This post has been published in Club Mahindra blog. This is my 3rd post on Gokarna. Here’s my 2nd post and 1st post.

About Gokarna: An ancient beach town in Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka, Gokarna has great religious significance as well. The town has 5 beaches – Gokarna, Kudle, OM, Half Moon and Paradise – in that order and with hills between the beaches. As such, it offers extremely good opportunity for beach treks. None of these beach treks surpass 30 minutes duration and provide exotic views of the sea from the hillocks. World seems to have stopped when you are here – beach hop, lay on the beach, jog, walk, eat at beach cafes, buy, drink, dance, write – do whatever but don’t rush. This is a place that rewards laziness. All these make Gokarna a great two day weekend getaway from Bangalore, Goa, Mumbai and Pune during Oct-Apr.

Carefool at OM Beach

Each beach in Gokarna is a lazy man’s paradise. Stay and eat at a beach side hack/cafe/hotel/resort. Lie on the  beach – on a bed-sheet with a hat over your face to avoid sun/eye-contact, or with the sun scorching your back. Or, read a book lying on a towel and in your bare minimum. And the best part, wear almost anything that you want (just that you have to wear something) – barmudas with sleepers, Alibaba pants and top, or a skirt of any shape and size.

There are five beaches in Gokarna – Gokarna, Kudle, Om, Half Moon and Paradise, in that order.

Gokarna Beach at Dusk

Gokarna Beach – It lies close to the town and is frequented by locals and tourists alike. The beach is close to the Mahabaleshwar Temple, a very old Lord Shiva temple that has an associated legend as well. At the beach, you can spot families, young and elderly couples, single and group travellers. It goes without saying – several fast food joints and the groundnut/balloon sellers adorn the shoreline. In the vicinity, you will find plenty of hotels, food joints and garments/puja shops. A word of caution here for tourists:  Avoid wearing skimpy clothes in the area. Since the ancient temple is nearby, this part of Gokarna is more of a pilgrim town than a beach town. You wouldn’t want to be an eye-sore for the locals just for your choice of clothes.

Kudle Beach

Kudle Beach – Is mostly frequented by foreigners and is almost a kilometer long, pretty wide as well. This gives you ample space to engage in the usual beach games, bonfires etc. Rocks, and plenty of them, adorn the sea shore. You’d find foreign tourists (mostly, but some Indians as well) staying in the shacks – sleeping, eating, drinking and reading.  I spotted the “Shantaram” being read atleast atleast thrice! King Fish delicacies are very tasty and are reasonably priced, in fact cheaper than most restaurants in Bangalore. The eateries play continental/Israeli music all the time. You could also beach trek from Kudle to Mahabaleshwar Temple.

OM Beach

OM Beach – This beach is around 20 minutes of an auto ride from the Gokarna bus stand. Certainly the best of the five Gokarna beaches, the beach derives its name from the Hindu religious symbol – OM, since its shape resembles that of the symbol. The ‘OM’ shape is pretty evident when you see the beach from the hillocks on the either side. However, the right side gives a better view than the left. Consequently, the picture you take would be mirror image of the OM symbol. The beach is the longest among the five beaches and is frequented by Indian and foreign tourists alike. You can stay at the Namaste Café which overlooks the OM Beach, or at any of the several shacks that are scattered around the beach. There is also the Swaswara resort as well, a hundred odd meters away from Om beach. There are three equidistant rocky patches at the beach. Two things you shouldn’t miss at OM – sitting atop each rock patch and the morning jog.

Half Moon Beach - Panorama

Half Moon Beach – It’s a tiny beach and can be reached by beach trekking from Om, or by paying INR 200 on a ferry boat. But the ferry ride wouldn’t allow you to spend much time at the beach. The beach has huge rocks as well. There’s a hut and you may as well get some food there. Once here lose yourself and merge with the tranquil surroundings.

Paradise Beach – The fifth and the last beach in the series, and it befits its name. You have to beach trek for about 20 min from Half Moon beach to reach Paradise beach. There are a couple of beach cafes as well.

Tips…

1. Be careful while swimming, as the sea is shallow at some places and there are several cases of death due to drowning reported every year here.
2. As usual, bargain hard with the sellers – beads sellers, clothes and accessories sellers, musical instruments sellers etc.
3. Take mosquito repellent and a bed-sheet with you.
4. Try beach trek – there are at least four options. If you can’t beach trek at all, you can see the beaches on a ferry boat – at INR 200 per head.
5. Take your swimwear with you – there aren’t too many beaches in India where you can wear them without being ogled. So, don’t miss this opportunity.
6. Don’t wear bikini at the Gokarna Beach – this may offend the local people and the police. But you may wear them at the other four beaches.
7. Don’t miss the morning jog at OM beach.

