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The westside story
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Goa is passé. It's Gokarna now, still unspoilt and where the flower children are still tripping out
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FOR THOSE jaded by commercial, five-star resort-laden Goa, a couple of hundred kilometres down the coast is a little temple town that welcomes the IT types and `forin' flower children, no discrimination. Yes, the flower-children types come there, stuck in a time warp — long hair, short kurtas with printed patterns, doing pot and making indiscriminate love.
Hercule Poirot, for the Agatha Christie fans, may think of frying strips (or was it slabs) of meat, but the sands of Gokarna are the perfect belly-rest for those who want to sun their back. And, if you want to undo that bikini and/or go skinny-dipping, passing by locals will look but not stare, especially in the more isolated stretches away from the town.
The downside is that one must be prepared to rough it out a bit.Gokarna is some 200 km north of Mangalore (seven hours by bus) and 56 km southwest of Karwar on the seashore.
According to the Gokarna Purana, "by mere entrance into this ksetra (holy place), one becomes liberated from hundreds of sins, including even brahmahatya (the killing of a Brahmin)."
You can swim, sunbathe, walk, or just contemplate on the beach in Gokarna. - Photos: K. Murali Kumar
But, let's stick to the beaches, four of which are south of Gokarna, skirting the jungle — Kudle, Om, Half Moon and Paradise. For the religious, the Mahabaleshwara Temple is a big draw, though these days, callous drivers of large tourist vans with blaring horns, can be irritating.
So, try this. Get out of the hotel early and take the main road that leads away from the town. Look for a small canteen (Udupi Hotel what else!) run by one Mr. Holla, who is actually a local by choice and not by birth. Eat whatever he has made for the day for breakfast and ask for the way to the Gangavati river. It's a good two-hour walk through interior Gokarna. One or two shops on the way may have bananas and tender coconut, but little else.
The road ends at a point on the river less than a kilometre from its mouth. In summer, one can walk right up to it and do a sort of a U-turn to come right up on the coast. At this point the beach is quite isolated and encourages one to let go.
A word of caution: even if you are an Olympic swimmer, do respect the forces of nature.
Walking back to the town along the beach takes less than half an hour.
Getting there: Take the overnight bus. It's a 12-hour journey. Or the overnight inter-city train to Hubli that reaches by 6 a.m. Head for the Hubli New Bus Stand and take the 8 a.m. Gokarna bus. (Check for timing changes.) This involves a further four-hour journey.
Where to stay: Hotel Gokarna International is the best for us pampered city folk. Only make sure there's no film-shooting going on. You can also check out Om Lodge, Rama Garden, New Prasad Nilaya, and KSTDC's Hotel Samudra. Gokarna is also full of home stays, all very basic. The tariff varies between Rs. 150 and Rs. 400.
DIVYA SREEDHARAN
HARICHANDAN A.A.
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