holds a rope with his hands and uses his feet to crush your body parts. It feels amazing. The hard pressure against your knots and fatty tissue helps loosen you up. The other 2 hours are patient specific. I had mostly steams and body rubs. I'll admit maybe sometimes it's a little rough and your body and you're exhausted afterwards... but on the whole I feel great and more energetic after having gone through it. I definitly recommend trying it for a minimum of 7 days.
...I have now begun to buy into the health benefits of daily yoga, Ayurvedic treatments, and the local all natural foods
Yogi Your Way to Health
Between the daily yoga, Ayurvedic treatments, and regional food, My body already feels leaner and stronger than when I arrived. I was just looking forward to being in a beach-town for an extended period of time to escape a Chicago Winter, but I have now begun to buy into the health benefits of daily yoga, Ayurvedic treatments, and the local all natural foods... All of this will hold true until a relapse back into my Mc-Western ways. Fingers crossed.
To Be Continued...
Beer of the Day
Beer is still not Ayurvedic...