We found everything we needed 40 km north at the beachside temple town of Varkala. The town's waterfront runs along a clifftop overlooking a long stretch of beach and the Arabian Sea. A walk along the coast brings us past coconuts, chilies, and thousands of tiny fish drying in the sun. At nearby fishing villages teams of men drag in huge nets by hand shouting and singing through their age old techniques. When the shimmering catch is exposed on the beach, it's quickly divided up between villagers and restaurateurs.
People mend nets and nap in the shade.
The pace here is positively languid. Doing not much of anything is everything. Even villagers and workers have an air of events barely in motion. Down here by the cliff, for our first time in India, there's no traffic. You can't buy drinks on the beach, but a couple women will cut up fresh pineapple for you, or succulent mangoes.