A Tale of Two Beach Towns

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On the surface Arambol in Goa and Gokarna in Karnataka look a lot alike. Both towns have long palm-tree studded beaches surrounded by rocks and jungle. Both towns are situated on the Konkan coast of South India. In both towns Italian and Israeli food is readily available alongside Indian in the local restaurants. However, after staying in both places one thing is clear. Arambol is no Gokarna.

A couple weeks ago I stayed nearly ten days in a primitive beach shack at Gokarna's most remote and isolated beach. Here, a lack of electricity meant fellow travelers entertained themselves at night by building bonfires, playing instruments, singing, doing yoga, juggling fire, and chatting. During the daytime I would make the long hike along the rugged coast to check e-mail and buy conveniences unavailable where I was staying. I would arrive back late in the afternoon to the satisfaction of a bucket shower before sunset. The other travelers staying out at the last beach also had to really make an effort to get there. As a result there was a very friendly communal atmosphere the whole time I was there.

Arriving in Goa, the former hippie capital, the first thing that struck me were the shops. Lots and lots of shops. There were shops selling ethnic jewelry, incense, pipes, T-shirts with the likeness of Bob Marley, T-shirts with the likeness of Che. Now I don't want to get up on a soapbox, but one of the greatest ironies of our time has to be the amount of money made selling images of one of the world's most famous anti-capitalists. The entire beach was covered in restaurants with candlelit tables, comfy chairs, and the exact same menu ... everywhere. Arambol's one saving grace was a nearby Banyan tree deep in the jungle where the remnants of the hippie movement would congregate to drum, chant and just hang out. At night time we sat in restaurants where Bob Marley Legend played over and over again interspersed by the occasional Goa Trance number. After two days Caroline and I had enough of Goa and decided to head back to Gokarna where we stayed for three more days, stargazing at night and hiking by day.

This time around I managed to get a few pictures of Gokarna so here they are. You can see pictures of Goa in my previous entry. I am currently in the town of Hampi, but will be heading up North next week.

Will update again soon.

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Photos

Gokarna Town
With Waves of Humid

Paradise Beach
My home for many days - very primitive

Path
I hiked this path almost every day I stayed there