Arambol, Goa and Gokarna, Karnataka

The northern end of Gokarna beach - at the rivermouth
Lush rice fields in Gokarna - this is just a 10 minute walk from the shores of the Arabian Sea
Village fisherman repairing his net - behind him you can see the fish drying in the sun underneath a fishing net
Fishing village in Gokarna
Small packets of cotton candy, anyone? We ran into this guy while walking on dirt paths through the fishing villages.
Fellow Homerites - Brad and Melissa
Sunset Cafe - the place that I stayed in Gokarna
Indian pilgrims at Gokarna Beach at sunset
The gardens surrounding my room in the village of Gokarna
Om Beach
This sign is posted outside of the Rama temple (Rama is one of the millions of Hindu gods) in Gokarna
I saw this man walking down the beach carrying a huge basket of dried leaves and I'm not sure what was inside but it looked unbelievably heavy
This crazy contraption is in the center of town in Gokarna and is supposedly going to be used i an upcoming celebration - they will actually pull this through the streets
Local fishermen working their nets in Gokarna
The beach in front of the place that i'm staying at in Gokarna
On my walk back to my room
Village life in Gokarna - this was also taken on the path that i use to get back to my room which goes through the gardens

Gokarna beach, Karnataka
Fishing boats at a beach north of Arambol, Goa
Worth a picture
It's not just us who likes the beach - only in India
Traditional fishing boat in Arambol, Goa
Arambol sunset, Goa
Arambol beach, Goa

