– personal travel notes
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| BACKGROUND
Gokarna is one of the first towns south of Goa.
The beaches south of Gokarna all have little restaurants, guesthouses and bungalows.
Drive to Om Beach, and walk from there to Halfmoon Beach or further on to Paradise Beach.
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| ACCOMODATION
We stayed at Hotel Shivaprasad and paid 500 rupees for a triple room with a huge balcony.
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Gokarna
The Beach.
You know the book, or the film, ‘the Beach’?
About a certain beach on a remote island in Thailand which a bunch of rucksack travellers try to keep as their secret, because they don't want the same thing to happen to it as what happened to islands such as Koh Samui and Koh Pha Ngang, once the army of young Western rucksack travellers move in, changing the palmtree idyl to a mere industry of restaurants, bungalows, cybercafes, drugs, music, and so on.
On Wednesday, January 26th, I felt like I was re-experiencing ‘the Beach’ in an Indian version.
The classic dream of all Western Asia-on-a-shoestring travellers: |
...finding that yet unspoilt paradise beach. |
We had come to a town called Gokarna, and in the Bible –
‘Lonely Planet’ – we had read about some beaches south of Gokarna which were only accessible by foot.
On this particular day, January 26, according to rumours on the internet, there was going to be a mega-three-day party starting up on one of the beaches there, celebrating the full moon.
So, as if we were rucksack travellers in search of the hidden, unspoiled idyllic slice of Paradise, we set out to find it.
What we knew was that the party would take place two kilometers south of Paradise Beach – yes, this was the name of it! – and that the way to get there would be to take a rickshaw taxi nine kilometers out a miserable dirt road to Om Beach (we paid 180 rupees for this), and then walk on foot from there.
Om Beach – presently quiet and tranquil, but in a couple of years, it is going to be definitively “destroyed” by a major hotel complex. |
The path towards Paradise Beach, starting at Om Beach. |
Sometimes the path would be right at the water... |
At other times, we'd be walking high up on the cliffs.
In the distance, we can see a stretch of sand which appears to be Paradise Beach. |
In the Lonely Planet guide book, it said something like that the walk from Om Beach to Paradise Beach would take 20 minutes. Whoever wrote that must be a fast walker and climber. I think it took us something like one hour and 20 minutes, rather. But then of course, we did take some breaks and some stops for photographing along the way.
Arrived at “the promised land”: Paradise Beach. |
The only proper bungalow on Paradise Beach. A couple here appear to be living out their own “Thor Heyerdahl on Fatihuva” dream, together with their three year old child. |
Om Shanti Garden: popular hang-out on Paradise Beach. Everyone there seems to be on... “something”. |
What the paradise-seeking travellers don't take with them when they leave: their garbage. |
I think Paradise Beach had a nice feel to it. Worth the walk, anyways. Deb didn't like it that much because the place was actually quite spoiled and crowded. And we somehow didn't fit in with the crowd there, mainly consisting of 21-year-old stoned Israelis.
The rave beach party we had been heading for turned out to have been cancelled because they couldn't get the necessary permission from police authorities.
We had lunch at a nice café on the top of the cliffs at Paradise Beach, with a magnificent view overlooking the whole area. Even a place as remote as this had an internet café with satelite connection.
Instead of walking over the cliffs, we enjoyed a beautiful boat ride back to Gokarna, watching the dolphin's playing. (Boat ride Paradise Beach to Gokarna: 250 rupees).
This is the beach of Gokarna. The Indians don't go to the beach, so it is actually quiteter than Paradise Beach! |
Gokarna. Nice to be in “India” again. |
The old buildings and relatively quiet streets give Gokarna a special and inviting atmosphere. We found trading in the shops there a real pleasure. Less bargaining, more fun. |
Hindu pilgrims travel to Gokarna to visit an old temple there. This lingam is more than a thousand years old. |
The most pleasant way to travel between Gokarna and Margao in Goa is by train. It takes a couple of hours. Fare: 24 rupees, (DKK 3.00). |
When travelling on a normal weekday, the trains are usually empty. (When a train looks like this, it is considered “empty” in India.) |
posted by Mik Aidt on Jan 24, 2005, at 13:44
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