Gokarna - the town, temples and then some

Gokarna - known because of the Atma linga of Shiva - a repeating legend in India - shaped like a cows ear - is a spiritual center of India.

The main temple - the Mahabaleshwar temple is a pristine old temple  - atleast 1500 years old and is the centre of the town. This temple is unique because it allows devotees to go inside the sanctum sanctorum and touch the linga.

Just around the corner is the Tamara Gauri temple - the consort of Shiva.

The Ganesha temple is next door - and the form of the Ganesha is unique among all the temples I have seen. This temple is supposed to be visited first before you visit Mahabaleshwara...

The Venkataramana temple - has a beautiful moorti - and it is a quiet peaceful temple (was when we went atleast)...

And finally the Bhadrakali temple - which we felt had a distinctly Maharashtrian flavour to it...

And while you are there, dont miss eating at Pai Hotel (not be confused with Pai Restaurant - where we could not go to because we loved the former) for their simple, fresh and delicious food.

Gokarna - beach and trek

Restarting this blog after a long time. Really, more for own recollections of our travels and to recollect and reflect sometime. Perhaps as a memory file.

Gokarna has been on our list for a long time now. Like many destinations, the actual visit never happens. In all the planning, it slips away.

And then suddenly, you get a free weekend, a quick plan and you are off. Thats how we reached Gokarna. KSRTC (my favourite) runs an efficient sleeper bus service and an airconditioned semi sleeper Volvo service.

Everyone knows about the beaches...

The trek between them is worth it. The Kudle to Om is a straightforward one marked with both plastic bottles and painted arrows. The Om to Half Moon is where it becomes a real trek. The trek is through a narrow passage that keeps twisting, turning, going up and down. By and large most paths will take you to half moon and we ended up going one way (a beautiful path alongside a foot wide ledge and a steep drop and the sea on the other) and coming back another way (a more sedate jungle path). The lifeguard did say that one path takes you up the mountain - though we did not locate that. We reached Half Moon after a final 100 metres of walking over rocks - though as I said, we did not know that there was a rockless path.

From half moon to paradise, the path is similar - with a rocky route and a non rocky route. The path twists, meanders - and it goes up and down a bit. Atleast two of the climbs are steep and dont be ashamed to use all fours to go up. The view from the penultimate cliff (Hell Cliff)  is spell binding and then a dip and a climb later, you can see Paradise in all its glory.

Now, apparently there is a beach beyond Paradise - known as Belekan beach - which we did not go to - but we saw a group that had come from there.

The good thing is that very few trekkers take these treks - the bad news is that those who do, seem to litter plastic along the way.

But yes, this is a must do in Gokarna....

Home sweet home

Make that Home Stay Sweet Home Stay. If you are travelling to Coorg, sure there are the big resorts there that are basically cities or 5 star hotels, but there is another option that you choose. The home stay. A home stay is a place where you live with a family. Well, not exactly. Many families own estates in Coorg (surely, you know that). They let out a portion of their house or build a small room/rooms to let out to tourists. Most of them also provide you with food. Usually it is bed and breakfast while other meals are charged. The rooms are tastefully done, usually with a local flavour or atleast like their own house. It is also a place where you can try some local food which you usually cannot try in any of the bigger places.

True, you cannot have a swimming pool, nor can you use your timeshare holidays, but home-stays are a great option to check out. Especially if you are travelling with a baby or if you want food as close to home cooked food it is a nice thing to try out.

Try it out the next time you travel to Coorg...And whats there to see at Coorg. A lot. But thats for later...

Road to Mysore: Shivally MTR and Lokaruchi

It is a pity that you cannot eat at both these places on the same day. They are just a few kilometers apart on the Bangalore Mysore highway - thats why. Both serve a powerful breakfast menu, though the Kamat Lokaruchi has lunch options that can put a stomach of any capacity to shame. The former usually has lower crowds which usually becomes a factor.

Shivally MTR is a simple place that looks straight out of the 1980s. No frills, bare bones decor and a service that is ruthlessly efficient. No time to hang around for a chit chat - there are too many people around to be served. A blink and you can miss this place on the highway - we have retraced our path a couple of times seeking this place. The food though, is heavenly. Dont miss the Maddur Vadas and the Kadubu Idlis here. Note that this place is a few kilometres after the Lokaruchi.

Lokaruchi though crowded and far more spacious than the former, does not mean that you have too much more elbow room. The place has the capacity for a lot more diners, thats all. They have also modelled the place on the lines of a village - including turbaned waiters, a space where you can have meals sitting barefoot on a cowdung cladded floor . There are cows in a cowshed, a sugarcane juice option, a souvenir shop and some geese merrily clacking away. They have tried to way too much, when the food itself is reason enough for people to coming again and again here. The crowds here on any weekend, starting 7 am will testify to that. Once you add the people, their cars, the waiters, the kitchen and the geese and the place is a wee bit crowded. Again, ruthlessly efficient - it is not place a place where time stands still. This place is unmissable both because Janapada Loka is nearby and because of the cars parked outside and big sign boards.

Tiruvannamalai

Tiruvannamalai is just about 200 kms from Bangalore. It is the easiest of destinations to go to. If you are anywhere on the Hosur road or on the road leading to Hosur road, there is a bus every few minutes to Tiruvannamalai - more than some of Bangalores internal services. The buses also look pretty similar - if you are looking to travel in plush comfort to this place, forget it. 

