Go.. Go.. Gokarna

7.9.2019

Though Gokarna has been on my bucket list since forever, I never knew Gokarna was more than just beaches and treks. Gokarna is a temple town. Wherever you turn, there's one. But we weren't properly equipped with temple clothes and could not visit any.

Tip: please carry some temple clothes along. The temples are pretty and you wouldn't want to miss them.

We had mutually decided not to hire bikes and walk and explore Gokarna. The paths here are very earthy and remind you of those small town roads and lanes that you've seen in movies. So we walked along the beach coast, trekked some and reached the famous Kudle beach. The Mahabaleshwar temple dedicated to lord shiva comes on the way of this trek. You can also find a lot of cafes on your way few of them being Mantra cafe in the Zostel, Gokarna compound, Zorbas etc.
The best part about the beaches in Gokarna are that they are comparatively less polluted than beaches in Goa or anywhere else in India. Even the tourist season in Gokarna is not as bad as a tourist season in Goa. Its less commercialised and looks fairly untouched. We played, sat and watched the sea to be interrupted by women and children selling bead anklets and hair braids. The only thing worth shopping in Gokarna are these anklets.  They customise it according to your wish as well. The rates vary from rs. 50 to rs. 120 per piece, but you can always bargain. After our mini-shopping, we headed back and stopped by Mantra cafe to gorge on some finger-foods and delicious smoothies. Prices are very reasonable. They have the weirdest combination of smoothies, but good ones.
It started raining the moment we left the cafe and we still had a long way to walk before we reached our hostel. We had one umbrella and a rain-coat. By the time we were back walking on the beach coast, the rain gods had become unmerciful. The umbrellas and raincoats weren't of much use but the experience of getting drenched in rain and walking along the beach is worth dying for.

Tip: please try doing all this if you are in for that kind of adventure and not at the risk of your lives.

We managed to get back to the hostel, ordered some beers and chilled for a while.

Note - Trippr only serves beers as alcohol and they don't allow alcohol from outside in their premises. So if you want to drink something else, please have back-up plans.

The co-hostlers were planning a round of Uno and we joined in. It was an ice-breaking for everyone. Later at night, there were more beers, good music, good people around and the beach, it was a night to remember. Both my sisters had retired to their dorms earlier than me while I returned back at 6am the next morning.

8.9.2019

I could manage only 2 hours of sleep as we had other places to explore the next day. My body was exhausted but my mind wasn't. So after breakfast, we headed to Om Beach via rickshaw. Its about 8km from our hostel. The beach gets the name from its om shaped coast, which is visible if you stand on top of the rocks and look upon the coast. Om beach is cleaner than Kudle and has the famous Namaste Cafe at its side.
After yesterday's rain, we weren't expecting a harsh sunlight, which meant no sunscreens. But alas, it was scorching hot and all of us got tanned royally.

Tip :pls carry sunscreens and necessary lotions whether it's summer/winter/monsoon to beaches. Anything can happen anytime.

We stopped at Namaste Cafe and had juices, spent a little more time at the beach and decided to head back. Instead of the roads, we trekked back from Om to Kudle and then to our hostel. The trek is very smooth.

Some of our hostelers from last night had left. But the good part was there were new people, with whom we got to interact and have a great time with. It was our last night in Gokarna and we were at the beach outside the hostel for a very long time. In just 2 days, Gokarna had felt home, comfortable and relaxing. All of us retired to our dorms early that night.