This picture is headed for Skywatch Friday. Thanks Vamsee for the idea. So, here you go.

Karwar Skyline

Further Reading

• Official website
• Karwar Travelogues by Sandeep, Poonam, Arvind, Abhishek.

I loved Murudeshwar (also called Murudeswara, Murudeswar, Mrudeswara) Beach. The Beach has visibly two parts – one flanked by the tourists (not large in numbers though) and the other visited by only those who want some ‘private’ space. This private space is just 400m off from the where the beach starts. During the beach walk, I saw few children (presumably of local fishermen) pushing a boat off the beach. Here’s the 1-minute video:

After this video, I asked two kids whether they would like to be photographed. They agreed but were really shy. Clicked them though.

Dont be shy my Honey

Other children sniffed the opportunity to get clicked and rushed towards me shouting ‘Photo, Photo’. During the next few seconds, I managed another click. Here you go:

Me too

The fisherman was on his boat sailing through the waves. The scene reminded me of ‘The old man and the Sea’.

Old Man and the Sea

Acknowledgment: Post idea courtesy Mridula

About Murudeshwar: A sylvan beach by the temple, some beach-side eateries, beach activities (boat ride, snorkeling, banana ride, diving, eating fish fry etc – no bikini beach tan though), an island (Netrani) and some shopping (items made of local root) pretty much sums up the place. A good weekend getaway from Bangalore during Oct-Feb. More.

Related Posts:

1. Murudeshwar: Understated but Exhilirating
2. Murudeshwar Guest House: Hotel review

Namaste Cafe Entrance

About Gokarna – An ancient beach town in Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka, Gokarna has great religious significance as well. The town has 5 beaches – Gokarna, Kudle, OM, Half Moon and Paradise – in that order and with hills between the beaches. As such, it offers extremely good opportunity for beach treks. None of these beach treks surpass 30 minutes duration and provide exotic views of the sea from the hillocks. World seems to have stopped when you are here – beach hop, lay on the beach, jog, walk, eat at beach cafes, buy, drink, dance, write – do whatever but don’t rush. This is a place that rewards laziness. And yes, it is one of the very few places in India (other than Goa of course!) where you can find bikini babes – and that too in good numbers. All these make Gokarna a great two day weekend getaway from Bangalore, Goa, Mumbai and Pune during Oct-Mar.

About Namaste Cafe – Lies on the shore of OM Beach. In fact it lies so close, you would feel OM Beach is the private beach of Namaste Cafe. Ph – 08386 – 257141, Address – Near Om Beach, Gokarna, Karnataka – 581326

Namaste Cafe from Om beach

Rates: Range is INR 150-600 for double occupation. Mind you, I’m talking on Oct 2008.

Services: You wouldn’t need much for your room. But you would spend quite some time at the restaurant – eating, drinking, smoking, talking or just, passing time looking at the sea and people around. At the restaurant, service is prompt and accurate.

Best Experience: The cafe lies just on the shore of OM beach. This takes away all the distractions that you may have while on a beach vacation. Just leave your room and hop on to OM Beach – jog, walk, just lay lazy, write, observer the sea and people, sit atop the rocks at the beach. Also, you can beach trek from beach to another.

Worst Experience: The room was stuffy and the bed-sheet dirty. But this was inconsequential given the advantages.

From Namaste Cafe Balcony

Summary: The location of the cafe is the best part – overlooking OM beach. Thus, you can have your breakfast, lunch and dinner and simultaneously watching the sea and people around. The cool breeze, the sound of the sea, the lingo of the people around you and of course, the little shop selling beach wares and accessories makes it a perfect place to spend time. The only catch, small rooms.

