OM Beach, Gokarna (clockwise from left. Rahul aka Jason, Swatik aka Balboa, Varun/Golu aka Rust, Prateek aka his holiness, Piyush aka his highness, me/kk/kaushal aka sir, Deepak aka Snow (all the aka’s are not to be used without prior consent))
First things first. If you are looking for something to spot the tourist spots of Gokarna and Jog falls please consult Google, this blog post is about me and some friends relaxing on the beach (not exploring it, what am I Charles Muntz). This blog post is pretty huge, gather patience before you start the next para. Anyway here is something straight from Wikipedia. Just some history and etymology before I begin:
GOKARNA: Gokarna means cow’s ear. It is believed that Lord Shiva emerged from the ear of a cow in this place. It is also located at the ear shaped confluence of two rivers Gangavali and Aghanashini. Gokarna is in Uttar Kannada district of Karnataka state in India. Gokarna is referred in a number of Hindu historical pieces. The Beaches around Gokarna serve as main tourist attractions. It is believed that the warrior sage Parshurama came to Gokarna from his wanderings and threw his axe to prevent erosion of the western part of India. Gokarna is full of coconut and palm trees, blue seas and clean sands (I highly doubt the clean sands part). Gokarna is a traditional town with a tile-roofed brick houses. Gokarna is about 580 km from Bangalore.
JOG FALLS: Joger gerosoppa Falls or Jog falls is the second highest plunge water fall in India, located near Sagara, Karnataka (first being Nohkalikai Falls in Meghalaya). Jog falls are created by Sharavathi river falling from a height of 253 meters with an average flow rate of 153 cu. m per second. Associated by the river is Linganmakki Dam. the power station there has been operational since 1948 with a capacity of 120 MW, one of the largest hydroelectric power stations in India back in 1948. These falls are a major tourist attraction
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The plan was final. There was off on a Friday, and we intended to spend the long-weekend wisely. We were to leave for Gokarna at 10:30 PM. We were 7 guys, me (kk, later renamed to sir), Deepak (later renamed to Snow), Rahul (later renamed to Jason), Golu/Varun (later renamed to Rust), Prateek (later renamed to his holiness), Piyush (later renamed to his highness) and Swatik (later renamed to Balboa). My other two friends couldn’t come as they had something more important. “Next outing” they both said with an affirmative tone.
We were all gathered at my place by 10:00 PM. The cook showed off his prowess and made some veggie and non veggie snacks for the journey. The Tempo Traveler (herein after referred to as the traveler) was on time and the driver Hanumanth knew the route very well. There are two routes to reach Gokarna, one via Hubli and the other via Jog Falls. I recommended the former route (it was shorter and better) but Hanumanth decided to take the later route instead. The Jog fall route is all Zigzag-y and like a labyrinth, that’s what Google maps told me. I finally agreed to take this route, as I’ll get to see Jog falls as well. Snow had a little mishap at his gym and two of his right hand fingers were heavily plastered. His highness on the other hand brought his guitar to everyone’s surprise. Jason and his holiness brought 7 couch cushions for the journey. Balboa got a 30 liter can of water. Rust and I joined shortly. You can see how enthusiastic / crazy we all were. I mean, come on! couch cushions and water can. Later those came in handy. Due to this 11th hour preparation we were delayed by 30 minutes or so.
Jason brought 10 cans of beer (3 and a half drinkers (half being his highness)), some smokes and some home made snacks. Time to get the party started, time to get hammered. The way out of Bangalore was pretty tight. Lots of traffic and lots of traffic signals. As soon as we hit the highway the fun part began, although for the drinkers the fun started a long time ago, god bless the inventor of alcohol. His highness spilled a can of beer, but he is as you know his highness so everything is allowed.
