Bill Gates spends two weeks in a year as “think weeks” where he isolates himself from all distractions and focus only on reading books. I did a “think week” in December where I rode to Kovalam with a couple of books. Last year also I did something similar at Manali – though I was working remotely from there and hence it was not technically a “think week”.

Kovalam beach is a very safe & tourist friendly place. It attracts a wide range of international tourists, mostly from Russia staying there for long vacation combined with Ayurvedic treatments. The area has many home-stays, budget friendly hotels, few good cafes and bars as well on the beach side. The Beatles cafe and the German bakery are two I would recommend.

My days in Kovalam followed a calming routine. I began each morning with a jog along the beach, then returned to my room for a shower and breakfast. Afterwards I would settle on balcony with a book. Evenings are also comprised of another stroll along the beach with some photography followed by dinner & may be a beer.

Kovalam has many small beaches nearby. I visited a few like Hawa Beach, Grove beach, Soma beach and also went to the new Vizhinjam international port area.

As Kovalam (& all other beaches in Kerala) is a west coast, most evenings can give you a beautiful view of sunsets.

A long exposure capture at a beach during sunset, like below was in my bucket list for a long time. I must say I am fairly happy with the output.

A glimpse of my ride and think week.