A weekend trip after a long time

Samurai · 29th January 2007, 14:15

It has been a long time since my family did a weekend trip to somewhere. Not since this one in Kerala. My wife spent most of last year in bed rest due to a complicated pregnancy. Therefore we couldn't travel anywhere. Meanwhile I had to satisfy my travelogue withdrawal by writing about local beaches, local sports and a much delayed report on our Sikkim trek.

Now that we have a 2 month old infant, we still can't go anywhere far until he starts on solid food. This saturday however my wife decided she needed a break. So she says let's go to a beach resort for the weekend, with both our kids, and it will be the very first weekend trip for the infant. In fact it will be the first night he will be spending outside since we brought him home.

Well, it was in the middle of a long weekend, getting booking may be near impossible. Then I recalled that greatDrive was planning to visit our area and was planning to stay in Turtle Bay. So I called up Turtle Bay in Kundapur and was told they were full. Then I decided to try another place near Byndoor, a vegetarian, non-alcoholic beach resort. I got their number from the website and called up. When I asked whether they had tents available, the guy on the phone instead asked me who I was and how do I know about them. Although I was surprised at this question, I told I have stayed there before and also mentioned couple of names closely associated with the resort. Once he was satisfied that I was no stranger, he said they do have tents available. So I gladly booked one verbally and promised to show up by 1PM. This was at around 10AM.

By 11:30AM we packed up everything and left for a 70Kms drive towards the beach resort. The first 40Kms on the NH17 between Udupi and Kundapur was mind numbing. The road that was completely destroyed during the last monsoon has been repaired by merely patching up, resulting in a very uneven road. Like that was not enough, there is too much traffic on this stretch, one can hardly enjoy this drive. It improved a lot after crossing Kundapur.

The road to the resort

We reached there by 1:15 and settled into a nice and cozy tent. Because of the infant, we had to take lunch in turns and by 2:30PM we were down with that.

The infant was sleeping, therefore my wife decided to rest until 4PM before heading to the beach. But I decided to do some photo exploration since it may not be possible later. Our itenenary this time would be heavily dictated by our infant's mood.

This resort spreads from the beach front to a hill. So I decided to try some shots from the top of the hill. From there we can see the local river joining the ocean.

I was back in the tent by 4PM and spent some pacifying the infant who had woken up by then. Meanwhile my first son spent his time running circles around the lawn sprinkler.

At 5PM we had some light snacks at the open dining hall. This time we took the baby and put him on the table. After that we left for the beach which was 200 meters away. I left the camera at the tent since I was planning to get into the water along with my first son. My wife was busy pacifying the baby on a beach chair. Somehow our infant didn't like the beach, and he had to be taken back to the tent. Meanwhile me and my first wore life jacket and got into water with full confidence. We did lots of floating around while some people were doing Jet Skiing pretty close to the beach, wish they kept some distance from the shore.

Before dinner we went around for a walk along the beach in order to pacify the baby who was again up and screaming. Then I met a familiar face, the resort manager, who also recognised my face. Then we caught up on old times and he solved the mystery of strange enquiry that morning. He told me that they don't advertise or take walk-in guests. If you call in and try to book, they will refuse. As I have already mentioned, this is a tee-totaller's resort, no booze, no non-veg, no smoking, and no wild parties. Not only they don't supply, you can't bring it from outside either. All guests are allowed through references only, no travel agent can book this place for you. Since my previous trips were arranged by relatives who were part of the resort, I was not aware of this. You gotta have connections to get in here. They do have corporate packages, but you have to come through right channels. Apparently they were fully booked for the long weekend, I saw couple of big groups, mostly americans. But couple of guests couldn't make it for lack of bus tickets. Because of this no-show guests, we had managed to get accommodation. Good thing we didn't call up two days back.

That night after putting the baby to sleep, I took some night shots of the resort.

The tent where we stayed

Next day morning my wife and our 6 year old left for motor boat ride and I stayed back with the baby. It was my turn. The parental duties always takes higher priority and we had to always take turns at different activities. So I took some snaps around the tent.

The front yard.

A private backyard for each tent.

The backyard contains a separate bathroom and toilet.

My wife and son came back very thrilled, they had seen lots of dolphins on their boat ride, even followed a few. Meanwhile I was stuck in the tent along with my camera. The sacrifices we parents makes...

Anyways, by 11:30AM we checked out and got back home 1:15PM. Nice experience over all.

satish_appasani · 29th January 2007, 14:34

Nice writeup Samurai...and those photos especially the night ones of the tent (though with grain) look great. This writeup gives some clues to me a just turned Dad on going out with Baby.

rahul_intlad · 29th January 2007, 14:35

Like always an excellent travelogue from you.Very nice pics.

rjstyles69 · 29th January 2007, 14:36

Amazing Samurai,awesome pictures and the place is pretty nice too.
You sure are the GodFather of travelogues IMHO

.
Sad for a fact to know that the condition of the roads havent changed as yet from Udupi and further on.

