My Trip to Gokarna - A Weekend Getaway

Even before we started off our trip to Gokarna, we almost cancelled it. Well one of our friends got caught up at work. He almost scared me when he said , “ You guys go ahead I might have to skip the trip…..” I mean What ??!!!? Although he smartly finished the work and joined us, but I decided something at that moment – ‘Job is just a part of your life, it should never become your life ‘

Bro fir se nah kriyo aise kaam !!!

We left for Bus stop on Friday evening directly from office by 7pm. Now we had solid 2.5 hrs to reach the bus stop. Yes yes, bus stop is within the Bangalore city only, remember here we are talking about Bangalore traffic. So somehow we are able to reach Bus stop on time ( read 9:30 pm). I thought finding the bus would not be a big deal, but No No I was very wrong. For next 15-20 mins we kept looking for our bus, I almost thought my trip to Gokarna stands cancelled. Now like some 2-3 mins before the departure we got our bus. Bus was comfortable. I mean real comfortable. Next 10-11 hrs in AC sleeper went pretty smooth. Although I didn’t like my seat but lets not talk about it.  So I would recommend if you plan to visit Gokarna from Bangalore – take a KSRTC Bus. You will easily get seats if you book say 7-10 days in advance.

So Gokarna basically means Cow’s Ears. Literally you will see a lot of cows there. It is a holy place and if you plan to visit along with your family. Stop reading this post further because it won’t be of any help to you. Moving ahead, a small introduction on Gokarna. It is famous for temples and its beaches. You guessed it right we went for the later. There are basically 5 beaches – one after another along the west coast separated by small hills – Gokarna beach, Kudle beach, Om beach, Paradise beach and Half- moon beach.

We were told Om beach is pretty famous for locals and is crowded mostly on weekends. Gokaran beach is more of a religious beach meant for taking dips in the Arabian Sea before heading to temples.  So our next question was where do Tourist go ???   ‘Kudle Beach‘. As you get out of the bus stop, ask for the way to Kudle beach. It is some 15 mins walk, in case you don’t like to walk – you will get autos as well. Kudle beach has lots of Shacks along the beach, so don’t bother looking for accommodation in the Gokarna Town. Shacks are pretty decent, you may not be able to book those online but on the spot you will get accommodation on the beach. Atleast we got the shacks very easily, may be coz it was just the start of the season. (Oct – Mar is the season)

Our Shack at the Kudle Beach

Kudle beach is very beautiful and less crowded. The view was mesmerizing, Sun setting down from behind the clouds – its slight reflection on the Sea below. You could see the whole of sea in a single frame. I kept looking at the horizon, my eyes were glued to that skyline where sky met the sea. I could probably sit there for eternity. One more thing I like about the beaches is taking a walk along the beach – water kissing your feet. Although I would have loved to take that walk with someone special. May be next time. 

I immersed myself in this view

Well some more information for first timers – alcohol is not allowed on the beach but Beer is served on Shacks along the beach. Also one more thing to keep in mind, don’t order Indian Sabzi , Roti there. The mistake, we made. Go for sandwich, burgers, pancakes, pastas etc. They are fulfilling as well as tasty.

After a tiring but fun session in the water, we headed back to our rooms. The one thing I hate about beaches is the sand that gets inside your clothes. So it took us some time to clean up and deal with our dirty clothes. We headed back to the grab some dinner. This time we didn’t repeat the same mistake. We ordered some nice sandwiches, rolls, stuffed Parotas.( ya that’s what it said) . The sea was beautiful in Moon light. We decided to go into the waters again. But to our surprise the sea receded back, some good half a kilometer. With not much of light around, walking into the sea, it was pretty scary. It is then we decided of a business plan, you see MBA grads ;-) It is called Chandra Namaskaar (well my friends restrained me from giving out more details).

Well since there was nothing much happening on the beach at night, we headed back to our rooms. Although I heard in the peak season, beaches in Gokarna are lot more lively. We jumped inside the Mosquito nets and started playing cards. Well you read it correctly, mosquito nets. It reminds me of my childhood, some 17-18 yrs back -sleeping in those nets with my grandparents. Memories Aahaan -  Good old memories !! I loved playing cards – we played a special game called Higanna – it is a Sri Lankan game.

The next morning, we decided to explore other beaches, but first we wanted to have some breakfast. Beach side, it was so pleasing to eyes that we ended up staying at that same beach (Kudle) for rest of the day. This day was dedicated to Photography. All four of us took turns to try our hands at photography. Well the other three are pro at it, I was the one learning the skills. I did learn some new terms – Shutter speed, noise, concept of wide lens etc.  It was a good start for me. Below are few pictures I took.

Increasing the shutter speed !!!

Before leaving for bus stop, we went to a hill top.I shall not describe the view, see for yourself in the pictures below. You can’t stop yourself from going there.

 

View from Hill Top

Clouds approaching us on the hill

This is the place where we plan to build our Hotel (Environment friendly)

Sun's reflection on the Arabian Sea

Subho at his best

I simply Love this picture

i told you this picture is worth framing it

Budget : Travel and accommodation(one night) per person will not cost more than Rs2500.

Food is tasty and reasonable on beach side.

It is a good weekend get away from Bangalore.

On our next trip to Gokarna, we plan to cover the Paradise and Half Moon Beach. Hopefully few of our friends who couldn't make it, may join us next time. :-)