I and I believe everybody else is accustomed the busy life and streets of Bangalore. The free roads inside the city are as rare to us as oxygen on mars. The breeze is always there in this time of the year but for some reason the breeze from open windows of the traveler gave me goosebumps. Balboa worked for almost 2-3 hours to collect a variety of songs for the trip from various sources on a 16 Gigabyte flash drive (retro, dance tracks, foreign, Punjabi, movie tracks etc). 16 Gigabyte of pure awesomeness.Soon there was a Punjabi track, Jason got up and started dancing on the traveler despite his non-quick figure. I joined despite of the same, so did Snow despite his injured fingers. Balboa and Rust were enjoying the view. I don’t really know what they were watching it was dark outside, almost midnight. His holiness gave equal attention to the drinkers and to the non-drinkers. We had everything needed to survive the 8-12 hour journey (counting the halt at Jog Falls). We had light meal at home, so we opened the snack pack and everybody attacked as if it were jaggery and we were flies.
The traveler made its way through the national highway till Tumkur, after that we took the Honavar-Tumkur highway (aka AH 206). We halted at several places for tea/coffee and to stretch our legs. Hanumath was a very prompt driver. We crossed Tiptu, Kadur, Shimoga and entered Sagara with ease. Everybody was asleep by then (except Hanumath of course). I woke by dawn to find Rust and Balboa awake. And as Google had suggested, We were on a zigzag path. Felt like a roller coaster ride. I don’t really know if the driver was confident or stupid he drove at above 40 kilometers per hours in that godforsaken road. Soon we were entering the Gates of the tourist spot Jog falls. I had to pay 70 bucks as entry fee, I don’t know what is the government charging for? The ambient light was still dim. Hanumanth parked the traveler at the parking zone. We were in our shorts and tracks and there were some very provocative dresses, legs and faces in the vicinity. There was gang of girls, a gang of co-eds I guess, some couples and some singles. I and Balboa stepped out, and I guess the rest were dressing up (in the confined space of the traveler) for a fortunate accident with those pretty faces. Balboa and I walked briskly towards the falls. Balboa had a digital camera and I had my phone. There were many people as if in a gathering. I saw the signs that said “Jog Falls” but nothing was visible.I could hear the sound of water splashing on rocks though. There was far too much fog. The fog was very mysterious, one of the guards stationed there said there is no telling if the fog will abate. We were lost in the crowd and there was still no sign of the others or the falls. We still took some snaps. Luckily the fog receded and a very vague glimpse of the falls was visible. With fog the vagueness also receded. There it was the. THE JOG FALLS. (god bless the creator. Oops God can’t bless himself)
Jog Falls, Karnataka
Jog Falls, Karnataka
Jog Falls, Karnataka
Jog Falls, Karnataka
The Falls were as awesome as I imagined it’d be.Probably better. Much Better. The Fog was everywhere at that time. As you have read which river is responsible for the falls in the first two para, I won’t make it boring by acting encyclopedia. I am no shorthand or writer, but even if I were I would have taken me at least 3000 words to explain this impeccable beauty. After 6-8 hours of traveling we are here. The thought itself gave me chills. Water escaping from invisible pores of the rocks, making the amount of froth that can put even the best detergent company to shame, forming a way through the rocky mountains. If you have read my previous posts you probably know how much I admire nature. No matter how many times I say it or see it, it never ceases to astound me.The bottom of the falls were brownish. I wanted to bathe in that water but it was forbidden, confirmed one of the guards stationed at the falls. There was no way of doing it without breaking the law and obviously we intended not to. We are going to Gokarna. I and Balboa took a lot of pictures and then we saw the rest of the group at one of the viewing points showing mastery with the camera.
Balboa posing for the camera
Jason posing for the camera
Snow (with injured right hand), His holiness (starring at an unidentified object), Rust (starring at the same ) and Jason (Posing for the shot)
Snow (don’t miss the gym mishap), Jason, Me/sir, his holiness (Left to right)
After sufficient pics we realized there is another problem. Its almost 8 AM and we haven’t brushed our teeth and performed the daily toilet ceremony yet. There was a pay and use restroom close by we hopped there to find a long queue. The collector assured us of the hygiene. I don’t wanna say what happened next. Just that desperate time calls for desperate measures.
We left by 9:30 AM. I could hear my stomach growling. 20 minutes later we stopped for breakfast. I and Snow tasted everything the shop had to offer. Breakfast of champions. Balboa looked at my tummy and said yeah you are a champion. I don’t know if Rust heard, but he was giggling.
