Travel Tales - Gokarna

May Life do to you,what Gokarna did to me.

How it all began...

Well it all began, like all trips with friends do. Unrealistic expectations, to travel places without luxuries. Only this one came true and how..... It took us every ounce of motivation to plan this vacation. And as expected nobody made it easy for us. For starters we both had bosses, who were either so loaded with work or had absolutely nothing to do. In either case they made it very clear that bunking 5 Working Days was absolutely out of the question. And then came that delightful Diwali Weekend, that was our window. Since neither of us had to celebrate it at home, Gokarna seemed like the best option. It certainly was.

The bosses were still an easy hurdle to jump, it was the moms, boyfriend,brother, friends, who were a bit of a prick in the butt. You see we are perceived as reckless, absent minded, bimbos in their early 20's who have lost their minds and want to travel India ALONE, (yes, Indians are not exposed to the whole idea of travelling by yourself)

To describe it in words is as hard as talking and laughing at the same time..its tough! But what I can assure you is that, it was what made me believe in the signs of the universe. They without a doubt, a 100% exist. These signs....I learnt of them when I read 'The Alchemist' by Paulo Cohelo, it always made me wonder, but the more faith I had in them the more they started to appear, just like how look at the sky at night, and all you can see is that one brightly burning star and as you keep looking, slowly,slowly clusters of glitter start appearing before your eyes.

Every minute of that trip from the time we stepped on to the metro to the time we came back was pure MAGIC. 

What we EXPECTED and what REALLY happened

Our first hotel room was , a midst  the mountains and right next to the sea. Sounds of splashing waves woke us up each morning. The Cafe's were a kilometer downhill, and the path was that of a dried up stream.

   

Although there were a few tourists on Kudlee beach, we somehow felt we weren't at the right place! And so we decided to explore. Overwhelmed by the fact that we made it to Gokarna, without a scratch on our body, we saw 3 beaches (out of 5) in one day. And the best part was, we could only do it by boat.

When we came to Gokarna, we didn't know what to expect, except for scenic  beauty. Still carrying the Bombay chaos within us, we were desperately trying to look for a Mainstream Goa Party (which till date I am glad we did not find). 

And thus began, the fruitful quest of silencing our minds. Our first destination in Bliss World was OM BEACH and that is where the real magic started to settle on our tired souls.

Our first friend on Om beach was a British guy named Jamie, everyone called him Crazy Jamie. He had those crazy eyes, also nobody could really understand the motives of his conversations, but everyone loved him. See that's the best part about vacations, neither do you have the heart nor the energy to dislike someone. 

So crazy Jamie, was the key that opened the door into Bliss world.
This place consisted of hammocks, tourists (Israelis, Germans, British, Americans, French) with sun kissed skins and marble colored eyes, music and good vibes (not initially, since we were brown girls in bikinis, who spoke a lot, they were a little skeptical about talking to us, but once they got to know us, we were inseparable)

All of them had been travelling in India for the past 4-6 months, and none of them had a single bad thing to say about it, except for how we bob our heads side ways and they in million years will not know what we mean. (Unlike, the lame, wannabe NRIs, who keep yapping about how India should progress, without once taking the trouble to explore it).

This was something I had definitely not expected to find. Although we were aware that the place was full of tourists (one of the reasons we chose it), we didn't expect them to be in such deep love with India. When I saw our country through their eyes, all I could see was beautiful mountains, back waters of Kerala, Parvati Valley, helpful people, spicy food, sun, Vipassana, spirituality, love and the list goes on.

All Our wishes came true....LITERALLY...

On the second night at OM beach, Carol realized she wanted to go Cliff Diving, in the middle of NoWhere. There were no tour guides, or Adventure Camps or even a medical store for that matter. A few hours after I told her how ridiculous her idea sounded , we met Osian and Pasha.

These guys happened to stay at the same shack as ours, and offered us to go cliff diving. Yes, the very next morning. It felt like everything and anything can be yours, only if you wish it with a pure heart.

So next morning, I woke up at 8 a.m.,( had'nt woken up once at 8 a.m. for a 10 a.m. job), went for a swim, chatted with Rob (a 60 year old American, who sat at the same spot at our shack everyday and who had a tattoo of a Japanese writer on his right arm) and finally woke Carol up.

We ate a heavy breakfast and set out on our Cliff-Diving adventure. I just love saying the word adventure or rather typing it. It was a 20 minute trail uphill. The boys who were also a bit like Phineas and Ferb, knew the way like the back of their hands and walked the entire way BARE-FOOT, I couldn't walk it with my shoes on.

So after exhausting our legs and burning our skin we finally reached the cliff and believe me you, it was worth it!

And this is how it looked.

