Friday, February 05, 2010

Ultimate Chilled Beach Paradise - Gokarna

After an austere, long, bumpy bus ride from Hampi to Gokarna, eased by the addition of dozey anti-nausea pills and a couple of relaxing um 'chat' sessions with fellow travellers, Fanny and I arrived in Gokarna. Saving viewing the actual town for another day, we jumped in an auto-rickshaw and headed for the famed Om Beach, a bay that's actually shaped like the 3 looking symbol that makes part of the sanskrit 'Om'. And along with the adjacent Kudle and Paradise beaches, are the main attraction to travelers looking for the shanti lifestyle, wanting to give up time for a while and completely relax.  Walking along the beach with all our gear, we'd been given a tip that you need not look for hotels or resorts, just to ask at any cafes as most places have at least a few rooms.  So the first cafe we came across 'Dolphin Bay Cafe', consisting of bambo and palm leaf huts with sand floors which became home for the next 5 nights @ 150rp ($4)


150rp Beach Huts

There isn't a whole lot Indian about Gokarna, well not the India you tend to go to India for anyway.. Besides the delicious cheap cusine on offer and the cows wandering the beaches, you could basically be on any cheap beach hangout. That said, it was paradise and yet another highlight of my trip.  Beers, smoke, beach, sand, warm waters, more beaches, repeat.  That's basically it.  Staying at the cafe was great, they ran a tab and cooked delicious foods all day. A favorite being the Fruit Parotha (like a calzone) with nutella and coconut.  We had met a Swedish couple, Tobies and Susanna, on the bus ride over from Hampi and got along quite well, arriving and leaving virtually the same timeframe we hung out quite a bit, exploring the other beaches and joining them for dinner, drinks, and the odd game of beach volleyball.


Cows like to hang outside our cafe

Lots and lots of guitar playing and singing, lots of lazy dinners and lunches and breakfasts, some walks to different beaches and into the town of Gokarna saw the days fly by.  I would definitely like to head back and do a month in Gokarna..  Absolute paradise at rock bottom prices..Before we knew it it was time to pack up, shake out a riduclous amount of sand and  take the passenger train to Margao in Goa, where I had a train heading to Mumbai, and Fanny had her 40hr epic ride to Delhi.  It was sad parting ways, but such is the transient nature of traveling.  There was always the chance of meeting again.

More Pics

Sunset from Kudle Beach





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