Go .....

Ajay woke me up knowing fully well that without my help he wouldnt be able to wake up Bhatta & Ashwin (I am considered the most responsible of the lot you see). We had to leave Bhatkal early for two reasons - Murthy had already reached Gokarna & waiting for us all alone and the earlier we left the less inconvenience we would be causing at Roshan's place. Roshan's mom gave us christmas cakes & other goodies for breakfast & off we started to Gokarna via Murdeshwar. Roshan joined us as well.

We stopped at Murdeshwar at the temple. It was a must to have breakfast at the RNS restaurant which is right at the edge of the sea, so we did. Then me, Ajay & Ashwin went to the top of the temple to have a closer darshana of the huge Shiva's statue. It was very hot that day & we were fully stuffed in our biking gear so the small flight of stairs to the top felt like a huge trek. I knew that Murdeshwar was the only beach where we would be able to take our bikes right uptil the sea-water but none of the others seemed enthu about the idea at that moment (though they did repent about it later). So we got on our bikes & started to Gokarna. We reached Gokarna in about two hours I suppose.

Murthy, owing to some important office work couldnt join us from the start of this trip. So he had come directly to Gokarna from Bangalore today morning & went all around searching for a lodge (amid the christmas rush) & actually managed to find one which was just perfect for all six of us to stay in. This turned out to be very helpful for us as everything was in place when we reached Gokarna. All of us had a nice refreshing bath & without any definite place in mind we set out to explore Gokarna. (FYI: Last year Christmas, was spent in Gokarna as well)

I cant seem to recollect what exactly were the sequence of events that day. So let me just put whatever little I can remember. We went on our bike to some place in between Kudle & OM beach. There was this beautiful restaurant on top of the cliff which we had been to last time but unfortunately it seemed to have been knocked down. We went to Kudle beach & after a bit of scouting, I guess, we just went inside a shack & occupied one corner table. We settled there for quite a long time. It was dark by the time we came out. Bhatta was drunk (the first of many times he was going to get on this trip) & I tripped him on purpose, he fell, he chased me, I ran. Next scene was that I was searching for my glasses in the dark on the sandy beach. Of course, I lost my glasses then (my first casualty). We then did some sort of night trekking in some cliff to get back to our bikes. All I can remember is that it was pitch dark & we just had Roshan's mobile flashlight to lead us the way. It was one heck of a trek & we ended up in some restaurant on the beach again. After another round of beer & dinner we again groped our way in the dark to our bikes and well ended up in our rooms safe & sound. Sometimes thats all that matters.

28-12-08: Bhatkal-Murdeshwar-Gokarna