Tips & Tricks

1. The room was really small and the bed-sheet dirty. So, bring a bed-sheet with you in case you want to sleep on a clean one.
2. You may need a mosquito repellent. I didn’t need one though. But then, better safe than sorry.
3. Take the rooms in the first floor – you’d spend a quality time on the balcony.
4. Try the Continental food at the cafe – the price, taste and ambience is a good bargain.
5. Have heavy breakfast at the cafe – the sea view with the breeze caressing your ears and hairs is a charming experience

Further Reading:

My review at HolidayIQ, Namaste Cafe @ Flickr,

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About - The church is second oldest in Bangalore (St. Mary’s being oldest). Originally built for Irish soldiers, the church is now frequented by numerous during weekends. It is located at the junction of Brigade road and Residency Road. Apart from the church, its premises has a shrine, plenty of open space – for parking and strolling.

Inside St. Patrick's

Ambience - Inside the church, three columns of seats (5 in a row) were teeming with people. Most were dressed in their best. Men were in usual dark suits. Women were more colorful, wrapped in flamboyant saris, frocks, skirts (of all possible lengths) and salwar-kameez. Every seat had a booklet – of lyrics of Carol Service and Holy Mass. We arrived pretty early (10:15 pm) in the hope of getting a front seat only to find that numerous others thought on similar lines and arrived earlier . This meant only a few seats were left unoccupied. Unable to find a front seat, we settled at whatever was available.

On Left and Right sides of the church, live feeds of the sessions was screened. Seating arrangement was really good. In fact, those who were standing at the back, several church volunteers managed seats for them, especially women and children. Standing the back center position inside the church gave a majestic view of the proceedings. We left our much coveted seats and stood at the back.

Theme - ‘Persecution’ was an all pervasive theme at St. Patrick’s Church. Destruction due to Tsunami, WTC attack, Church attacks (at Orissa, Karnataka and elsewhere) and Mumbai attack was portrayed. It felt good that despite the threats, so many (Christians and non-Christians alike) gathered at midnight to celebrate festive spirit. But after more than two decades of terrorism in the country, this theme has become oh-so-cliched.

I leave you with some more Christmas pictures. Merry Christmas.

Christmas amidst Persecution

Waiting for Baby Jesus

Baby Jesus Arrives

Announcing the arrival of Baby Jesus

Further Reading

• Mass Timings
• Churches in Bangalore
• Here’s how others celebrated Christmas – Chailey, Rahul, SeattlePam, Harsh, Sudeshna.

To Gokarna

En route Gokarna

After my one day Murudeshwara trip, I ventured towards Gokarna, which I anticipated to be yet another temple town by the beach – somewhat like Jagannathpuri, Rameshwaram, Kanyakumari, Mahabalipuram or Murudeshwara. Gokarna has an interesting legend, dating back to Ramayana times. A local bus (in fact, it was a cramped 10 seater with 15 odd people aboard) took me to Kumta in INR 16. The bus (if I may call it that) covered part of the journey on the National Highway, and the other part through the villages en route. It was an interesting forty minute journey, since it has been awhile since I visited a village. But the potholes and turns on the roads, the packed bag on my lap, a man leaning over me from the left and a woman in a half seated posture in my front ensured I had a little cramp on my back. I accepted the cramp as a souvenir from yet another Great Indian Bus Journey of mine. The bus stopped at Kumta and it was time to catch another 10 seater. Boarded it 10 minutes later, and in another 40 odd minutes, I was at Gokarna.

Gokarna

Typo at the eatery board

Gokarna bus stop doesn’t stand out from any other small town ‘city bus stand’ in India – a shed with few concrete settees, a ticket counter doubling as registration room for bus drivers, an eatery, a shop selling travel items (snacks, mineral water, handkerchiefs, wallets, lock and keys, local newspapers and stationery), two toilets (HE and SHE) and an area where buses arrive, stand and depart. And of course, there was a typo on the eatery board – jues for juice. A group (3 pairs) looked familiar. These folks were on the same bus (Bangalore to Gokarna) as I. Incidentally, they planned their return next evening – same as me. That implied they planned to stay at Gokarna for a day more than I did. I made my return booking on the same 7:30pm sleeper bus leaving next evening.

The Folks

Eenlightment

A little chat with a pair revealed that the group was staying at a shack in OM beach – in just 100 bucks a piece. These guys were on a roll here. Beach, Booze, and Breeze. Add Babes to the list and you can imagine these pairs having one the best weekends of their lives. During my entire stay at Gokarna, I encountered these folks time and again. Predictably, I observed them pretty closely and they were so absorbing, they justify a separate post on themselves. Nevertheless, I got some useful tips from them – a bird’s eyeview of a day in a shack, must eats and auto fares. I bid them adieu and boarded an auto to OM Beach – 120 bucks.

