Part II - Gokarna Trip

Jog Falls to Gokarna
After the Jog Falls visit it was time to catch a bus to Gokarna. We came to know that right outside the Jog Falls gate there would be a bus to Kumta. It was supposed to come at 11:30 a.m but finally came at around 12:45 p.m. Because it was Gorvernment bus it seems :-) To make things worse, there was no seats available. To make things further worse, it was hilly and curvy road so the bus could not move at more than 20 k.m per hour. And we were getting the taste of the hot sun. I wa afraid that my wife might faint in the bus. Thankfully, some people got down at Talguppa and we got to sit. I kept taking some photographs in the middle of all this. It took almost 3 hours to reach Kumta. We got down and immediately took a bus that was waiting to leave for Gokarna. This was more comfortable since we got a seat and also the road was flat enough for the bus to go fast. We reached Gokarna in around 1.5 hours. The natural beauty started showing itself as we were nearing Gokarna. Beautiful lakes, nice agricultural fields, mountains were the ornaments of nature in this stretch of land. Gokarna bus stand is a small one.

First Evening at Gokarna
After reaching Gokarna in the afternoon with hot sun burning over our heads, we quickly checked into Hotel Gokarna International (HGI). This hotel is very close to the bus stand and walkable i.e., it is around 1.5 Km or less. But since we did not know, we had to take an auto and the auto would take Rs. 15. We were kind of doing things on a roll since it was a jampacked trip. So without wasting much time, we freshened up and wanted to go out. The hotel guy suggested we go to the Main beach since it is the closest and it was almost evening time. Main beach is also called Gokarna Beach. So we decided to go to Gokarna beach that evening. By now it was slightly cooling down as the sun was setting. What a time to go to the beach isnt it? We walked through the narrow lanes of Gokarna with kachha roads, towards the Gokarna beach. On the way we found that the Venkataraman temple and Mahabaleshwar temple were there. We decided to visit these temples next morning. So we kept walking towards Gokarna beach. It was around 2 Km from HGI. Wow what a beautiful view when you look at the sea and then see the sun taking a nice dip into the sea. It is breathtaking. All this is fine only if you see straight and up and not down. The moment you see down will you realize how qualified we human beings are at dirtying the beautiful nature. Throwing stuff everywhere even though there are dust bins. I see this and think "We the biggest A**H****" :-( The sea view was beautiful but we were starving. So we went to a small restaurant on the beach and enjoyed some nice dosas. We decided then to sit on the beach for a while until it darkens. We bought a couple of coconut water and sat on the beach, sipping the sweet coconut water, eating the nice soft coconut inside it, and enjoying the dances of the waves on the lap of the sea. Little kids playing around was adding music to this beautiful dance.

Next Morning at Gokarna::Temple Tour
We woke up pretty early since we had so much left to cover and we only had half a day in hand before we set off for the next destination town of Murudeshwar. The early morning was beautiful. A nice small temple in view from the balcony and the sun rising over the head of the temple and from within the hills was making it splendid. By around 7:00 a.m we started walking out in the streets of Gokarna. The streets were awake with little kids on their way to schools. And these tourists (ourselves) were randomly roaming around. We went to Venkataramanan temple, Maha Ganapathi Temple and Mahabaleshwar temples. These temples were nice. But beware of the priests at Mahabaleshwar temple though. We nicely got ourselves ripped off by Rs. 1500. It may not be about money but the way we were cajoled, I feel like a dumb idiot in perspective. So you dont be the next. I am just not habituated to temples where you are just pushed around by tons of people. For me, a temple is a calm silent place where I get some peace and an opportunity for introspection. Well Mahabaleshwar temple could have been but the priests there are definitely not letting it be. They were all commercial agents. Thats how I felt. So next time you visit, if you just want to walk around and nothing more, just pay the Rs. 2 and gently say I am not interested in anything. Dont be in a state of confusion as we did.

