Karnataka Coast

The least traveled is often the finest.

Indians love to watch the sunset on the beach. After a brutal, and I mean BRUTAL,
8 hour bus ride from Mysore to the coast on what seemed to be little more than a mountain trail we found our way to a beach, in Kunnur, Kerala, lit by stunning orange twilight.

Many Indians consider it a compliment to photograph them. Riding the rails up the coast.
Painted axle of a truck. The village of Muredeshwar in Karnataka is a strange place, especially at night. Numerous newly built, gigantic temples are lit up by florescent lights. Westerners rarely travel here, but many indians do. local mini bus travel north from Muredeshwar to Gokarna, through the undeveloped coastal villages.

After a month of intense travel we finally found paradise. The tiny village of Gokarna is what Goa used to be 15 years ago, and Thailand 20 years ago. A small village on a holy beach, Gokarna is undeveloped, beautiful, and possesses all the magic of real India. We settled into a nice room for 15 dollars/night, with this view from our balcony, and took a 10 day vacation.

I helped the fishermen get their boat past the breakers.
We hiked every day to nearby beaches, many which are not accessible by roads. Bee Eater. In a strange turn of events we ran into the second American that we encountered on our entire trip and she just happened to be Jaime from Homer, Alaska, though we had never really met her before. She was halfway through her 6 month trip around the world. We hung out with her for several days, and went north to the mouth of a large River, wandered through the fishing villages, and found an incredible swimming hole.As we waited for the train to Bombay at the Gokarna Station we noticed these pails of water ready in case of a fire. We settled in for the night on the train for the 15 hours train trip north to Bombay. Indian train travel always interesting, and far safer and more comfortable than bus travel.

We ended up where we started, and finished the trip off at the Saltwater Grill on the beach in Bombay for cocktails before the 2 day flight journey home. We celebrated our health, stamina

and adventurous spirits. I was very impressed with melissa's tolerance level for the numerous tropical and Indian tribulations that we endured. We gained as much knowledge and experience in 6 weeks as we would have from a dozen semesters in classrooms. This type of travel to such a destination vastly changes perspectives of oneself and the world, builds character, and instills appreciation for humanity and the earth.

India is a difficult place to travel, but I recommend it highly. The beauty of the landscape, culture, and wildlife is as great as anywhere on the planet, and the people of India represent humanity at its most extreme and most admirable. thank you again india!