As much of sea lover, I am, this height scared the living shit out of me. But for Carol things were the opposite, she fearlessly, ran and jumped right away.(She did fall flat on her stomach, reddening it later). Which also gave me a little courage to shut my eyes and give in.

I don't think I have ever felt as free, as I felt diving into the water. Never has adrenaline calmed me so much.

Everyone in their lives should ONCE, jump into the deep blue sea.

We jumped till we had just enough energy to get back to the shack (Yes, we did it more than once. and each time was more liberating than the last.)

And the cherry on top were the jumping dolphins. YES, You could see them right from the top of the cliff and to think we were swimming just a few meters away from these beautiful creatures.

After a long, eventful day of trekking and cliff diving, we needed to relax a little and that's when we found our masseuse, again on a freaking beach, with no way to travel but by boat. It was a rainy day, so we spent the morning taking a nice massage, the afternoon getting wasted and the evening going to the city and watching a football match and coming all the way back at 1 am drenched from head to foot. When I say 1 am in Gokarna, its dark, its I-Think-I-Am-Blind Dark.

Gokarna city is two beaches and a 20 min rickshaw ride away from Om Beach. Going was the easy part, coming back was crazy. While going there was a stream we passed on the beach and since it was daylight it didn't matter much, but while coming back, we completely forgot about the stream, it was pitch dark and pouring. You might have guessed what happened to us.

Another adventure of mine was night swimming. I had never swam in the night before. And just like cliff-diving it was frightening as hell. After slowly easing into the water, feeling the current and diving under the waves. I realized it was exactly like swimming except for the fairy dust, which were the plankton. The sea was filled with these glowing fish and you could see them from a distant, sparkling in the black sea, replicating the night sky.

But  without a doubt my top favorite wish was when I met Yarden. To meet a person 700 km from home who is a few days away from his first Vipassana course is something that makes me believe in the universe and most of all in me.

Let me tell you a little about Yarden. He is an Israieli, which means he had to spend  3 years of his life in the army. And not just any part of the army, Yarden was in the special forces which is one of the most deadliest and ruthless units of the army. He has seen more violence than most people I know. He knew that the only thing you need in life is happiness. He had turned vegetarian and had given up intoxicants one month before his 10-Day Course (a detoxification process one must ideally follow). Talking to someone who knows more about Gandhi and Gautama Buddha more than you do is a treat. 

What this also made me realize is how lucky we are to be born in the place of so many cultures, languages and spiritual beliefs. People spend their entire lives seeking for what is present right here in the spiritually enlightened country called India.

Ingredients for a Perfect Trip

A person who you are comfortable with, who gives you space and with whom you can share serene silence. That person can also be you. A mind which seeks nothing but peace, and is ready to accept and move on if things don't go according to plan And Positive Vibrations

Gokarna Travelogue 

Gokarna is made up of 5 beaches, Kudlee, Gokarna, Om, Paradise and Half-Moon.

Gokarna beach is like Juhu beach, very commercial.

Om Beach is like Baga, enough number people to interact with and enough space to do your own thing, It has an internet cafe, a masseuse, and amazing cafes named, Sangam, Moksha, Nirvana, and so on. Sangam and Nirvana have the best food and rooms.

Kudlee is a little like Om, but with lesser people and clearer water.

Paradise and Half-Moon have no shacks and you can either trek your way there or go by boat.

Travel

You can either book a :

Train - Matsyagandha express (Makes you reach Gokarna in 14-16 hrs) Rs. 1,200-1,400

Bus - That will either take directly Gokarna(15 Kms away from Om Beach)  or to Ankola (15 kms away from Gokarna)

Car - 724 kms and 11 hrs away

Lodging

Shacks are available on Om Beach and Kudlee Beach. A room with bathroom will cost you Rs. 500 and a one without a bathroom will be Rs. 300. These rooms are not very luxurious but give you the basic amenities, which all you need. And the best part is you can watch dolphins dive right from your shack. 

Although if you do feel you need better rooms you can visit Namaste Farmhouse, Gokarna. or Hotel Gokarna International.

The only drawback of these resorts are that they are away from the beach, but if you are more into temples and luxuries, this is the best place for you to stay.

Best Time to Go

September-March

What to do

Well for starters you can tire yourself by swimming in the magnificent sea.

Trek to Paradise and half-moon beach

Have a look at the temples

Shop in Gokarna City

Take a boat ride to see the dolphins

If you are living on the beach, all you have to do is ask the locals when the dolphins come out and watch the dance and play in the sea.

Kindly do not try cliff-diving by yourself.  We were fortunate to find some people who had already tested the waters and only then we jumped in.

So make a wish and set out to the secret paradise of India.