Jan 29–Feb 4

Jan 29 — Slept a bit better, wake 9:30 with furniture moving around, rise 10:20 lazy. Make café using metal cup with water provided. ABX shares moved from WS not yet visible at QT. 12:00 walk back to bus stop area, eat at first spot from yesterday — pina juice with egg sandwich and chicken shawarma 155rs. Guesthouse power keeps cutting, poor quality for price paid. Checkout of Raj Mahal 12:55 during power cut, old woman doesn’t want to refund 300rs, kept asking questions, agitating. Poor deal but at least had free water and good AC. Power walk to Thrissur Junction, multiple kiosks 45rs train ticket to Ernakulam. Thrissur one of worst places so far in India. Catch southbound train right away at 1:25pm, probably a delayed earlier train, got private AC berth area, express train only 1 stop Aluva. Arrive Ernakulam Town station 2:50, no inspector this time. Walk towards High Court water metro. Grab lunch across court, curry chicken with paratha 160rs solid. Ferry to Fort Kochi from High Court water metro 40rs, nice AC boat leaving right away — finally a smooth travel day. Check in Angelann HS at 4:20, not easy to find, no signs, hidden behind alleys, pay 904rs cash for ok fan room, easy check‑in. 2 sets handstand holds on terrace easy. Walk to port area via west coast beach, nice boardwalk, lots of foreigners, contrast to last town. Lots of homestays, check one price 1500inr for fan. Walk to canal area, bit smelly, play crokino/pool hybrid game with 3 indians guys — flick plastic coins into corner holes. Buy laundry detergent 10rs. Try shawarma spot with AC 160rs, big plate, solid with wifi. Wash clothes in room using detergent and small rack. Chill, chat with GPT. 9:20 walk out to main area, get 2 shawarmas 100rs, eat at dock, ice cream 30rs, walk around rocks, another ice cream 40rs, eat shawarma on rocks. Shower hard.

Jan 30 — Insomnia so wash more clothes, eventually finished everything. Dogs barking late and before dawn, mosque chant. Rise 9:20, get water and cup from host. Book Cosycove hostel near Ernakulam Junction. Clothes dry indoors luckily. Checkout homestay 11:10, ok place, no hot shower or AC, noisy owner dogs. Walk towards pier, try food court restaurant, chicken curry with rice noodles 180rs, meh. 12:00 ticket to Ernak jetty only 6rs, crappier boat with loud music. Reach pier 12:30. Walk to Cosycove, no reception, dingy and smelly, annoying guy yelling, worker on phone said can’t take foreigners despite booking. Annoying. Walk to Center Square mall, has AC but no wifi, brush teeth in food court. Walk toward Ernak Junction, find lodges near KSRTC bus station. Indeo Tourist Home guy kid w good English, negotiate 800rs for fan room down from 1000inr, decent wifi and size. Book room in Allepey for tomorrow. Walk back to mall for AC, papaya juice 70rs solid. Fancy chocolate spot clingy, buy 'imported' Snickers for 100rs. Grab BK at top floor food court 104rs, 2 chicken burgers. Bakery spot egg pastry 30rs + chicken sandwich 110rs solid. Mr DIY pickup black padlock 43rs, intrabrushes 69rs. Walk back to port area, nice boardwalk, no traffic. Try High Court nicer boat ride again, long line so bailed. Grab mango banana juice 50rs, too sweet. Walk back hot and sticky. Shower, rest in room, ceiling fan stuck on high or off, window has no screen, complain about fan and moved to another room with variable fan. Do jaw exercise on bed 3x30, neck workout — headstand thrust on bed 3x15, wrestler bridge 3x18, 5/10 effort. 8:30 walk toward mall, try nicer Turkish spot, beef with rotis 295rs, beef weird processed roll. Chill at mall, bakery again 2 chicken items 155rs. Scrape teeth, light calc buildup despite cleaning in Manipal under 2 weeks. Doom scroll in bed till 12:45.

