After cancelling our plans innumerable times, this Maha
Shivratri weekend we were determined to go. Even though a few people backed out
at the last moment, 6 of us were undaunted and packed our bags and left. We
reached
Gokarna at 9:30 a.m. on 24
th Feb.🌊
|
Kudle Beach! |
We first set foot on
Kudle beach, where we had to search for
rooms to stay. Since it was a long weekend it was difficult to find rooms,
finally we found hostel style rooms at
Sea Rock beach shack and we decided to
take it as we had no other option. As soon as we got our rooms, we freshened up
smeared a layer of sunscreen on ourselves and first, sat down to eat
something since we had not eaten anything since the previous night. Right
beside sea rock shack is
Sea View Shack and that’s where we had our brunch. The
food was decent enough, we had pasta in red sauce, cheese and mushroom lasagne
(YUMMY), chilli chicken, banana-Nutella pancakes, chicken biryani (not good
enough) and the show stopper- Prawn sizzler. Delicious big prawns fried in a
batter with some very palatable sauce and French fries.
|
Prawn Sizzler! |
After a stomach, full
sumptuous meal, we wanted to have a chilled beer to beat the scorching beach
heat. Unfortunately, and to our surprise there was no beer available in the
afternoon and they said that they serve alcohol only after 5p.m. 😞
The sun was right above our head 🌅, we were sweating and the
sand was burning our feet, but we could no longer hold it, and ran towards the
sea. The beach is much cleaner than mainstream beaches of
Goa.
|
Me, staring into the infinite sea! |
Let me tell you something that you probably won’t find in any other blog
on Gokarna. It looks like the foreigners have bid goodbye to Goa and made
Gokarna their new vacation spot. I was surprised to see so many non-Indians,
sunbathing in their bikinis and swim wear. Their bikinis caught a lot of
unwanted attention from a few perverts, it was a sad and frustrating
sight👙.
I thought it was my duty as a
citizen of India to protect those women from the perversion and the filth of
their mind and tried my best to keep them away from women they were prying on.
I was vigilant and went and sat beside those women and tried to make sure they
were not harmed. “
Athithi Devo Bhava”! 🙏
Moving on from that seriousness, we played Frisbee and beach
kabaddi, courtesy
Dear Zindagi 😛 until it was time for sunset. We shifted from
Kudle to
Om Beach to watch the sunset. The road leading to the main road from
Kudle beach is a tiny trek away (not tiny for people not used to trekking).
|
OM Beach! |
When we reached Om beach it was very crowded. No wonder
people prefer Kudle beach.
|
Crowded route to Om beach. |
Om beach, as one of my friends said- “looks like
this beach is made for photography”. Large boulders, unintentionally shaped to
perfection by the sea, it has got danger written all over but at the same time,
it is the most beautiful thing I have seen since a very long time.😍
Seemed like the sun was very active and didn’t want to set.
So while the sun was being stubborn, we pumped up some adrenaline and took to
water sports🏄. Jet skiing, Bumpy ride(scary) and no one had the guts to try the
banana boat ride(in our defence, none of us know swimming and hence being
scared is justified :P). We were craving for beer and tried our luck at the
most famous,
Namaste Café. We were unlucky for the second time as they said
beer will be served only after 7p.m.😞
|
Jet Skiing! |
|
Bumpy Ride 😄 |
The sun setting behind the rocks at Om beach is another sight
that you should not miss. Gokarna undoubtedly shows you the most gleamingly
colourful sunset, which is sure to leave you mesmerized.
|
The best sunset I have ever witnessed 😊 |
Soon we reached our rooms back and washed all the salty sand
from our bodies and went out for dinner. I don’t remember the shacks name but
it was the last shack on Kudle beach and near the Kudle to Om trekking route.
We ordered a lot of starters, Chicken tikka (rubbery chicken), mushroom and
baby corn tikka (okay-ish), prawn in butter garlic sauce (tasty little
creatures), Fish rava fry ( the best among the starters). And it was here that
we FINALLY got about a dozen bottles of beer to drink. Not very impressed with
the starters, we asked the waiter what would be a nice option for dinner. We
ordered Chicken Kolhapuri, as he suggested , rotis, dal fry and jeera rice. The
food was delicious and unlike the starters. Finally, the icing on the cake was
my recent favorite- Banoffee Pie(Lipsmacking). After tasting it at
Place toBee,
Ooty , this is what I order everywhere I go.
|
Butter Garlic Prawns |
|
Banoffee Pie 😋 |
The bill was quite exorbitant
but worth it. After dinner we sat at the beach for sometime gazing at the
stars(since it was Amavasya, there was no moon :P ) and listening to the waves.
Day 2! I should say, this day was such a stress buster! We
did nothing but relax at the beach😔. We did not want to wander in search of
shacks or food so we settled for sea view shack again. The whole day, that is
from 11a.m. to 7p.m. we sat at the same shack, constantantly ordering food(chilli
chicken, veg sizzler, chow Mein, veg sizzler, chilli chips- all very very
appetizing!) , beer and playing chess! Yes, Chess!
|
Chess+Beer! 😁 |
At around 4p.m. we went on a
boat ride. For 300rs per head they showed us 3 beaches. Om,Paradise and Half
moon beach. Don’t forget to sit in the corner and touch the water, its an
amazing feeling!
|
Boat Ride! |
|
That amazing feeling!😌 |
After we got off the boat, me, being a prawns lover was very
keen on eating a prawn pizza (something that you don’t get everywhere). Beside
Sea View shack there is a “Old La Pizzeria”. We landed up there to have a
delicious cheese and prawn pizza to satisfy my prawn cravings! So, we left
Gokarna post the pizza on a damn delicious note! 🍕
|
Beach+Sunset+Pizza= Perfect! |
|
Sunset from La Pizzeria. |
Some tips and facts
- If you
are going to Gokarna on a long weekend, do book your rooms in advance. If
you’re visiting Gokarna on a normal weekend, you don’t have to book rooms in
advance. You will get rooms easily.
- You will
see many people doing Yoga on the beach. You can join them.
|
Yoga by the beach. |
- You will
see many foreigners with bikinis on the beach. Please do not stare at them and
make them feel uncomfortable. Remember, as I said before- “Athithi Devo Bhava”.
- Shacks on
Kudle beach provide you with many games that you can play on the beach and in
the shacks. Frisbee, carom, chess and many more games. You must ask the staff!
- Foreigners
are very friendly, you can politely ask them if you can join them in their game
of Frisbee or anything else.
- Don't stick
to clichéd shacks like namaste café, try to explore. There is much more to
Gokarna cuisine.
- It is good
to have a person who speaks Kannada, with you. When I asked the man who took us
boating, he said 300rs per head. And when I asked him to reduce it he said-
“Since you spoke in Kannada I said 300rs, if someone speaks in Hindi or English
I would have said 400 or 450!”
- Beach stuff
like clothes, braids, jewellery is expensive. Do bargain.
|
Got colorful braids done 😊 |
- Post sunset,
there will be a jamming session by the foreigners. Music, dance and they even
set up small stall from where you buy stuff(again, do bargain), speak to them
and know more about them.
- Lastly, if
you are looking for a Goa like vibe or party destination, Gokarna is not the
place for you. Gokarna is only for those who want to take a break from hectic
work schedules and relax!
Definitely going back soon!
Cheers! 🍷🙌