After a long overnight bus journey, I arrived in Goa on the morning of my 32nd birthday. Goa is the name of a state in India and is comprised of many different beachside towns that are ever popular with tourists. I debated a lot about whether or not i should even visit this part of India and if so, which beach to choose. I decided in the morning to get off of the bus and go to one of the northern beaches - I was burnt out from traveling so much and needed a break. The beach town that i chose was Arambol. After arriving, i made the walk down into the town and began the search for a place to stay. I ended up meeting a nice German guy, Adrian, who informed me that there was a nice place to stay where he was staying and that they were having a confirmation party for their grandaughter and he could show me the way. One of the immediate things that i noticed upon arriving in Goa is that Christianity, mainly Catholicism, is more prevalent than Hinduism and Muslim - which is a big change from Rajasthan and other northern parts of India. All of these religions co-exist in India harmoniously. It is by far the most diverse, spiritual and fascinating country and culture that i've ever visited. Back to my story - I followed my German friend, Adrian, back to the guest house, which was tucked nicely away within the village. Indeed there was quite a celebration taking place and the owner, Maria, showed me to my room and invited me down to eat some food and have a beer. I took her up on the offer and joined Adrian and an American woman, Kathryn in the festivities. There was an amazing amount of food and Maria kindly served me a nice, cold Kingfisher - the beer of choice here in India. As I stuffed my face, I looked up and noticed that there were balloons hanging up everywhere and they said, "Happy Birthday." For a brief moment, i pretended it was my birthday party. I ended up spending 4 days in Arambol and spent a lot of time walking the beaches and exploring. Arambol - like most of Goa - is quite touristy and although there seemed to be great people there - it wasn't the experience or scene that i was searching for. I was feeling quite lonely, even though i spent a lot of time getting to know Adrian and Kathryn. One day I made an Indian friend at breakfast and he offered to take me to the Bunyon tree and the freshwater lake which was just around the corner from Arambol beach. I decided to join him and we made our way to the other beach, where the freshwater lake was. We then followed the trail into the forest and along a creek until we reached the Bunyon tree. i had no idea what to expect - i was just expecting a large tree and maybe some monkeys. Instead, I found a huge tree where an old hippy woman apparently lives and a bunch of hippies with instruments hanging out, twirling around and chilling out. I hung out there for a short while and then we made our way back along the creek and stopped off at one spot where there was a large deposit of clay. We chipped the clay off of the sides of the creek and mixed it up with water to form a paste and gave ourselves a mud bath. I covered my body completely in mud and then walked back to the freshwater lake to allow it to dry. I then took a glorious dip in the freshwater lake to wash off the residue. My skin felt incredibly soft afterwards. After exploring as much as i could in Arambol, I decided to continue south - where i heard about an amazing place called Gokarna. After 6 different bus rides and an entire day of traveling, i finally made it to Gokarna. It was only supposed to be 3 bus rides and then a very short train ride but I missed my train and ended up having to take 3 more buses and it took me 4 more hours than it would have if I had made my train. I literally watched my train pull away as i tried to run to the platform with my gigantic backpack. It wasn't my favorite day, that's for sure. Then, upon arrival - finally at 8:00 p.m., i roamed the streets of Gokarna to find a place to stay. i found a decent place and i was anxious to get the backpack off and get some sleep after a long day of travel. After walking around town, i quickly realized that the mosquitos were relentless and in abundance and that my place did not have a mosquito net. So, it was a very long night for me - and on top of that, it rained so hard that i thought the entire building would float away - which only made for more mosquitos. I anxiously awaited sunrise so that i could get the hell out of there. The next day, as i was walking down the street - i ran into a girl from Turkey - whom I had met in Pushkar about a month ago. She told me about that place that they were staying and i went to check it out. It was perfect - it's located on a very secluded part of the beach - just a short walk from town and it is only 100 rupees/night (equal to $2.50) and I even have an Indian toilet (squat toilet) and a bucket shower in my room. The best part about the place where i'm staying is that although it's not right on the beach - it's a beautiful 5 minute walk from the beach through acres and acres of lush, organic gardens. Although the room is nothing special - it can best be described as a prison cell-like cement room with no character - the surrounding village and gardens more than make up for the ambiance that my room lacks. My favorite time is in the morning when i wake up - which is usually just after sunrise - and as i walk to the restaurant for my morning chai, i watch the villagers tending to their gardens. Yesterday, as i walked back to my humble abode - a girl asked me to come and help her to lift a gigantic basket of vegetables onto her head. i couldn't believe how heavy it was - i followed her down the path in amazement. There are 4 other beaches just around the headland that you can explore as well and I spent an entire day walking all the way to the last beach, Paradise Beach - and then took a motorboat back. My favorite beach is Om beach - which is literally in the shape of an Om symbol. It's a great beach but there is something really special about where i am staying - i like being surrounded by the villagers and seeing their day-to-day activities - and did i mention the gardens already? I am spending a lot of time with people from Turkey - there is a little group of them traveling together and they have become a great support network for me and it's really good to have some company right now. I had grand plans for doing southern India in just over 3 weeks and now that i am here, i don't feel like moving. I have been in Gokarna for 5 days and not sure when I'll get out of here. I have my favorite restaurant which I hit daily for an ice cream lassi, a bicycle to ride around, good people to hang with, a hammock to chill out in on my porch, good books to read and the Arabian sea at my doorstep - practically. Not a bad place to get "stuck." More to come......
Still in Gokarna - it's now been over a week - just can't seem to leave this place. So, a funny thing happened to me while eating in my favorite restaurant, Prema. I'm hanging out with some friends that I've met - and one of the guys is from Turkey and we have an ongoing thing about him being anti-American. We're joking around about something and he says, "I ate Americans," - don't ask me why he said but he did - and I respond by saying, "Yeah, I hate Americans." And a girl that is sitting behind me turns around and goes, "Me,too!" Being that I was actually joking when I said it, I was a bit alarmed when someone actually responded by saying that they did hate Americans. I was a bit offended, I guess you could say - or taken back and after a few minutes, we got up to leave the restaurant. As I got to the counter, I turned to look at this woman, who was glaring and obviously very pissed off, and I smiled at her. I got outside and started talking to my friends about how this woman was really pissed off. A few minutes later, the guy that was sitting at the table with her comes out and says to me, "You're from Homer? We're from Homer, too. We live on Diamond Ridge." I really couldn't believe it. And this is how I meet Brad and Melissa from Homer. Melissa was the girl who I had allegedly pissed off with my comment. What a funny way to meet. It turns out that Melissa was going to be one of the chefs at the Homestead this summer but has taken another job. What a small, small world. For me, it was like a gift from the gods to meet them there because I had been feeling so homesick and to be able to hang out with some fellow Homerites almost felt like taking a quick trip back home for a few days. I no longer wanted to leave Gokarna so fast and stayed on for a few more days to hang out with Brad and Melissa and had a great time with them. I look forward to getting to know them more once I get back to Homer. We had one incredible day where we went up to the rivermouth to explore the area - where practically no tourists go. We walked through the fishing villages and went swimming in a perfect swimming hole - and then had the most delicious tandoori chicken that I've ever had for dinner. Am I talking about the food again? So much for my plan to be on a diarrhea diet here in India - instead, I've been putting on the pounds. It's just too good to resist. So, my time in Gokarna was a real highlight of my trip - it was exactly what I needed - some time to relax and really get to know a place - and time to spend with friends.