Gokarna a weekend getaway

I was traveling in a bus to the town of Gokarna a weekend destination from Bangalore. When I reached Gokarna in Karnataka I asked for Swa Swara, the local name for this beach resort is simply aa hosa jaaga. I took an auto rickshaw and reached my place. My room in the resort was a miniature Konkan villa with cool red oxide floor and tiled roof. The bathroom was open roof, and then there was the yoga room upstairs soon became my regular spot for tea and staring. Om Beach was five minutes from the resort. People live in here in off season mode, believe that the tourists don’t want their hair and feets to get wet so although Gokarna is near round the year destination, most places that let out beach shacks and cottages close down almost as soon as the first dark cloud makes its appearance. But those that are open are glad to serve up well meaning chai and fried rice. Even when Gokarna is playing introvert, it manages to make endless expanse of the Arabian Sea seem like my own little holiday space. From Om beach I walk along a marked route up a mountain, stopping once in a while to get a top view of the beach’s Om shape.

Kudla beach shines many shades of orange through the forest darkening after sunset. Palm trees line the beach, as if it’s perfectly normal to stand there right next to masses of sea eroded boulders. A few fishermen come out with torches, searching for fish that might get thrown out when the waves mess about in mountain. Back at my resort I had fish with few vegetables which was amazingly cooked.

Next day I went to the Western Ghats. There were shopkeepers, temple priests, and local tribes selling flowers everyone was ready to break into a story. The temple town of Gokarna has 8 temples more than two temples per street. I visited the town main lord Mahabaleshwar, its one temple stop for holiness. The board there said foreigners are prohibited inside the temple, many agitated priests argue that god doesn’t like unbathed people and they are not sure if foreigners bathe. After making my prayers I walked to the nearby Gokarna Beach, the only one accessible from inside the town. The town covered with half a day, I heard to the two beaches I have been warned to only touch by road Half moon and Paradise beaches, which can be reached by auto or a trek. More peril less sand in Half Moon Beach. But any peril will seem worth if dolphins suddenly slice through the sea surface which I watched for a long time. And then the rains start in Gokarna and I have to go back to my resort.

Check out Driving Directions from Bangalore to Gokarna