Cheers

kutlee · 29th January 2007, 14:56

Hi Samurai,
Thanks for sending in this place's info. Last time i visited Goa, we stayed in a tent. From that time on, somehow i like tents, with attached bathrooms and all. Ofcourse the bathroom didn't have any roof. Wonderful. Is there any problem if i stay there and have nonveg outside somewhere and have some nice fish curries (are there places like that nearby?). I don't smoke anyways. Don't drink if doesn't permit. In that case will you refer me please? I am not planning it any time soon. But if i need may i contact you?

GTO · 29th January 2007, 15:06

Thats not tents, thats 5 star tents!! Pretty cool to be living only 70 kms away from a place with such beauty. Two hours to cover only 70 kms must mean that the roads were pretty bad though.

You got a knack of finding the right places....just had a look at your tree-top pictures.

Good stuff.

akroy · 29th January 2007, 15:29

Samurai: Nice Travelogue and excellent pics...I specially the one where the river meeting the sea....it was awesome...
Congratulation for the additional parental responsibilites....Now you are a complete MBBS (Mian Biwi Bachhe Samet)...

Hey, Nice resort, never heard of it...Can I take your reco. if I plan to visit there in future?

Abhi

Samurai · 29th January 2007, 15:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by kutlee

Is there any problem if i stay there and have nonveg outside somewhere and have some nice fish curries (are there places like that nearby?).

Closest town with decent a NV restaurant is 35Kms away. So, that's a tough one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kutlee

In that case will you refer me please? I am not planning it any time soon. But if i need may i contact you?

Frankly I don't know whether my reference is good enough. I got in only because I was not a new guest and by dropping names of couple of relatives who used to work there before. But I will try, PM me when you are ready for it, but no guarantees, they may want to talk to you before they decide.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rjstyles69

Amazing Samurai,awesome pictures and the place is pretty nice too.
You sure are the GodFather of travelogues IMHO

.

Thanks man. Since I don't know much about cars, I have to pick something else to write about. Don't know about godfather part, but surely one of the underlings.

Quote:

Originally Posted by satish_appasani

Nice writeup Samurai...and those photos especially the night ones of the tent (though with grain) look great. This writeup gives some clues to me a just turned Dad on going out with Baby.

I don't have a Canon, can't avoid the grains. Yeah, as first time parents we wouldn't have tried it. But being second time parents gives certain confidence.

Quote:

Originally Posted by akroy

Hey, Nice resort, never heard of it...Can I take your reco. if I plan to visit there in future?

Well, they don't advertise. I will recommend, but again no guarantees. No harm in trying.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTO

Thats not tents, thats 5 star tents!!

Where you can't booze, smoke or eat NV.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTO

Pretty cool to be living only 70 kms away from a place with such beauty.

Where you can't get synthetic engine oil or front windscreen sunfilm. Compromises, compromises...

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTO

Two hours to cover only 70 kms must mean that the roads were pretty bad though.

Actually it is not the roads, you can maintain 100-120kms while it is deserted, but during day it is crowded like a city road.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTO

You got a knack of finding the right places....just had a look at your tree-top pictures.

The credit must go to my wife, I am just the driver-cum-phototgrapher.

greatDrive · 29th January 2007, 16:43

As usual a great Travelouge...with good pictures.
I also did a small trip( Bangalore - Shimoga - Agumbe - Udupi(Malpe Beach) - Mangalore - Hassan - Bangalore ) this long weekend(Jan 26).
Thanks for your Advise which came in handy while travelling to coastal Karnataka.

Malpe Beach was clean and nice. All of us enjoyed a lot.
Could not travel North on NH17( towards Kundapur/Bhatkal) because of time shortage.

Once Again thanks for your tips on how to reach Udupi and where to stay.

Will be soon writting a travelouge here( Travelled 950-1000 kms in these 3 days)

Pic from Malpe beach.

Cheers.
GD

Steeroid · 29th January 2007, 16:47

Hi Samurai

Missed your travelogues for a while, nice to see you're back on the road again.

Great choice of resort - looks terrific and clean. Pity its only by reference, though. Good place to go and clean out your system, too. Perhaps I should spend a month there....

rjstyles69 · 29th January 2007, 17:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steeroid

Hi Samurai
Good place to go and clean out your system, too. Perhaps I should spend a month there....

Hey Steeroid, if you really wanna clean your system, Pay a visit to THE DUNE in Pondicherry, life is completely back to basics.

