[sachinj12]

June is the season of monsoon.

June is also the season of exams. And what better way to unwind after a month's grind than drive through ghats during monsoon?

We had four days at hand before each had his own commitment to address.So, we decided to do a three day trip Murudeshwar and Gokarna. June 19th-21st.

We started off from Bangalore at half past six in the morning. The roads were mostly good and we were able to cover good distance.

After crossing Shimoga,somewhere close to Sagara, the GPS's battery died and we took a wrong turn. After enquiring with the locals we found out that we were off the mark and they suggested that we drive through Kundapura.We traversed through Siddapura-Basrur to reach Kundapur. We couldn't find any hotels en route. We had to make do with the corn flakes and the junk we carried along. The detour cost us an hour or two but was worth it. The route is completely scenic. We reached Murudeshwar around 5PM. Went to RNS residency and after a bit haggling booked a single room for 2400/- for four people(1800+300 extra per head). Took a quick shower and visited the temple.

At around 2pm the next day, we started off to Gokarna and booked a room at Namastay Cafe for 1800/- with two additional beds at no extra cost

Note: I woudn't suggest this place to anyone.If you insist on staying at the beach and this is your only choice,I recommend booking the AC rooms here as the non AC rooms are small. A single AC room can accommodate four easily. The non AC is for two only. A third person would severely constrict the place. And not to mention,the non AC room's bathroom was in a bad shape. Bad enough to make you puke.

The so called AC room's AC stopped working in the dead of night and we had to sleep without AC in a AC room...

I informed the management and they asked us to pay non AC room charges. Herein lies the fun part, when we enquired the previous day, they quoted 900/- for the non AC room and now they jack it up to 1200. After 15 minutes of heated argument we settle for 1100 (thanks to my friends, else I would have gone on arguing and paid 900 only).

The food is nothing to write home either.





We visit the Gokarna temple around 12:30 and start off to Bangalore. At around 2:30PM we stop at Sirsi for lunch. We left Sirsi around 3:45PM. Drove non-stop until we reach Chitradurga around 6:30PM.We stopped by for some delectable tatte-idlilis. These are so soft that they melt in your mouth. A must try for those who haven't tried it. We finally reach Bangalore at around quarter 10PM.


Managed an amazing fuel efficiency of 18.6 kmpl

[sachinj12]

En route to Murudeshwar






It was cloudy and foggy throughout the drive







My drive, Dzire VDI





Effects of rains:




The fog was much more worse than this. Visibility was almost nil. Had to wait a bit, until it was like this:

[sachinj12]

En route to Murudeshwar




A waterfall en route



A boys trip it was-



Beach en route



Yours truly

[sachinj12]

En route to Murudeshwar

The winds were pretty strong as you can see in the images



Fishermen


All in a day's work. Fishing.




My friend,Purushotam



Drive along the beach. Every urbanite's dream

[sachinj12]

At Murudeshwar




A view of the temple from the room. A quick darshan for the lazy legs





Another view from the hotel


The boys decided to take a dip in the pool while I was content lazying by the poolside


Yours truly,again.

[sachinj12]

En route to Gokarna




You can see the sea,see! I love it when I rhyme without any effort!



Thoda walk is necessary. A 3 min walk from the entrance to the beach.



A view from the restaurant,Namastay Cafe





There goes saline water into his mouth.. The boys got wet while I was happy clicking the pics









Foot prints on the sands of time..




The sea was pretty rough

[sachinj12]

We walk around the beach and come across innumerable tiny baby crabs. These things are amazingly fast. They are so small and light in weight that they get blown away by the wind. For the next two hours we were on a crab hunt mission, trying to catch them. Finally,after a agonizing half an hour of back breaking,we manage to capture them.







I got bored of the crab hunt game and tried bringing out the artist in me. All I could manage was this:







Next up in a few days: A photolog: Kodai-Pondicherry. Until then, adios.

[n_aditya]

Excellent travel report. That hotel at Murdeshwar is the RNS one right?

I stayed there when it had just opened and we got a double deluxe room for just 500 bucks. Off season rate IIRC. The season rate at that time was 900 bucks.

It was a great stay/holiday except that i saw 2 people drowning in the sea while i was standing on the balcony. They had ventured into deep waters and the current was too strong. From the parking lot, locals were trying to pull them to safety via bamboo sticks and i was praying to God to save them but nature had other things planned. :(

That was a very shocking sight and i still remember it clearly. Can't get over that tragic incident.

Its been over 2 years since i took a vacation and looks like this year also i have to give it a miss. Was planning on visiting this place along with Goa and other places thrown in. Damn!