Gokarna :: Om Beach
After the temple tour and royal rip off , we decided to forget about it and rather focus on the better part for the day and went straight to Om Beach. The auto rickshaw took Rs. 100. The drive was pretty neat going way up the mountain and stop there only to walk down to the beach. We realized that there were many huts on the beach that could be rented. We wanted to have breakfast and found this place called Namaste Cafe. The typical breakfast there is, Bread and Egg, Bread and Egg and Bread and Egg :-) The one that was not was Paratha. We had paratha and curd. Everything cost around Rs. 150. The view was beautiful. After having the breakfast and a glass of coffee, we started walking on the Om beach. Pretty soon, a boatman approached us and asked if we would be interested in having a boat ride to the Half-moon and paradise beaches with other folks. We hopped into the boat since boat rides are cheaper if there are more people. The guy cruised in the sea and went past the half-moon and paradise beaches. But he went from a distance though and did not embark on those beaches. These beaches were kind of desolate and I am sure more peaceful. I also kinda got a hint that half-moon might be one of those beaches where there was no clothes on body freedom :-) The boat ride cost us Rs. 150. After coming back to Om beach, we decided to go to Kudle beach, the last one to be covered in the series of 5 beaches of Gokarna.

Gokarna :: Kudle Beach
This was by far the best beach at Gokarna. That is what I would say. Clean water, beautiful horizon, bright sunlight, nice shaded restaurant to have a cup of fresh lime juice and a vast stretch of beach to walk on. What a pleasant walk it in the morning. The feet getting wetted by the waves hitting the beach. Cooling our heads from the burning sun. Crystal clear water. How beautiful would it have been had we rented a hut on this beach. The night would be spectacular I am sure. We had a nice lime juice at a beach restaurant here. The water was so clear that we saw starfish, crab, sting ray only at this beach. After a nice 1 hour at this beach, we took another exclusive boat ride for just two of us to the Main beach.

Gokarna Streets
Once at the Main beach, we had to go back to our hotel so that we could pack up. This time we started walking through the other streets of Gokarna. These were beautiful streets giving us a glimpse of what ancient Indian society would have looked like. I mean it. A lot of antique feeling was there to these calm tree shaded streets. Almost every house had a well in the front yard. The roads were like bricklaid. While walking, we came across KothiTeertha.

Gokarna Wrap-Up
This was great place to visit I would say. Except that it was very hot. Soon we had to pack up our bags and leave for the Gokarna railway station to catch our train for Murudeshwar. The train was almost 2 hours late. But when it came, we couldnt locate our coach. And when we did, it started running. My wife almost got stuck in the station. The Ticket Collector was extremely apologetic for not stopping the train until we had boarded. We were surprised to see such nice behavior. He was a very friendly man from Andhra Pradesh. His name was Mr. Venkateshwarulu. Throughout the journey to Murudeshwar he was talking to us, asking about us, telling about himself, his family and so. And when Murudeshwar came, he ensure that the train stopped long enough for us to alight. Well, I wouldnt mind going again to Gokarna but this time it would be an exclusive Kudle beach trip.

Summary of Travel

• Bus from Jog Falls to Kumta . 1 bus that goes directly from Jog Falls. Leaves around 11:15 a.m . Takes almost 3 hours
  
• Bus from Kumta to Gokarna (around 2:00 p.m) Takes around 1 hour
• Enjoy Gokarna
  
• Gokarna To Murudeshwar (Train. Verna-Mangalore Passenger at 4:00 p.m)
  

Part I - Jog Falls Trip

Planning
I must say that planning for trips is some gigantic task in India. Either because of my lack of experience, lack of ample information on the web or some unknown reason. This has been precisely the situation when we started thinking about this 5 day trip. Several questions in mind. Several blogs in hand. Several websites with incomplete information.

How do I reach Jog Falls? How do I reach Gokarna? What is the best way? Where to stay? What places to visit ? And this needed lot of time searching the web. And then there is lack of time to invest in researching. So my dear wife was doing lot of research on this. Finally we could plan a part of the trip and we left the remaining unplanned and decided to plan as we reach the place and accordingly adjust.

Bangalore to Shimoga Town :
After lots of thinking, we took the Bangalore-Shimoga Express that left Bangalore at 23:40 hours. So all you do is get into the train and sleep :-) And in the middle of that I managed to lose my umbrella. Not that it is a comfortable sleep anyways in the train. So I was turning left and right and once in a while waking up thinking if I have fallen down from the upper berth. But I am not sure when I again slept off because soon I found someone shaking me and telling me "Hello this is the last stop. ". :-) Realized that we have reached Shimoga Town (SMET, different stop from Shimoga (SME)).

