When we think of New year it comes with new opportunities and change in life. A new adoption and a new release of habit. It happened to me after my first trip of this year to Gokarna.
It wasn’t like we planned for the first time for a girl’s trip but none of them went successful for the reason that Indian parents won’t get convinced that easily. But it was before “TRIP TO GOKARNA” happened.
I moved to Bangalore 7 months ago. In the south, you will find both beaches as well as the mountains and there are so many beautiful places to visit. I’ve heard a lot about these places from my friends and colleagues and am planning to visit all of them gradually.
My sister and her friend were coming to Bangalore for an internship in the month of January. So, I told them to let's plan something this year. We finally decided to go to Gokarna (trust me it was so hard to choose one place) I started searching and reading blogs on Tripoto and Instagram.
There’s no such place like Gokarna. This town is constantly buzzing with energy. Gokarna is like the mini chilled-out version of goa, but you can easily find peace and calm surrounding at beaches as well. This small town is definitely a fun place for people who want to take a break from city life and their busy schedules. Gokarna is all about waves, rays, and beer! This is one of the best spots on the planet to reconnect with yourself. It’s the epitome of beauty, spirituality and tranquility.
We traveled from Bangalore to Gokarna by Bus. The bus gave us the best rates (around 2k for a round trip). Since we were tired after an entire night's travel, we decided to relax for some time and recharge ourselves for the long day that was coming up.
When it comes to accommodation, it’s all about matching the neighborhood with the vibe of your group. We have stayed in two places for two different days.
Zostel- This is the center of it all. They have a cute small café with good food, beer and an amazing beach view with good music. It’s also right next to Gokarna Beach and 1.5km away from kudle beach. Here you will find solo travelers. They do have a common room where they have lots of games to play and interact with other visitors as well.
Namaste café: Known for its laid-back vibes and beach bars, this area draws a lot of tourists and, for the most part, has a family crowd. It’s also right next to Om Beach. This place has good food, beer and good music.
Om beach- South- facing; It’s usually crowded here, but it’s beautiful. Enough eateries and shacks are available.
Kudle Beach: west-facing; you will find a lot of cafes and resorts with shacks at this beach. With long stretches of sand.
Half- Moon Beach: south-facing; a couple of eateries with shacks; shaped like a perfect half-moon.
Paradise beach: South –facing; secluded and peaceful; no snacks or eateries. It is recommended to visit in the evening for a beautiful view.
All these beaches are connected through treks so one can either prefer trekking or can take a boat ride as per their convenience. Since we didn’t have enough time to go trekking, we took a boat ride. That is very reasonable for a round trip. Which includes a ride to half-moon beach, paradise beach & the lighthouse.
so, after recharging ourselves we went to Kudle beach, that's my favourite beach there. It's so calm with full of energy, some people are practicing yoga, some are surfing, some are enjoying the water and some are just chilling in the sun. After eating and drinking, we went in water. It was so much fun playing with water ya we sat opposite to water and left your body freely, the waves will move you forward (try that’s really fun). Then we went to the zostel . After changing we went to om beach which is like 5km away from Kudle beach. We took an auto(cost 150) to reach om beach. It was getting dark by the time we got there, but luckily we got to see the sunset which was the best part of that evening. We had our dinner at Namaste cafe then we went back to the zostel as it was getting late.
Next morning we have to check out from Zostel and find a new place to stay (that was really a task for us since it was new year week). We decided that now we will stay near om beach as other beaches are near to it. The places we were looking for we didn't find a room there. Luckily we got a room in a Namaste cafe under our budget. It was a cute cottage with a traditional four-poster bed. I fell in love with it. Hiking around the property itself is great fun and down there is a beautiful cafe. We slept for some time then we got ready, but since it was sunny we thought it would be better not to trek and to take a ferry ride. Initially they were costing us too much and there we met 3 other girls. We talked to the ferryman and cut a good deal. He took us to the paradise beach where we spent 15-20 min and went back. ferry rides are amazing and while coming back we saw a dolphin and a lighthouse. There is not much on Paradise beach but a beautiful scenic view.
Next morning we went to Murudeshwar, it's a beautiful pilgrimage place. There is the 2nd largest lord Shiva statue as the town lies on the coast of the Arabian Sea and is also famous for the Murudeshwara Temple. The drive from Gokarna to Murudeshwar is really awesome, it's all coastal highway (we took a local bus which cost us around 250/per person for a round trip). It took us 4-5 hrs, then we came back and went to the dolphin cafe and ate something and then we left for Bangalore (back to our hustle life).
You know what the funny part was! When we were enjoying the sunset at Om beach on the last day of our trip. My mom called me and she asked with whom you all went (Although she knew about our trip already). I told her that we were going along with my office girls only. She questioned I can't find pictures with any office girls on insta other than you three, don't lie...I was like now is the time let’s just accept it. So I answered… ya mom only three of us went (I am terrible at lying) she was like okay take care and be careful. I know we shouldn't lie when you’re going alone to some new place but in our case we had the back of our friend’s parents.
In these 2 days we fell in love with this place and now it seems so familiar to us. They are coming back in June so for sure I will plan another trip.
Budget- 5k/per person.
#TheFirstOne
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