Gokarna 3rd – 6th January 2005

So we finally managed to drag ourselves away from Palolim beach. Hard though it was! Another sad farewell to my Coco hut and we were on our way. Three bumpy local buses and three hours later we reach the tiny coastal town of Gokarna in the state of Karnataka. This is the town that I visited on a day trip before and I'm pleased to have the chance to return to be able to see it properly.

We arrive in the stifling midday heat and soon tire of walking round the town with backpacks looking for accommodation. We leave Paul in a Café with the bags and Karen and I set off in search of somewhere to stay (something we are soon to discover is a rare commodity in Gokarna). After much effort and much rejection we finally find rooms in a place directly opposite the bus stand where we started.

The plan was to drop off bags, shower, and then head off on foot to explore the town. However, upon entering my room I collapse on the bed and pass out for the rest of the afternoon. This traveling lark is hard work and all that time in Goa has left me out of practice.. In the mean time Paul and Karen head off for a walk, they obviously aren’t as out of practice as me! That evening the three of us head back in to the town to have a look around.

Gokarna is a sacred Hindu pilgrimage town and considered by some to be the most important holy site in the whole of southern India. Although access to all of the town’s temples is denied to tourists, there is evidence of religious activity all around the town. As we walk through the narrow streets large groups of pilgrims gather outside temples in religious attire, many have distinctive marks painted on their faces, and there is a lot of strange holy chanting going on. They are all obviously up to something but it’s beyond my comprehension. Walking around Gokarna generates a feeling that you are bearing witness to something special, ancient traditions etc. A similar feeling that I experienced in Varanasi, you don't know what it is, you don't understand whats going on around you but something feels special, its just a feeling, something in the air, Its real India!

We pass through the dusty lanes and come across two giant mobile temples on huge wooden wheels. Apparently during a festival in February these are wheeled through the street powered by 'Shiva' power. Shiva being a Hindu god, farther and destroyer and creator of 'Ganesh' another God, Ganesh being the one with the elephants head. I know, I know its all a bit odd, I've given up asking questions though. One thing I’ve learned about Hinduism, and India as a whole is that there is no way a western mind can make head nor tail of it. It isn’t compatible with our 'western logic' and therefore you just have to accept it. Otherwise you spend you entire time baffled and bemused. Anyway when these temples are wheeled through the streets thousands of locals and pilgrims line the streets and hurl bananas at them. See what I mean, its all nuts!

We head for dinner and find ourselves truly emerged back into the real India. Food is a fraction of the price that we have become used to in Goa, but the choice is limited back to the local staple food of Thali and Masala Dosa. The restaurant is a bit on the shabby side to say the least. On the walls you can see out lines of people in the dirt stains. Nice!! I'm not entirely sure but I think it may have been a while since this place saw a lick of paint.

The following day we head back through the town and get some great snap shots of the street scene and all the activity that's going on. We then follow a track over a rocky head land and after about 30 minutes come to the near deserted Kodle beach. The beaches here are said to rival anything Goa has to offer and I can now see why. Due to the fact that you can only access them by foot they have not been developed and are only discovered by people in the know.

A further 20 minute walk over the next head land and we come to the next beach 'Om Beach'. So called as it is in the shape of the Om sign (Om is a mantra (sacred word or syllable) and is one of Hinduisms most important signs). See I'm getting it now! This beach is even more chilled (Shanti!) than the last one. We find Coco huts to rent and talk about moving to the beach for a couple of days. Not sooooo sure it’s a good idea, but I really do miss my hut!! We spend the rest of the afternoon on Om beach before heading back on a rather long HOT! Walk back to Gokarna.

That evening over dinner we discuss the pro’s and con’s of moving to the beach, and despite the pro’s outweighing the con’s we come to a unanimous decision that its not a good idea. I think none of us trust ourselves enough to leave when planned. You can literally loose weeks on these beaches and there’s a lot more left to see and do in India than bumming on a beach. Besides which, the beaches here in Gokarna seem to have a strange affect on the people that stay there. All the westerners here are either already fully hippiefied or well on the way. For men, Dreadlocks, beads, a girls sarong, and a clashing pashmina shawl seem to be the normal dress. Toped off with a rambling stick??, long Jesus beard, and bare feet (walking through all those cow pats. Urghhhhh!!!) I’m really not sure it’s a look that will suit me, anyway I’ve had all my hair shaved off so the dreads are out of the question.

Later that night Paul and I go to a local bar that we had spotted (you can take the boys out of Brighton but ………), we order beer and are ushered to sit in a small seating area under a tarpaulin at the side of the bar. This is the perfect drop in for all the local alkies to get their daily fix. As we sit with our beer numerous locals come in, arriving on push bikes, order their half bottle of whisky and tap water, sit silently alone and polish it off in about 5 minutes flat. Then they leave wobbling down the road. The drinking culture here is a bit different to ours. As we leave a disabled drunk man negotiates his way down the stair using a wooden stick to supplement his rather short right leg, he greets us in a drunken way, getting rather over excited that we are English, then he pole vaults himself on to his bicycle seat and peddles off into the night. Strange!!

We decide to stay 2 more days in Gokarna, making the walk to the beach each day. Then we will continue our journey southward to the city of Mangalore.