But then Tiruvannamalai is not your average tourist destination - it is more spiritual than anything else. It is home to three famous things (more if you know the place better). Arunachala hill, the Tiruvannamalai temple and Ramanasramam - pretty much in chronological order. 

While you are there, do not forget the 14 km circumambulation of the abovementioned hill.

As a destination it is pretty spartan. The town is laid back, the ashram even more so and the sprinkling of foreigners of different nationalities makes it look like a mini Pondicherry. The place can get pretty crowded during the season which is around December timeframes - Karthigai. 

Yes, but if you have not heard nor interested in any of the above three highlights and really are looking for yet another place to eat paneer butter masala, do the town a favour and skip the place.

Starting your escape

The primary points of escape from Bangalore are the bus station and the railway station. 

Kempegowda bus station with its interstate depot is a great place to begin your visit. If your visit is impromptu, there is no better way to start than to land up here and get on the first bus which has a seat. If you travel private there are satellite pick up points at quite a few locations in the city. 

The railway stations - notably City, Yeshwantpur and KR Puram are other well known escape routes for the rail enthusiast.

If you choose to drive down, the escape routes are Mysore road, Kanakpura road, Hosur road, Tumkur/Hyderabad road.

Thats it, choose your destination.

Udupi: A temple and food sojourn

Udupi (58 kms from Mangalore, 400 odd from Bangalore), notes the Outlook Traveller guide, is Indias favourite kitchen. Having spent a considerable amount of time in a place known for its Udupi hotels (Bombay) and a place known for its Darshinis/Sagars (Bangalore), that was some expectation.

If you would like to know in a nutshell, the result, it is this – Udupi did not disappoint – on any count.

If you are a hedonistic pet pooja seeking foodie or the more accomplished on the hierarchy of needs seeking spiritual solace, or if you just need to decide where you fit on the spectrum, Udupi is the place for you. Want inspiration – Udupi will let you be inspired whether the route is through your stomach or soul.

From Udupi, Sringeri, Dharmasthala and Horanadu are a longish but doable drive away. The journey to Kollur Mookambika (a powerful goddess highly revered from Kerala, which is where the bulk of visitors hail from) is the shortest of them all and is well connected by fast driving private buses from Udupis bus stand. If you want to cover it all in one day, a cab is the best option and you can pray to your god it as the driver zips along merrily on the road. Or take a leisurely pace and cover it all over the space of a few days. If you are a nature lover, a drive to any of these places takes you through some spectacularly verdant scenic beauty, so a camera might be a good accompaniment to your spiritual and gastronomic sojourn.

Udupi is temple land, as much as it is food land. There are temples all over the place. It is a like a buffet in every sense of the word for gods and food. Whatever is your cuisine or god, your stomach and your mind will go back happy.

The Krishna temple alongwith the Ananteshwara and the Chandramoulishwara temple are a spiritual experience by themselves in their quaint and small structures. They are probably the most inconspicuous of any temple in any part of India, given their rich history, but very rewarding, just by virtue of the atmosphere, especially in the mornings.

A look at the Mookambika temple and you are instantly transported to Kerala with the Kerala registered vehicles and the white gold set-mundu of Kerala - quite a contrast amidst the verdant beauty of the place.

Dharmasthala, Horanadu and Sringeri deserve a piece all by themselves – which we can do for another day.

Now we turn our attention back to Udupi. In a single sentence, Udupi’s cooks know how to make food tasty. While their set dosas (with a dab of butter), Neer dosas (served with grated coconut and jaggery ) and onion dosas are like the starting tricks of the magician opening a great show, it is their versatility to prepare “anything” that makes it magical. A bhelpuri in Udupi will not resemble a bhelpuri anywhere in Bombay, but you wont complain – it will be tasty in a way that only it can be. During our over 2 days stay there, we realized this and ordered all the exotic stuff on the menu and like a true genius, we were never let down at any point in time. Punjabi cuisine, sweets, desserts all passed the test of food with flying colours – and no stomach churn either. Don’t look for a menu. Some of the older restaurants do not have a menu and depend on the recollections of the days menu from the server.

Want to savour a little bit of time gone by? Try the Mitra Samaj hotel near the Krishna temple. It takes a bit of doing to locate it, but it is worth the visit. Amidst all the newer restaurants, like the Gauls, this one is still standing – thriving is more like it.

On Udupi, we aren’t done yet. The beaches are a story in themselves. The Kaup (locals call it Kapu) beach is like walking on sand fine as talcum power and water clean as a mineral water bottle. The lighthouse on the beach adds to the mystique. Nothing like spending an evening there listening to the waves thump in. It is perhaps the most peaceful of experiences. As compared to a touristy beach, Kapu beach is like going to a quiet corner of your mind. Malpe is a close second to Kapu – minus the lighthouse.

St. Marys isles is good in parts – the clean parts. The noisy, badly organized boat ride and the overall cleanliness almost manage to kill the beauty of the island – and at this rate they will succeed in a few years if not months in running it to the ground.

Udupi can cater to the tourist who knows what he wants or who is trying to find he wants and therein lies the beauty of the place.

(From interim thoughts...)