Shimoga Town to Jog Falls:
It was around 6:00 a.m. We were heartily welcomed by bunch of mosquitoes. These mosquitoes would not leave us for the rest of our journey. So carry Odomas with you all the time. We did by the way. We wanted to take a Toy Train from Shimoga Town to Jog Falls. But on getting down we came to know that the train is not in service now due to some work. Repair works are perennial in India arent they? You always see roads repaired, drains repaired. OK OK. Back to topic. We came out of station and took an auto. Being in a different town, you never know what is a reasonable rate. So you accept what you are told :-) I think the auto guy took Rs. 30 to take us to bus stand. The first difference I notice was people are very friendly. No I mean it. And it was the same observation for the res of our journey. The auto guy talked with me a lot and I continued the conversation with my "Swalpa Swalpa Kannada Gottu (i.e., Little little Kannada)" concept. As we reached the bus stand a bus was leaving. The auto guy stopped the bus and got us in. The bus guys gave us a seat and told us the bus would go to Jog. After we got in and the bus started moving, they said it will go till Sagar and then we have to catch another bus. We could not do much anyways. So we sat and enjoyed the countryside as the bus bumped and jumped and moved over the roads. It was a nice experience. The bus brought us to Sagar in 1.5 hours I think. Soon a bus was there for Jog Falls. The bus was pretty empty. We got in and reached Jog Falls in around 2 hours.

At Jog Falls
It was a bright sunny morning when we reached Jog Falls. We were very hungry too. So before even thinking of visiting the falls, we decided to have our breakfast first. There was this Hotel Mayura run by KSTDC. It was OK. Had some idlis to fill up our stomach. Then asked the guy which way is the falls. The falls were right opposite to Mayura. I couldnt believe it. Not in awe but was thinking what a let down. There was almost no water at all. Then why does the Government blow of the trumpet of largest falls? The falls that is not always in its vigorous form cannot be called falls. I heard most water is diverged to the dam. Karnataka Government should put up notice on the website on when the water will be there and when not. Otherwise I felt it is blatant cheating of the tourists. Imagine the let down when you go all the way and u find nothing. IMagine you go to Niagara Falls and you see a narrow stream falling. I for sure was upset with the way Government did not ensure that it maintains a place where it provides updates on the status of Jog Falls. I did not find it. And this according to me is cheating. After a few photographs of narrow streams, we decided to continue our journey to Gokarna.

So be careful about when to go to Jog Falls. It seems they release water on sundays and mondays. So those are good days to go. Otherwise, you may want to consider going during the months of July-August-September i.e., monsoons. That is when you will feel your visit is worth it.

Summary of Travel

• Train from Bangalore to Shimoga Town (11:40 p.m at Bangalore Central)
  
• Auto from Shimoga Town Station to Bus Stand (around 6:30 a.m)
  
• Bus from Shimoga Town to Sagar (Around 6:45 a.m at Shimoga Town)
  
• Bus from Sagar to Jog Falls (Around 8:45 a.m at Sagar)
  
• Enjoy Jog Falls if there is water
  
• Do not go arbitrarily. Call the folks there and ask if there is water
  

Jog Falls, Gokarna, Murudeshwar, Kanhangad, Mangalore Trip

Coming Soon.... The complete travelogue

Part I - Jog Falls Trip
Part II - Gokarna Trip
Part III - Murudeshwar Trip
Part IV - Kanhangad Trip
Part V - Mangalore and Return

We (Me and my wife) just finished a 5 day long tiring exhaustive trip to the above places. Will write as much as possible so that I can include our complete experiences. It was fun and lot of learning.

Who is Afraid of Transparency ?

A must read and introspect and act article by Aruna Roy and Nikhil Dey.

Who is Afraid of Transparency

Shopping -- Things to Note

I suck at shopping. More so at bargaining. And the way it hurts is more prominent when the vendors out there are desperate to rip you off.

