Day 6 & Day 7

Another rainy morning at Gokarna. being a weekend more indian tourists kept arriving. Since my clothes were still wet, i decided to pamper myself at Om beach for another day. During afternoon I rode to Kundle beach, which was virtually empty. The roads were amazing though, full of curves and flanked by lush green vegetation on either side.

Kundle beach

Met a few villagers on the way, working hard on maintaining the beauty of the region. A lady stopped me to ask what time it was and then when I asked her if I could click a photograph, she demanded money. tht surprised me and I kept persisting , while she was trying to pull my leg. finally she allowed me after she was satisfied with bullying me. I realised how often we underestimate the intelligence of a villager (shame on me)!

Smart lady who ragged me (Left)

While the sun slightly showed up in the evening, guests started filling the beaches.A group of college kids from Bangalore were having a gala time (too much of swearing though), a tamil family seemed to have entered a diffrent planet on entering Namster Cafe, while 2 or 3 indian couples were enjoying their time alone. Music fills the background for most of the time.

Namaste Cafe

After another lively evening, where I had copied music (about 13 GB) from the restaurant and a couple of other travellers., we all celeberated the birthday of a girl whose name i dont remember. Looked like she had come with her husband just after getting married. More rains and off to sleep.

Day 7

 I decided I will leave even if it was going to rain, since I was getting too comfortable for the past 3 days and had to hit my destination in 2 weeks time.Santosh serived me a heavy American breakfast, after which I packed my bags to leave. Bid goodbye to Santhosh and Bandhari, the guys who were part of the wonderful group catering to the visitors in Namste Cafe.

The road from Gokarna to Goa was just amazing. Having had the worst riding experience the previous few days, it was a welcome change to see excellent roads in great weather. Enroute hit Karwar, which seemed to be a very well planned city. As you enter, u see the huge Karwar Port and then keep riding along the beach, which is a beautiful sight.

Surprisingly the entire hundred km stretch was virtually empyt. but another surprising element was the number of cows along the highway. Although you can cruise at high speeds in this leg, u need to be extra careful due to the fact that Cows have the right of way here. Just after i entered Goa border, it started pouring. Since there was no sign of the sky clearing anytime soon, i decided to hit Palolem straight away. Found an excellent accomodation (double-bed with hot shower, tv and parking) for 200/night. thts the ebst part of visiting goa during the offseason- Customer is King. Hit the beach for lunch.

Palolem Beach

Learned my lesson- Never eat in a restaurant siting on the beach, freaking expensive. An israeli couple who were curious abt south india gave me some company.

It started raining heavily once again and came back to my room to have a good night's sleep.

Distance Covered- 110 km
Journey- Gokarna to Palolem beach
Roads- Very Good (keep an eye on the cows)

Day 5- Om beach

Woke up to a cloudy morning and took a nice walk along the beach, watching the fishermen still trying their luck for that prize catch in the ocean. The sound of the waves is just scintillating and I decided I will stay here for the day.

Nature acknowledged my decision by pouring rains throughout the day. I couldnt accept the invite from my Spanish friends to go around Gokarna, since I had clothes to wash (the bad side of travelling light). Went for a walk in the evening, where I bumped into a girl studying in Kerala. Later she told me that she's from Andamans. A group of 5 college kids from Bangalore arrived in the evening along with some more Indian tourists from Mumbai. Don't ask me if im sitting in the reception, its compact place where only about 20 people are there you see! Meeting new people is the essence of travelling rite? Habibi (gentleman from Dubai) invited me for a late coffee before we were joined by our Spanish friends.

The rains are still lashing over this sleepy town, which has completely held me in its tenter hooks. My next destination Goa can wait for now!


Distance Covered- 3 km
Journey- Om beach to Half-moon beach
Road condition- Very sandy (how else can a beach be?)

Day 3 & Day 4- Wayanad to Gokarna via Mangalore

Day 3

After a hot bath I left to Mangalore at around 10:30 am. I must mention here that NH 17 is the worst highway that I have encountered in my entire life. The 300km stretch from Wayanad to Mangalore was a 9 hour endurance test for me and my bike. Fotunately for me Tharun had suggested a place for stay, which belonged to religious trust. For Rs.250/night, the room was a palace for my battered body. A delicious dinner at Mangla Restaurant (once again sugested by Tharun bhai) was followed by a deep sleep.

Distance Covered- 300 km
Journey- Wayanad to Mangalore
Road condition- 15% Good, 30% Bad, 55% Worse, Very heavy traffic at Koilandy, Mahe and Thalassery


Day 4

Not finding much to do in Mangalore, I left to Gokarna by around noon. Stopped at Udupi for lunch, until where road works hampered my progress After Udupi, the ride was uneventful until I reached a place whose name I cant remember. A beautiful ride along the Arabian sea lasting for about 3-4km, followed by near empty roads for the final stretch to Gokarna. Just before I took the left on the highway to Om Beach, cops stopped me for a routine check. I was let go after they realised that my papers were in order, not before asking innumerable questions about my ride. They even thought I was lying when I told then my plan to hit Leh on my bike.

Anyways took the road to Om beach which as one hell of a ride. The winding roads climbing around a hill lock, with the beaches on your right side about 200 ft below- breath taking!

Parked myself in a shack in Namaster Cafe for Rs.250/night, which is the only place open during the off season. To this day I have never seen a more beautiful beach than this one.

The restaurant sits right on the beach, which is dotted by a few dogs and cows apart from a handful of locals.

A Spanish group of 5 (only remember the name of Maria) just arrived then, who asked me a few suggestions about Kerala, where they planned to visit later. I shamelessly flaunted my knowledge on La Liga (Spanish football league), trust me its a good ice-breaker. An elderly gentleman from Dubai who taught Reiki worldwide, was my companion for the rest of the evening.



Distance Covered- 300 km
Journey- Mangalore to Gokarna
Road condition- 30% Good, 50% Bad, 20% Worse, 4-laning works throughout the first 200 km