Sun sand surf sunset
sunrise serenity simple surrendering sweet swim sensual – all in 1
Abeer’s dad said to
him that if you REALLY wanna know a person, travel with him/her/them. Nothing
invokes raw personalities and characters whilst on an unknown terrain and
situation. I kept this thought in mind.
We reached Gokarna at 3:00am and camped out at the surprisingly
well-equipped and pristinely well maintained (by that I mean spotless) Gokarna
Road Station. There were several student revellers post the recent board exams
so we helped out 2 young girls with transport and reaching Kudle along with us
in the morning. The journey was fun and sweet. We captured some moments on
camera as the train trailed through the slightly inward Konkan coast. Watched
how guards sent signals and managed an ever-running-never-stopping Indian
railway system, which still employs manual labor and skills across the country.
A thought that makes me smile.
Gokarna was trekking walking trudging and exercise from the
word ‘Go’ ‘karna’ – a play on we have to do it on the mark. I was pleasantly
surprised by this extremely small beach-town so interwoven and colourful yet so
modern and humble. There was seva
everywhere. Tourists thronged every nook and corner – mostly hippies, yogis,
long-term vacationers and part time marvellers. What was common between them
all was they were all comfortably and barely dressed, some even without
footwear and they were all over Gokarna like they would walk through their
living rooms back home. It was a v v beautiful sight and something Abeer and I
can relate to. The temples and the facilities are all walking distance but mind
you there is nothing that you will need in Gokarna and it isn’t there. Nope… it’s
ALL there. The tourist attraction hasn’t upped the greed scale of this place
like other destinations in India and that’s why I never argued much about
paying for anything cuz it was always in INR 100s…
Our stay was comfortable at best. I see the logic now as we
barely stayed indoors. Just came to take 1 of many 100 showers in the day and
change there. Our room became a laundromat come baking oven. It was supremely
hot but since we had dragged our tired feet through deep dry sand across Kudle
beach at 6:30am and were told no shacks, huts, rooms or even beds were
available… we took this 1. We were glad we did and I would go back there
anytime. Ref: Sea View Resort. Don’t be fooled by the exotic names. They are v
v bare basic living quarters and for INR 400/- a night they were easy on Abeer
and my travel pockets. Abeer kept drilling in my head too that we were
backpackers and backpacker stay was the way to go. My biggest pet peeve was
bathrooms ALWAYS. I REAAAAALLLLYYY had to let this 1 go as I shared common
toilets and showers with all other roomies at the resort. Abeer was understanding
and always accommodating of my needs – something that I learnt on this trip on
a deeper level. He didn’t leave me to fend for myself as a grown up capable
woman. Rather he was far more caring and even watchful of me and my movements,
needs, pangs etc. This was what I was looking for in this trip – to learn about
each other.
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| Happy feet boating through all 4 beaches! |
I watched as he soaked in not doing anything. We barely had
2 days so there were times it felt like we had nothing to do and then moments
later an awesome plan would fall into place. In 2 days we visited Kulde, Om,
Half moon and Paradise beach, went boating on the local fishing catamarans,
trekked through scenic and sometimes wretched terrain between beaches separated
by rocky hills, watched the most beautiful sunrise and sunsets, tried more than
5 eating joints, marvelled at every meal and bottle of beer (thank you UB for
keeping us sorted), and swam a lot. I was happiest in my bare minimums. Happy
that I could wear and look like whatever at any time of the darned day and no
one would judge or gossip about it. I felt my skin soak in everything and was
open to wearing my bikini for the 1st time as well as get tanned.
Most of all I was happiest that Abeer and I made this trip. We were childlike
and hungry and thirsty altogether. We went about town and even visited the
local most famous temple – Mahabaleshwara. There was minor drama when we were
down to planning the next leg of our trip – Abeer always changes his mind every
20mins. Something he proudly calls not planning and going with the flow. I wasn’t
following the flow cuz it changes streams and directions all too many times. We
finally settled on our Kerala tour map and planned the next leg of the trip.
It’s amazing how a change in destination and setting can
change or alter your relationship. I had been on mini 1s with him but this was
our 1st big one. I like how much of a beach bum, raw and amazing
Abeer gets in such places. Like me, he is a water baby. The tropics calm us.
The intimacy takes several detours (all good 1s) and vacation romancing your
boyfriend is a new thrill. I was sold. I was excited for more exhaustive days
ahead and having really chilled at Gokarna, I was all set to rough it out. 1 of
the memorable moments of this trip was trekking it to Om beach for a romantic
dinner at Namaste Café and beers at the Dolphin Café. We witnessed a live police
drill with the youngest graduates of the Gokarna Police Acad versus some long term hippies (I guess that’s the term) who indulged alternately in water
and beer and had interesting conversations that made no dynamic sense on a
beach. We still felt like it was the right place.
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| Sunset at Om beach from Dolphin Cafe - the perfect perch to capture this view! P.S. Recommend a beer with a loved 1 :) |
I miss Gokarna. I do. I miss what it gave me till Sunday 17:00pm
IST. It gave me my Abeer in a very loving interesting fun crazy and himself
form. It gave me his and mine 1st trip. It gave me his time and some
of his undivided attention. It gave me backpacking story –I’ll be honest this
was barely backpacking in the true sense and I am looking fwd to a new rugged
1. It gave me a weekend away from the city and some of its prime evils. It gave
me until it decide to take some… (next post)
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