Gokarna!!

Gokarna has always been my favorite holiday spot. I love the serene beauty of the place , its almost as if , its untouched ....

A number of people come every year to Gokarna , but even with all that, there is something indescribable about the place , it just draws you in, you feel like you can just live there forever.

Sitting beneath the swinging coconut trees, playing in the sea .. sipping lime juice ... just sitting and staring ... There is something infinite about the sea which has always fascinated me and when i go to Gokarna , that feeling intensifies....

Gokarna is a small town, there are exactly two roads in the town , one of which leads to an antient temple. Gokarna is famous with Hindu piligrims, its has two very famous temples , one dedicated to Lord Shiva and the other to his son Lord Ganesha. The town is a very important place for hindus in terms of the last rites to attain Moksha [salvation]. There are a number of tales connected to Gokarna , it seems to be a great hit with almost all the holy books in india , it finds reference in both Ramayana and Mahabharata. Adi Shankracharya seemed to have defeated a Sanskrit scholar here in a debate which lasted for days, finally establishing his doctrine ...

For the other stories : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gokarna,_India

We took the bus to Gokarna, we left Bangalore at 10 PM and reached Gokarna by 8 AM. The only drawback in Gokarna are the rickshaw fellows, the fares are always beyond 100 Rs. I mean that is highway robbery, but they know that we are helpless and we will pay :( ... bikes for hire is not a concept which is very popular .. so tourists end up spending a lot of money on travel alone. This time we stayed at Gokarna International on the Kudle beach. It is'nt all that it is made out to be , it is an average place which stinks big time ! We ate at various places in Gokarna , food is not fantastic , but since it is so hot , you don't feel like eating anyways ... so it is all good !!

The ocean on one side and the western ghats on the other , Gokarna has something for everyone .. The ocean is very very very gentle , the waves aren't too rough, you can just paddle or swim out , its great fun .. There are six fantastic beaches in Gokarna - Gokarna beach,Kudle Beach,Om Beach , Half moon beach,Paradise beach and Sangam beach.

Om Beach is arguably the most popular beach,it is shaped as an Om. Half Moon is my faveroite, it is a quite beach, where most tourists don't come, the sea is really friendly and gentle , paradise is a party place ... I don't like it too much , but again it is subjective. Sangam beach is a beach which most of us have'nt visited, its a virgin stretch of sand spreading kilometers across, with no civilization in sight.

All the beaches are separated by cliffs, sometimes its a adventurous trek or it may just be a normal trek to the next beach. The easiest path is from Kudle to Om. The most arduous one would be from Om to Half moon, the most tricky one would be Paradise to Half moon.

As i said Gokarna has something for everyone, there are cheap shacks which sell interesting knick knacks or clothing, you can get anything from chains to anklets to china ...

There are water sports, but not that interesting. There are fishing boats which take you from one beach to another , I personally love them but the pricing is steep, but worth it.

There is usually an interesting mix of people there, people are friendly and I mostly think that is coz most of them are either drunk or high. It is a proper hippy place,but no one disturbs you if you want to be left alone !! Thats the best part of all.

Overall it was a fun,relaxing experience. We drank and drank and drank some more, played all the games under the sun... swam out in the ocean,trekked ... LOVE IT!!

I will go back as always ....