Jan 31 — Best rest in awhile, finally quiet. Rise 9:20, make café with glass provided. Chat with AIs about Norbert’s gambit. Checkout Indeo 10:50, nice stay, nice reception kid. Walk south to Ernak Junction, couple detours, 25min to reach station. Buy ticket across street to Allepey 55rs. Grab breakfast in station, egg biryani 130rs. Train arrives early, right when finished at 11:35am. Private AC berth, 2 stops, inspector checked ticket before 2nd stop, said 510inr to upgrade, moved to open berth car. Arrive Allepey station 12:55pm, slower than 50min posted. Walk to beach 2km to Rajasbasera, guy waiting, warm welcome, fill form, pay 840rs, decent room but wifi not working and power outlet sparking, laptop reset couple times. Try wifi next door, weak. Walk outside, explore, check Vedha on corner, decent room with wifi only 700inr. Walk, eat at local busy spot on canal corner, beef biryani 160rs. Walk more, find Dutch Sq hostel nice but no locker, French Square hostel poor dorm. Walk back along beach, wifi still unavailable, setup workspace upstairs using neighbor’s wifi. Chill, then leg workout 4pm: air squats 3x60 superset with handstand hold 2 sets. ATG front lunge hops 1x7, side ATG hop 1x9. Jump switch knee 1x7. Advanced cossack hops using stairs 2x7 side, 1x7 front, 1x7 back. Manual tib raises 3x21. 6/10 effort, 40min. Shower, rest, feel relaxed. 6:00 walk back to beach, dip in Arabian Sea during sunset and full moon, larger waves than Mulki. Shower again, rest upstairs, hot, mosquitos, fatigue from leg session and waves. 8:00 walk down street to Ocean Shack, outdoor dining on sand, half grilled chicken with paratha and mango juice 350rs, solid meal. Walk farther on wide beach, mess with small puppy, find ice cream and food stalls.

Feb 1 — Sleep ok, mostly quiet. Rise 9:30, make chicory café with metal cup. Pay another night 800rs, don’t feel like negotiating or moving today. 11:30 walk south along beach for food, walk to pier, no food or houseboats. Pray at small church. Find chicken spot at mosque quarter, chicken breast wing with rice 170rs, solid with wifi. Walk back, go to Vedha to reserve 700rs room for tomorrow, said just pay tomorrow. Lodge chill upstairs. Stretch and mobility workout 2:10pm: mountain + forward fold 3 rounds, down + updog 2 rounds, warrior series 1x7 deep. Knee drive + side leg swings. Handstand 3 holds with several fails, harder to balance, superset with side splits using socks 5 rounds + advanced cossack side/front. Deep horse stance with seated pigeon finish. Solid 40min mobility, 7/10 effort. Shower, nap good. 4:10 grab food next door, local fish spot, fried fish with 4 chapatis 190rs, good food but lots of flies. Snacks and coffee across street 100rs. Chill upstairs till 5:30, head to beach again for sunset, jump through waves 40min till sundown. Shower again, rest more, wifi working in room albeit slow. 8:00 walk out for food, Ocean Shack packed, walk east, try local spot, spicy fried chicken with parathas 240rs, fat girl kept bugging me. Ocean Shack again, try mango juice, mosquito swarm, slow service, just left. Walk south along beach to snack stands, grill spot across highway overpass, pina juice 80rs on card. Walk further south, more food stalls on beach. Allepey pretty chill, favorite place in Kerala so far. Chill upstairs. Best toothpaste Nokthai from Pattaya floating market finally depleted.

Feb 2 — Sleep ok, quiet. Rise 8:50. Make ginger instant café. Chill upstairs. Checkout of Rajasbasera GH 10:50, decent place, but no noise insulation. Walk to Vedha, fill c form again, try to pay 700, said pay on checkout. Unpack, good wifi in room. Pay 700rs to 3 people, annoying constant phone calls and deliberation - def better service from 1 person. Walk to Muslim chicken spot again, 180rs mandi chicken, 10rs more with AC. Walk back along beach. Wash clothes in sink with Tide powder 10rs, 10 articles, hang above hammock. Grab mango juice at Ocean Shack. Walk back to canal with pull‑up bar for back workout — muscle ups tough with thick bar, fail couple times, only got one. Mixed grip pullups 2x10, chinups 7 then fail. Explosive leg raises 2x7. Front lever fail. Windshield 7 then fail. Definitely lost pulling strength from right arm, both elbow and shoulder messed. 4.5/10 effort. Walk to market area, shawarma spot not ready, find AC supermarket, buy incense and non‑F toothpaste 160rs. Get shawarma plate 130rs. Walk back along beach. Construction across street again, same as last spot. 5:45 head to beach again, swim to wash off sweat, waves smaller, only got pummeled a few times. Walk back 6:15. Shower, grab laundry, rest. Rain for first time ever in India. 8:00 walk along beach, light drizzle, back to highway BBQ spot Thaff quarter chicken and mango smoothie 370rs card. Walk back along beach, rain stopped. Chill at desk, burn incense, still some mosquitos. 10:00 take another dip at beach, less people, got a bit itchy. Shower, bed around 11.

