Gokarna-Murdeshwar Trip

The much awaited final long weekend for the first quarter was here at last and we felt that we must go out somewhere as our calendars kept on telling us that the next long weekend was almost three months away. After some brainstorming, we finally narrowed down on Gokarna, which is at a distance of almost 500 kms from Bangalore.

We were lucky enough to get a pretty decent cottage at a not so expensive price as we had booked it in advance. The next big task was to find the most appropriate means of commuting. We found that there were no direct train services available between Bangalore and Gokarna. So we had to travel by bus to cover the 400 and odd distance. After getting the bus tickets, we eagerly waited for the Thursday to come and carry us.

We were greeted by heavy rains as we started from our respective places to catch the bus. I reached the boarding point on time and got hold of the bus. But my friends failed to turn up to the place as they got stuck in traffic. The autos they took also failed to get them to the boarding point as they encountered some technical problems which further added to their woes. The bus waited for almost half an hour and then departed from the boarding point with the driver citing that it was already getting very late and he asked my friends to come to the main office. Finally everyone managed to board the bus at the main office.

By the time we got into the bus, our beds had already got wet and we had a tough time for the next 12 hours. When the sun’s rays peeped into the bus through the soiled screens, we thought that we had almost reached the destination.When  I went to the driver to ask how much more distance Gokarna was, he told me that it would take another four hours. With a heavy heart, I conveyed this message to my friends.

It was almost ten when we reached the cottage. The cottage looked pretty decent and was up to our expectations. After finishing lunch, we decided to venture out. After discussing with the cottage guy, we decided to visit the  Mahabaleshwara temple and then go to the Om beach. The temple was not open at that time. So we moved forward to the main beach in the town. The main beach did not look that clean and it was crowded as well. So we decided to move away from the place and proceeded to the Om beach. On the way to the Om beach, we encountered some breathtaking views.

The beach bears the shape of the symbol Om and it looked pristine as well.It was not very crowded. It is definitely one of the must visit beaches in India. We went for a boat ride in which we were seated in a rubber boat which in turn was towed to a motor boat. The boat man steered the motor boat into the middle of the sea at a high speed. Our small rubber was shaking all the way in the sea waters. The boat man also tried to draw a few circles in the middle of the sea with the boats while we were screaming at a high pitch. The ride was scary, but was enjoyable as well. After killing two hours, we got back to the cottage for  dinner. We also had to plan for the places to visit the next day. It was Murdeshwar which was on the cards.

The journey on the second day started as early as 7.30 am. We headed towards Murdeshwar in the Maruti Omni. There was a small Ganesha temple on the way to Murdeshwar. The place is called Idakunji. The Ganesha looked a bit different from the ones seen in most of the temples. After having our darshan there, we headed straight to Murdeshwar.

Murdeshwar boasts of having a very tall statue of Lord Shiva on the sea. There is a temple which has been constructed beneath the statue of Lord Shiva. The Shiva looked magnificent from all sides. One could see cameras flashing from all sides focusing on the giant statue. Once we were done with the photo sessions,  we stepped into the beach. The sand was a bit sticky there and it was getting hot as well. Soon we were into the Omni, headed towards the cottage.

The driver took us to a fort named Mirjan fort which was on the way to our cottage. We climbed the stairs leading to the top of the fort and took a few snaps. A few peculiar patterns of construction were in place in the fort which would attract all the budding photographers. Nevertheless, the fort  is indeed a photographer’s paradise.

It was almost twelve when we reached the cottage. We had our lunch and then got into our rooms for a small nap. We had already decided to go to the paradise beach in the afternoon. We vacated the rooms and got into the omni to go ahead with the last leg of the journey. The driver dropped us in a scary place and showed us a way which would lead to the paradise beach. Though we were not convinced about the spot we were standing at that time and the lonely road in front of us, we still decided to give a try.

We started our trek from the point where our driver dropped us. After walking for half a km, we encountered two roads with an ambiguous sign board. There was hardly anyone in the vicinity and we did not hear any sounds of waves hitting the shores. There were a few farmlands visible on the way. The path seemed to take us to a top of the hill. .After walking a further while, we could see a dense forest in the distance. We were really apprehensive about moving ahead further.It was indeed one of the most peculiar landscapes I have ever encountered in my life – a mountain, forest, farmlands – everything at the same place with the sea at the bottom.

We reached the top of the hill after a few minutes and at last we were able to see the paradise beach beneath us. We searched for all possible ways to get down to the beach, but were able to find none. After a few futile attempts, we returned to the car and asked the driver to take us to the Om beach again. We had around an hour’s time to kill there and then returned to the town.

We had another chance to visit the temple we had missed the day before. But to our dismay, a large number of tourists had flocked the temple. So we returned without giving a try. After finishing our dinner, we boarded the bus and were back in Bangalore the next day.

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