Rudra Sen · 29th January 2007, 18:00

Nice one as usual.Looks like you got into a habit of writing travelogues.

By the way, did you try any evening shot?

black12rr · 29th January 2007, 18:09

Nice trip log and pics samurai ,its been quite sometime i hit the beach, will bookmark this page and a must vist ones .
You have a PM .

greatDrive · 29th January 2007, 18:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by Samurai

The credit must go to my wife, I am just the driver-cum-phototgrapher.

This true for all of us........or may be most of us.

Samurai · 29th January 2007, 18:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rudra Sen

By the way, did you try any evening shot?

I know why you are asking...

The ocean shot from the top could have been much better, provided I had been there during evening light. But parental duties didn't allow. It takes good 20-25 minutes to reach that scenic point on foot. So I needed an hour for this. But I had to take my son to the beach while my wife was taking care of the little one. Therefore I had to shoot the place under harsh afternoon sun resulting in washed out effect. Some other day I suppose, it is not far anyway.

29th January 2007, 14:15	#1
Samurai Team-BHP Support Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Bangalore/Udupi Posts: 26,009 Thanked: 50,069 Times View My Garage	A weekend trip after a long time It has been a long time since my family did a weekend trip to somewhere. Not since this one in Kerala. My wife spent most of last year in bed rest due to a complicated pregnancy. Therefore we couldn't travel anywhere. Meanwhile I had to satisfy my travelogue withdrawal by writing about local beaches, local sports and a much delayed report on our Sikkim trek. Now that we have a 2 month old infant, we still can't go anywhere far until he starts on solid food. This saturday however my wife decided she needed a break. So she says let's go to a beach resort for the weekend, with both our kids, and it will be the very first weekend trip for the infant. In fact it will be the first night he will be spending outside since we brought him home. Well, it was in the middle of a long weekend, getting booking may be near impossible. Then I recalled that greatDrive was planning to visit our area and was planning to stay in Turtle Bay. So I called up Turtle Bay in Kundapur and was told they were full. Then I decided to try another place near Byndoor, a vegetarian, non-alcoholic beach resort. I got their number from the website and called up. When I asked whether they had tents available, the guy on the phone instead asked me who I was and how do I know about them. Although I was surprised at this question, I told I have stayed there before and also mentioned couple of names closely associated with the resort. Once he was satisfied that I was no stranger, he said they do have tents available. So I gladly booked one verbally and promised to show up by 1PM. This was at around 10AM. By 11:30AM we packed up everything and left for a 70Kms drive towards the beach resort. The first 40Kms on the NH17 between Udupi and Kundapur was mind numbing. The road that was completely destroyed during the last monsoon has been repaired by merely patching up, resulting in a very uneven road. Like that was not enough, there is too much traffic on this stretch, one can hardly enjoy this drive. It improved a lot after crossing Kundapur. The road to the resort We reached there by 1:15 and settled into a nice and cozy tent. Because of the infant, we had to take lunch in turns and by 2:30PM we were down with that. The infant was sleeping, therefore my wife decided to rest until 4PM before heading to the beach. But I decided to do some photo exploration since it may not be possible later. Our itenenary this time would be heavily dictated by our infant's mood. This resort spreads from the beach front to a hill. So I decided to try some shots from the top of the hill. From there we can see the local river joining the ocean. I was back in the tent by 4PM and spent some pacifying the infant who had woken up by then. Meanwhile my first son spent his time running circles around the lawn sprinkler. At 5PM we had some light snacks at the open dining hall. This time we took the baby and put him on the table. After that we left for the beach which was 200 meters away. I left the camera at the tent since I was planning to get into the water along with my first son. My wife was busy pacifying the baby on a beach chair. Somehow our infant didn't like the beach, and he had to be taken back to the tent. Meanwhile me and my first wore life jacket and got into water with full confidence. We did lots of floating around while some people were doing Jet Skiing pretty close to the beach, wish they kept some distance from the shore. Before dinner we went around for a walk along the beach in order to pacify the baby who was again up and screaming. Then I met a familiar face, the resort manager, who also recognised my face. Then we caught up on old times and he solved the mystery of strange enquiry that morning. He told me that they don't advertise or take walk-in guests. If you call in and try to book, they will refuse. As I have already mentioned, this is a tee-totaller's resort, no booze, no non-veg, no smoking, and no wild parties. Not only they don't supply, you can't bring it from outside either. All guests are allowed through references only, no travel agent can book this place for you. Since my previous trips were arranged by relatives who were part of the resort, I was not aware of this. You gotta have connections to get in here. They do have corporate packages, but you have to come through right channels. Apparently they were fully booked for the long weekend, I saw couple of big groups, mostly americans. But couple of guests couldn't make it for lack of bus tickets. Because of this no-show guests, we had managed to get accommodation. Good thing we didn't call up two days back. That night after putting the baby to sleep, I took some night shots of the resort. The tent where we stayed Next day morning my wife and our 6 year old left for motor boat ride and I stayed back with the baby. It was my turn. The parental duties always takes higher priority and we had to always take turns at different activities. So I took some snaps around the tent. The front yard. A private backyard for each tent. The backyard contains a separate bathroom and toilet. My wife and son came back very thrilled, they had seen lots of dolphins on their boat ride, even followed a few. Meanwhile I was stuck in the tent along with my camera. The sacrifices we parents makes... Anyways, by 11:30AM we checked out and got back home 1:15PM. Nice experience over all.
	() Thanks