Then again we hit the road with the traveler, headed for our original destination Gokarna. The zigzags were not yet over. The so called roller coaster ride made Snow throw up his breakfast. After the zigzags we crossed a city and headed directly to Gokarna. There were some really narrow roads and thanks to Hanumanth we drove across all that and saw Gokarna beach. I know I have said it several times, but the beach was cool. There were kids jumping in the beach, parents keeping a keen watch, couples holding hands. We took off our foot wears and got a little closer to the beach.
The first impression of the majority was, this beach is dirty. We were just discussing something and we saw Jason undressed and jumped on the beach. I saw him jumping and splashing, he scared the crap out of a few kids. I liked the beach, endless water, beautiful horizon, good company, what else do you need? It was past 1:00 PM and we left for lunch. We didn’t find any decent restaurant and instead we took the route for OM beach. I heard from my colleagues that this beach is awesome. But an empty stomach makes everything look dull. We roamed around the beach looking for a place to stay but all the lodges and resorts were already full. The receptionist of the Namaste beach Guest house, laughed at me when I said if there is any room available. We moved a new area called Kudle beach. There are many beaches in Gokarna.
Hanumanth parked the traveler somewhere in the jungle, there were some bikes and other traveler looking vehicles parked nearby. On the back side there were a few rocky mountains, some small greenery on the ground and lots of trees. The way to Kudle beach was befuddling. There was small crack in the jungle that went downwards, we saw a few people going in there. We went there. It was thoroughly covered with trees. We went at least 300 meters in that narrow road to find the beach. I looked back in upward direction towards that small crack we came from and thought “how the hell am I gonna go back up to the traveler ?”. This beach was totally creepy, still there were some people, they wanted a little privacy I guess (Kudle beach should be renamed to cuddle beach). There was some sort of black dirt that the tides brought. The black dirt covered a considerable part of the beach making a layer on top of sands. There was a very unpleasant smell from that blackish dirt. I was so hungry that I hardly noted the smell. We entered a very ugly looking shack cum restaurant by the beach. He made us wait another hour to prepare what we ordered. Meanwhile Jason and his highness went to the nearby shacks to look for a place to stay. Snow, Balboa, Rust, his holiness and I stayed back at the shack. That shack was full by the way and too creepy to stay. We had to eat there because it was 3:00 by then, desperate times indeed. The dining area was approximately 20 feet above beach and the sea looked beautiful from up there. We could figure out the clouds moving from the horizon. The food was extremely costly. Although there were no other customers he took more than an hour. The food was the worst. Suits the ambiance I thought. Disappointing food for a disappointing day. Jason and his highness returned with bad news. No free rooms.
Kudle Beach from the restaurant shack
After lunch a guy who worked at the shack did a great favor. He made a phone call, pointed at a nearby shack and said “there are two rooms available there and he has agreed to accommodate all of you”. He said otherwise when his highness and Jason inquired earlier. There was some difference in opinion there. But what the hell, without any difference in opinion we might as well be terminators, sent from the future, to kill John and Sarah Connar. We all agreed to stay at the beach shack nevertheless. The fare was cheap and rooms were good and more importantly next to a beach. I know beach was ugly, but it’s a beach and as far as our information all the beach resorts and shacks were full. We lodged into the shack and got on the beach and did what we do best. Got hammered and enjoyed like a pig in the poop. I remember his holiness and Rust following a gang of girls. We played a game we used to play as kids called pitto. you arrange a few flat rocks atop each other, one team tries to break it with a ball, other tries to stop them. Except this time we used beer cans instead of flat rocks. We were 7, we included Hanumanth and divided ourselves in two teams.I and Rust were the star players. :). I think all of us got injured, sweet wound of victory.
kudle beach
The beach in between two mountains
his highness’s guitar and the beach
everybody except Jason (we enjoyed in the dirty beach anyway)
Later that night, moon looked pretty cool. With our feet in the water the ambiance was second to none. I, Snow and Jason were there. His highness joined in later with his guitar. He played guitar like an expert, although I have no idea what he played. To be on a beach covered by two mountains in the moonlight when the tides are the highest and his highness himself playing background music is just out of the world.