Feb 3 — Ceiling fan noisy, had to turn off, can’t open windows, hot and sticky. Woke up at night itchy. Rise 10:10, small dog barking and grinding across street, conflicted about going/staying. Figure out how to open window with screen, decide to stay another night for beach sprints. Make café using glass, try to pay another night but recep has no change. Wash 3 more articles in sink. Construction across street grinding, dust blowing, yell at guy to stop. 12:10 walk south along beach back to mandi chicken again, 180rs quarter chicken in AC room. Walk back along beach, scope out Monkey Tribe dorm, looks nice with cowork terrace but locker doors made from mesh bamboo, weird. Pay 700rs cash another night at Vedha. Chill in room, listen to music, handstand on terrace 4–5 holds, not bad. Shoulder mobility series. Sweaty shower, rest, feel better. 3:45 drilling across street. Walk north along beach for food to Thumpoly beach, no food. Walk back same way to Ocean Shack, try spicy beef with parathas 240rs and mango juice, solid. Walk more south along beach past throng to outdoor food court area, chill for sunset. Walk back to guesthouse 7:00, wash remainder 3 articles including Zomake. 8:00 chat 10min with drunk Rebecca, 50yo from Bristol, likes Munnar. 8:20 speed workout at beach: jog 3min, use boat as marker. 9 drills — pogo, marching A, crossovers, backwards, explosive A, B’s. Standing triple jump 2x3 horizontal projection. 4 sprints along waterline, try to avoid waves, not too wiped, can do more work without sun. Light stretch kneeling, pancake, butterfly, cossack on beach. Shower, wash shorts. Rest few minutes. 9:40 carry incense to Ocean Shack again, beef curry with paratha 220rs.

Feb 4 — Couldn’t sleep awhile, poor airflow n ate too late. Small dog barking continuously at 7:30. Rise 9:20, poor rest overall. Make regular café, shorts still bit wet. Checkout Vedha 11:00, cheap meh spot, bit older, good wifi, no power cuts, noisy fan, primarily Ayurvedic therapy. Walk along beach to Kollam station, ticket to Kollam only 25rs. 11:55am train delayed 3hrs, next train at 1:15. Use AC waiting room 30rs for 1hr, asked for ID but refused. Wifi works for YouTube only somehow. Eat egg tarts and sesame balls, power cut in waiting room. 1:00pm grab chicken samosas 4x50rs. 1:15 train left on time, no AC car, sit in open chair car. Slow train, stop at every station. Reach Kollam 3:12pm. Walk towards beach area, not many lodges. Get papaya juice at fruit stand 60rs. One place no wifi, other place no rooms available, junky looking town, decide to keep moving to Varkala. Buy general ticket 35rs, got private open berth. Arrive Varkala 4:55pm, no ticket inspectors today. Walk to bus station, room wanted 1400inr for fan room. Keep walking towards cliff, find Padmatheertham Inn, nice girl, decent English, quoted 1000inr for AC room, negotiate to 900rs cash, easy check‑in. 6:15 walk to beach for sunset, walk along cliff, touristy. Try spot with nice view near end, no service, left. Try more expensive spot upstairs, mango juice and chicken chowmein 540rs, owner said just pay 500rs, no card, no price for juice. Walk around, view 4–5 hostels, only YesHostel has good lockers, KultureConnect north pretty nice with weird suitcase lockers. Cliff area packed with hostels/guesthouses/homestays. Try parking lot spot, 100rs pina juice, solid, should go back. Walk back along beach, very chill, most geologically impressive town so far. Full lotus meditate in bed.