Pandemic and lockdown was tough on all of us but it introduced a lot of ‘new normals’. People who have been working from home for a painfully long period are taking work with their travel. We have officially entered the era of workations, in India where remote working is yet to be normalised.
Being confined to lockdown really drove the traveller in me crazy. As things are easing down now, I decided to spend a week in Varkala, work from beach and cliff. Here, I share with you how to pull a clean workation under budget and some visualisation of my expense reports
First things first. The expense
Instead of making you read the whole story before disclosing how much I spend in 7 days, let us do it here. It is expense not a suspense.
I took a 5 day surfing class with moon waves school for 6k, which I am gonna exclude. On an average I worked 6 hours a day, explored Varkala 3 hours a day and definitely did not sleep well thanks to the hostel-mates who were more than happy to play card and games the whole night. I totally spent ₹ 12,635 in 7 days (minus the surfing course fee) and shown above is the breakdown.
Retrospect Time
For any kind of local travel, the top-expense-position usually goes to the Accommodation, unless you are flying. A place to crash with decent bed, costing less than Rs.500 per night is perfect for me. I also try to limit my daily food expense under the same number.
Accommodation and Food: Varkala was no exception to my general rules. Zostel is very reliable in terms of internet connectivity, so I had no second thoughts in selecting the place to stay. The trick to minimise food expense is in discovering the hotels/restaurants where locals prefer to eat. The tricks were executed neatly and I was spending an average of Rs.950 per day for food and accommodation. I explored some cafes in the cliff area which shot up the food expense, but that is inevitable. I had to check out those places. Because, the view ❤️
Rental Bike: I shelled out Rs.2500 for bike rental and fuel. Though my first preference is public transport, the pandemic time we are in plus the fact that varkala is best explored in bike convinced me to go for it. I could have saved Rs.1000 to 1500 if I had someone to share the rent. May be saved all of them if I had rent a bicycle 😂
Workplace: Zostel has been attracting travel lovers all around the country with its work friendly place and Varkala is no exception. They have a large common area that can easily accommodate 40 people with laptops. The availability of power sockets is tricky, but I saw a lot of folks brought their own extension box (clever). If your aim is work, I can recommend Zostel Varkala without thinking.
Surfing and other activities: I am not including the course fee of Surfing because, that was not really an expense. That was an investment 😎. But while you are on a workation, it is a good idea to distract yourself on daily basis with some local activities. Surfing is highly recommended, the waves are beginner friendly and water is super clear.
You can simply walk up to the cliff, stare down at the beach from high vantage points. You don't get to always be in a beautiful fusion of hill and beach. An hour drive from Varkala, you have options to explore Munroe Island, Jatayu Earth center, or the Anjengo Light House. Remember, all work and no play makes Jack a murderer.
One last thing
Pandemic time is tough. We have to stay safe and more importantly sane. If travel is your thing, shake that lazy bum and get out. If you can carry your work with travel, be grateful and pack your bags. Remember to practice social distancing, wear masks and more importantly have fun responsibly.