We had dinner at a grand hotel next to our shack (It was not visible from that lunch shack). Luckily this food was cheaper, a lot better and hygienic. Next day we took breakfast at the very same hotel checked out from our shack and left for OM beach. This is where we got all the nick names I have been using. We went to this area called Namaste cafe, it is popular and good. Only problem is the rush there. We ordered something there and waited. we could see the sea from the cafe. We discussed something and someone brought the topic of picking a nickname. His highness has some royal blood running in his veins so he was named his highness right away. He bid me knighthood making me sir kk, Jason picked the name from the Bourne Trilogy, Balboa‘s favorite movie is Rocky Balboa hence the name. His holiness on the other hand, showed no holiness whatsoever, hence the sarcastic name. Rust was actually Rustam first, I renamed for the blog. Snow picked the name from a character in the series called Game of thrones, haven’t watched it, Snow loves the series. His highness took his name a little more seriously and tried mixing cold coffee (that Rust ordered) with beer. When we stopped he replied “Silence, highness has got it under control”.
The OM beach actually resembles OM from the top the front part is like the number 3. The previous day I didn’t like the beach a bit, but it looked better that day. This beach is much more crowded and cleaner than Kudle beach. We played pitto again for a while. Jason said “I wish it’d rain”. I cut him off saying it’s not gonna rain. His highness and Rust were off to follow some girls in beach clothing. Within 15-20 minutes they were no where to be found. His highness got his guitar in the water. I tried to stop he said “you dare oppose the empire sir kk?”. I was speechless. After the guitar was properly inside the case it started raining and Jason‘s face lit like a candle. I saw people running back into the cafe, it was the only refuge around. If they didn’t wanna get wet why come to the beach. We stayed there, so did other normal people. Clean beach and rain is a treat.
his highness with his guitar
Rust’s art. I helped a bit
Balboa called up a few of his friends and found out there is another beach in the vicinity called the half moon beach. And he said it is worth visiting. So after a while I, Balboa, Snow, Jason and his highness left for the half moon beach, his holiness and Rust were still continuing their pursuit We breached into private property to climb a mountain. We were told the half moon beach was on the other side of the giant mountain. His highness still carrying his guitar. The way was very confusing and later we found we took the wrong way. Anyway we continued on the path and found sea water flowing through a few cracks. Very adventurous and dangerous as later Balboa discovered a jungle python hiding behind a rock. Thank god he saw it. We moved back a little thinking if we should continue or not. It was almost dark and even if we make it to the beach there was no way we could come back safe given the presence of the python. We decided not to.
the wrong way to the half moon beach
his highness with his guitar on the way to half moon beach (the wrong way)
Balboa, me/sir, Jason and his highness right after we came back from the wrong way of the half moon beach
I got a wound from a rusted barbed wire on that way. Got a tetanus injection as soon as I came back. But that was good tracking. We came back and enjoyed the dusk on the OM beach. His holiness and Rust ordered some food in the café and we had the best dinner there. Snow thew up there as well, there was no roller coaster ride this time, just excess drinking, Jason helped him. Jason and Snow made some foreign friends. Overall just ye-old awesomeness. On the way back we were sleeping like babies on the traveler. His holiness, Rust and Jason continued the pursuit of women, I heard them talking to Hanumanth about following a certain vehicle. Snow’s condition was bad, his injured right hand fingers were soaked in Sea water and needed to dressed by a physician, I needed a tetanus soon. By 8-9 AM we were on the familiar highways of Bangalore. To be honest I didn’t wanna go back. I just wanted to extend the vacation and be on that OM beach. I also wanted to track on the real way of the half moon beach. But too bad We didn’t plan our time properly. In the end you forget everything except moments of joy, fun and I believe disgust.
We were back to Bangalore safe and sound with an unforgettable memory. There’s an old saying
He who has traveled knows where the holes are the deepest. I think I know now.
I think we should travel to such places at least once every 2-3 months. Recharge yourself and increase productivity.
There’s another long weekend coming in about 3 days, we are planning Kerala. Let’s see if I can re-recharge me in a span of merely 3-4 days.
Live long and prosper. Signing off.
– Kaushal Dhruw
heavenly.devil09@gmail.com
A Quest Called Life 