I was planning to purchase my new cell phone. A simple one. I wanted to move back to Nokia. I was having a Samsung phone and I tell you it sucks. Even before the end of an year, my network failed badly and I cant even make calls. Yeah it has nothing to do with AirTel. It had to do with my phone. So when I decided to buy my new Nokia, the next question was where to buy from. I am somehow nervous about dealing with these "Authorized Nokia Dealers". They are freaking clueless folks manned by clueless personnel. They come running to you showing as if they are desperate to help you. After first question, they lose steam and start looking elsewhere. All they tell about the phone is, "It has FM", "It is Rs. 16000". Nothing more. No clue about more specifications.

After filtering out the "Authorized Nokia Dealers", I went to this "Nokia Concept Centre". Thought it might be genuine Nokia store. I might be wrong. The guy there was soft spoken and explained everything. He quoted me a price for the phone. Next day when I went, all kind of dancing was done, such as "extra commission on credit card use" etc. only to give me the phone at the same rate. No discount etc. This is ridiculous I feel. I think there is a general lack of percerption about customer mentality. I finally managed to not buy from there and ended up buying from Chroma in the Eva Mall. And I got it from Rs. 50 less. Its not about Rs. 50. Its about this flip-flopping that is absolutely irritating.

Nokia can avoid caring anything about this but they should be very careful about how these folks are marketing their products and influencing their reputation. Lot is at stake. This is the problem of non-direct sales.

Kya sochtaa hogaa sooraj

Subah ki kirane
Khidki se aati huyeee
Mere aankhon girti huyee
Mere savere ki shurvaath kartee hai

Khidki se jhaaktaa hoon
To suraj muskuraataa hua
hello kehtaa hai

Kehtaa hai
Dost tum bhi jaag gaye
Chalo tumhe
Apni kiranon se
jhappi de detaa hoon

Dheere dheere jaise din badegaa
suraj ki aankhon mein mayoosi dikhti hai
woh gusse se garam dikhtaa hai

Woh sochtaa hogaa
kambakht kyun itna shor hai
din ki shuruvaat mein jo mehek thi
woh is dhuen mein kyun kho gayee
savere savere jo shaant maahol thaa
is shor mein kyun kho gayaa

sooraj ke man mein jo khayaal hai
woh mere bhi man mein hain
hum sab ke man mein hai
magar hum baithe hain
bas sochte huye

Tipu Palace

Visited Tipu Palace a last week. I would say it is definitely a well maintained place with a nicely shaped garden. It adjoins the beautiful Ramanaswamy temple. Unfortunately the temple was closed when we went since it was the afternoon time. The entry fee was Rs.5 and as usual extra charge for photography. I will never understand why we are obsessed with not allowing photography. Anyways.



We went to Tipu Palace after a enjoying a nice lunch at MTR. It was a weekend and hence our wait for 90 min. We went to MTR at 1 p.m and we got food at 2:30 p.m. So it is always good to get advanced booking if you are going on a weekend. But the food is great. Tipu palace is hardly 2 kms from MTR. And Lalbagh is a stone throw away from MTR. So a nice weekend outing could be a great morning breakfast at MTR, then straight to labagh for a nice walk and then a sumptuous lunch at MTR again, then have fun at Tipu Palace and if you are not tired, go to Basavangudi for the Bull. All these places are pretty close to each other.

Our mode of travel was the dearest Auto. :-) And have the Bangalore map book in hand.

Bangalore Palace

Got to visit the Bangalore palace on December 1, 2007 afternoon. Here are some pictures. The palace was beautiful. But the charge was ridiculous. It was Rs. 100 per head. And if you want to take pictures, you have to get picture taking permit for Rs. 500. Absolutely ridiculous. I guess this is our way of promoting tourism. And that is too much greediness. More on that in my later posts. When we went, there was a Timesjobs fair also going on. The whole place was looking like a garbage can. That convinces me that we in general dont give a shit about cleanliness. And remember that majority of people coming here were for IT and ITES jobs. OK why am I saying this? Because dont even make the mistake of associating education with cleanliness. These are all "educated" lot who came for the job fair. Freaking made a mess with plates, glasses all around.

Anyways, I think have deviated and moved towards my frustration.

Visit the palace and enjoy it from distance :-)