Om Beach, Gokarna - paradise in so many ways...

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We headed straight to the beach in search of a nice rustic beach hut to spend the next week at. It turns out that rustic wasn't what we wanted after all and opted for a "deluxe hut" instead. Deluxe seems simply to include a bathroom and the ability to not be able to touch all 4 walls at the same time. It also appeared to mean a lack of creatures inside the room but more about that later....

So the beach itself is beautiful and virtually undeveloped with just a few cafes dotted along. However underdevelopment comes at a price and this happens to be that the beach is frequented by herds of cows and stray dogs. But once you've learnt to usher them along or hide in the sea as I prefer to do, then it's fine!

Oh and speaking of animals we have a little frog that comes and goes in our bathroom - Freddie we have nicknamed him and compared to the huge cockroach (and i mean huge!) he's much preferable!

Yesterday we decided to attempt the 4km walk to Gokarn Town and set off early to avoid the baking sun. Turns out the path wasn't so clearly marked and after 2 and a half hours of climbing over rocks and through forestry on the sheer cliff faces we thought it wise to head back. It was nice to see so many people on the way back who had made the same mistake. Not so nice to fall over and make an utter mess of my knees though!

After this ordeal we felt we definitely deserved a treat and wisely took a rickshaw into town for an aruveydic full body massage. Lovely and relaxing! We wandered round the town and drank chai before finding a boat to take us home. The drovers insisted it was a speed boat and they weren't wrong!! Before they'd even started the engine a huge wave hit the boat and drenched us from head to toe. We would literally have been drier had we swam! No wonder he'd been asking if my camera was waterproof! Other than the power-cut last night which rendered the whole beach pitch black save for a few flickering candles there has been no more excitement! Only blissful sunbathing - my favourite! (I'm sure you can guess who's writing this one!) and I think that is to be the plan for the next few days until we head up to Goa!

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