[ampere]

Amazing report. Especially the snap of the broken road!
Nice time you guys had.

[sachinj12]

Originally Posted by n_aditya

Excellent travel report. That hotel at Murdeshwar is the RNS one right?

I stayed there when it had just opened and we got a double deluxe room for just 500 bucks. Off season rate IIRC. The season rate at that time was 900 bucks.

It was a great stay/holiday except that i saw 2 people drowning in the sea while i was standing on the balcony. They had ventured into deep waters and the current was too strong. From the parking lot, locals were trying to pull them to safety via bamboo sticks and i was praying to God to save them but nature had other things planned. :(

That was a very shocking sight and i still remember it clearly. Can't get over that tragic incident.

Its been over 2 years since i took a vacation and looks like this year also i have to give it a miss. Was planning on visiting this place along with Goa and other places thrown in. Damn!

Yup RNS residency. They have jacked up the prices. After discount it was 1800/-

They have upped the vigilante. I saw men guard the beach after sun down. IIRC,three boys drowned in Murudeshwar recently. It was all over the news around 3 weeks ago.

These incidents occur mostly during boys only trip where those imbeciles get inebriated and try new antics.

Boys trip is fun provided you know where to draw the line. I have been doing 'boys only' trip for quite sometime and each of them has been a successful trip (touch wood).

@ampere, thank you very much :-)

[libranof1987]

Nice trip and pictures there!

Food bad at Namastey cafe?! Guess the off-season must've put the cooks off. Generally, it has really good food. Bad room - another casualty of off-season. During the season, there are so many shacks, you can chose.

Maravanthe - Turtle beach (the road parallel to the shore) is a dream to drive on; many times, we went there from Manipal just for the ride!

Looks like a good trip overall. Any more pics?

[sachinj12]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

Nice trip and pictures there!

Food bad at Namastey cafe?! Guess the off-season must've put the cooks off. Generally, it has really good food. Bad room - another casualty of off-season. During the season, there are so many shacks, you can chose.

Maravanthe - Turtle beach (the road parallel to the shore) is a dream to drive on; many times, we went there from Manipal just for the ride!

Looks like a good trip overall. Any more pics?

Yeah, prolly. The bane of off-season holidays. Most of the other beaches were closed. The locals were telling you could trek to a small island near by. No idea where it is.

Sea food during monsoon is a costly affair. 300 bucks for a pomfret. HAd to settle for chicken.

And we couldn't go to the biryani place you mentioned in Bang-Murudeshwar-Gokarna route query thread. Some other time maybe.

Have many more pics, too lazy to process and post. Purr :P

Edit: Good trip? Hell ya!

Originally Posted by libranof1987

There are 4 beaches at Gokarna : Om beach is the main one with Namastey Cafe and all the shacks. On the right is the Kundlu beach; it takes about an hour trek there, you could also take vehicles there.

On the left are Paradise and Half-moon; you can either trek or there are boats. These 2 beaches are mainly for those who want to experience nirvana; people openly do grass there. In the monsoon, they are shut. As such, there's nothing there either.

What you've missed as a result of monsoon - the clear open sky! Without any radiance from lights, the sky is wonderful on a moon-less night. As you said, some other time!

And Bhatkal is the Biryani place.

Expensive seafood - it is so even during the peak-season. Nothing is as good and cheap as Goa!

Oh, I forgot to mention. I was lucky enough to sit at the beach and enjoy a moonlit night. Speak of irony!! Moonlit night at a beach during monsoon!

Yeah heard of the 'nirvana' beach too.

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by sachinj12

Yeah, prolly. The bane of off-season holidays. Most of the other beaches were closed. The locals were telling you could trek to a small island near by. No idea where it is.

Sea food during monsoon is a costly affair. 300 bucks for a pomfret. HAd to settle for chicken.

And we couldn't go to the biryani place you mentioned in Bang-Murudeshwar-Gokarna route query thread. Some other time maybe.

There are 4 beaches at Gokarna : Om beach is the main one with Namastey Cafe and all the shacks. On the right is the Kundlu beach; it takes about an hour trek there, you could also take vehicles there.

On the left are Paradise and Half-moon; you can either trek or there are boats. These 2 beaches are mainly for those who want to experience nirvana; people openly do grass there. In the monsoon, they are shut. As such, there's nothing there either.

What you've missed as a result of monsoon - the clear open sky! Without any radiance from lights, the sky is wonderful on a moon-less night. As you said, some other time!

And Bhatkal is the Biryani place.

Expensive seafood - it is so even during the peak-season. Nothing is as good and cheap as Goa!