Road Ahead

I had cool 34 hours to explore Gokarna, and I wanted to feel its religious significance as much as soak in its beaches. The auto meandered through hillocks and roads bordering the sea. There was vegetation, but in clusters. A 25 min auto ride took me to the OM Beach entrance. My next posts will talk about the what happened next.

The Other Side

The earlier tryst: My first visit to Cubbon Park was in April this year when we (me and my parents) took a tour operator’s bus to tour within Bangalore and it took a scheduled break at the place. Half an hour at the Visvesvaraya Industrial & Technological Museum, a brief stint at the park itself (it was just after the spring), a passerby look at the Museum and the board that said there’s an Art Gallery in the premises led me conclude that the place demands spending a quality time and is a full day visit. So, went there yesterday to complete this must-see in Bangalore.

The Plan: Power cut in the morning ensured I couldn’t look for online tips before for the visit – how to reach, timings, must-see, must-do, avoid etc. A bengali travel book – ‘Bhromon Songi’ indicated Kasturba Gandhi Road is where I should be headed to. Based on the earlier tryst and the anticipation thereof, I budgeted for seven hours for the visit, including two for commuting – I was taking BMTC bus after all.

Bus journey: No conductor in the bus inevitably meant queuing up before the driver to get your tickets. Now, this spelled trouble. Twenty minutes after the bus started, it was only a kilometer from where it started. Left the bus and took an auto to the place.

Government Museum: I knew that on public holidays and Wednesday, the Museum is closed. On a Saturday noon, there was hardly anyone around. Took a round of the red building and found a guard who said that ‘its second Saturday, it is closed’. Now, consider this: In all of 15 months in Bangalore, I happened to visit this place for the first time and that too on a day it was closed. Bad luck, eh. The guard suggested to visit the Art Gallery – ‘first floor’.

Museum

Venkatappa Art Gallery: I’ve been to some Art Galleries in Kolkata, and in Delhi. Loved most of them, Academy of Fine Arts (Kolkata) in particular. The ambiance, buzz of people, overhearing intellectual remarks (‘how you should see this piece’ or ‘why is this painting the best thing to hit the art circuit in last one year’), the canteen all make a mesmerizing combo. Venkatappa Art Gallery looked a little different, rather strikingly different. There were only two souls at the entrance – both of them guards. This really dampened my spirit. ‘First floor’, one of them said.

The First Floor: What struck me, again, was the total absence of visitors. Paintings by 6 artists were exhibited – around 30 odd pieces. Paintings of Buddha (6 I counted), village life (8), horses were abound. There were around 8 abstract paintings – and as usual, couldn’t understand even an iota of it. Back in Nandan, you would find people around and if you seek help, they would help you understand the art, irrespective of your dumb quotient. I consider myself unqualified to comment on something I couldn’t understand. However, the paintings of Ravichandran seemed appealing, even to me. The village market scene, the dancer, the fruit seller all seemed life like. Predictably, all such paintings had one common thread (except the same painter) – they all featured women. I wonder what is it between painters and women? I found solace here – at least I found something in common between art galleries of Kolkata, Delhi and Bangalore. I was done viewing the paintings in twenty minutes – what I expected to take more than an hour.

The Park: The entrance raises your expectation – a little stadium to the left, a bamboo groove to the right and a walk towards the bandstand (LalBagh) like structure in front. However, I was disappointed when I came closer – plastic littered all around, the absence of flowers and only a few people around – the place didn’t seem like the Cubbon Park I expected. A little walk around was all the more disappointing – there were places to sit – but all dirty, there were plants around – but not flowers.

March

The Saving Grace: Amidst all these, a group of ducks(or swans?) and turkeys lifted my spirits. The sight of these folks moving in group – like an army troop marching and whistling away to glory – was amazing. Took a couple of photographs and videos of the march. Suddenly, most of the things around seemed interesting – the bamboo groove (its tall and clustered existence), birds and love birds. Hungry and tired, I bid Cubbon Park adieu.

Summary: Power cut, conductor-less bus, second saturday, visitor-less art gallery and flower-less park rendered my much anticipated Cubbon Park visit utterly futile. Thanks you birds for being the silver lining in an otherwise wasteful exercise. Probably, a visit next spring would change my perception. But till that happens, I wouldn’t go to Cubbon Park for Park-like experience. I would rather visit LalBagh for this.

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