29th January 2007, 14:34	#2
satish_appasani Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 1,114 Thanked: 110 Times View My Garage	Nice writeup Samurai...and those photos especially the night ones of the tent (though with grain) look great. This writeup gives some clues to me a just turned Dad on going out with Baby.
	() Thanks

29th January 2007, 14:35	#3
rahul_intlad Senior - BHPian Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Pune Posts: 1,577 Thanked: 5 Times	Like always an excellent travelogue from you.Very nice pics.
	() Thanks

29th January 2007, 14:36	#4
rjstyles69 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Bengalooru.. Posts: 4,343 Thanked: 845 Times View My Garage	Amazing Samurai,awesome pictures and the place is pretty nice too. You sure are the GodFather of travelogues IMHO . Sad for a fact to know that the condition of the roads havent changed as yet from Udupi and further on. Cheers
	() Thanks

29th January 2007, 14:56	#5
kutlee Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 1,140 Thanked: 233 Times View My Garage	Hi Samurai, Thanks for sending in this place's info. Last time i visited Goa, we stayed in a tent. From that time on, somehow i like tents, with attached bathrooms and all. Ofcourse the bathroom didn't have any roof. Wonderful. Is there any problem if i stay there and have nonveg outside somewhere and have some nice fish curries (are there places like that nearby?). I don't smoke anyways. Don't drink if doesn't permit. In that case will you refer me please? I am not planning it any time soon. But if i need may i contact you?
	() Thanks

29th January 2007, 15:06	#6
GTO Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Bombay Posts: 71,803 Thanked: 322,575 Times View My Garage	Thats not tents, thats 5 star tents!! Pretty cool to be living only 70 kms away from a place with such beauty. Two hours to cover only 70 kms must mean that the roads were pretty bad though. You got a knack of finding the right places....just had a look at your tree-top pictures. Good stuff.
	() Thanks

29th January 2007, 15:29	#7
akroy Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: San Francisco, CA, USA Posts: 2,424 Thanked: 88 Times View My Garage	Samurai: Nice Travelogue and excellent pics...I specially the one where the river meeting the sea....it was awesome... Congratulation for the additional parental responsibilites....Now you are a complete MBBS (Mian Biwi Bachhe Samet)... Hey, Nice resort, never heard of it...Can I take your reco. if I plan to visit there in future? Abhi
	() Thanks

29th January 2007, 16:43	#9
greatDrive BHPian Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Bangalore Posts: 547 Thanked: 7 Times	As usual a great Travelouge...with good pictures. I also did a small trip( Bangalore - Shimoga - Agumbe - Udupi(Malpe Beach) - Mangalore - Hassan - Bangalore ) this long weekend(Jan 26). Thanks for your Advise which came in handy while travelling to coastal Karnataka. Malpe Beach was clean and nice. All of us enjoyed a lot. Could not travel North on NH17( towards Kundapur/Bhatkal) because of time shortage. Once Again thanks for your tips on how to reach Udupi and where to stay. Will be soon writting a travelouge here( Travelled 950-1000 kms in these 3 days) Pic from Malpe beach. Cheers. GD
	() Thanks

29th January 2007, 16:47	#10
Steeroid Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: N.A Posts: 7,025 Thanked: 2,757 Times	Hi Samurai Missed your travelogues for a while, nice to see you're back on the road again. Great choice of resort - looks terrific and clean. Pity its only by reference, though. Good place to go and clean out your system, too. Perhaps I should spend a month there....
	() Thanks

29th January 2007, 18:00	#12
Rudra Sen Team-BHP Support Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 11,759 Thanked: 6,879 Times View My Garage	Nice one as usual.Looks like you got into a habit of writing travelogues. By the way, did you try any evening shot?
	() Thanks

29th January 2007, 18:09	#13
black12rr Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Ridin earth now Posts: 1,280 Thanked: 349 Times	Nice trip log and pics samurai ,its been quite sometime i hit the beach, will bookmark this page and a must vist ones . You have a PM .
	() Thanks