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Published: February 1st 2007
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After a brief tour up north, I decided that it was about time to head down to the hot, sticky South for a bit of R&R- After all, this is my holiday! Once I got down south, the heat and humidity were intense… Unfortunately, that made my overstuffed bag even more miserable to travel with, especially on a 5-hour bumpy bus ride! Once I got to my perfect little paradise in the sacred Hindu city of Gokarna, I decided that I need to reconsider- actually, scratch that- REPACK this bag!
Once I unloaded some stuff onto some locals and sent the rest of my things home, I felt so much lighter- thus I could finally begin to enjoy the exuberant city of Gokarna, which is located on the western coast of the state of Karnataka. It is home to a number of important Hindu temples so the people watching was amazing. Devotees by the busload, old and young, jazzed up the tiny dirt street of Gokarna everyday with brilliantly adorned and colorful outfits as they paid tribute to their gods. Cows roamed the streets freely and there were a zillion things I wanted to buy but due to my on-going
struggle with my bag, I exercised restraint- I figured my aching back would thank me for it!
Even lovelier were the nearby beaches of Gokarna, only a hop, skip and -- OK, they were about an hour’s hike but they were, nonetheless, wonderful. Luckily, I left the bulk of my stuff locked up in town and only packed a small tote with the bare essentials- Swimsuit, sunscreen, sarong and a few other things but it felt so nice to leave with such a tiny bag… I wish it could be like that all the time! I hiked my way to Om beach (it’s shaped like the Om Symbol) and got a bare hut on the beach- a mat on the floor, shared bathroom with “deluxe” bucket showers, no electricity and a view for a mere dollar a day…
Ahhhh, time to finally relax- after 2 days of traveling by every mode of transportation- train, plane, several buses, and a hike, I could finally feel New York slowly seep out of my body. It was the perfect place to detoxify from the city life.
So my first night, I laid down on my nearly flat mat on the
concrete floor and listen to the waves crash and the frogs croak thinking proudly about how far I’d come, “wow, I’m not in NYC anymore…” Then I heard a lot of ruckus outside my hut door, like someone crunching on banana leaves- but very, VERY loudly. Remember there is no electricity so my other senses are hard at work creating scenarios in your mind of what this noise might be. New York quickly rushed back into me- I think, in complete darkness, “Great, someone trying to break into the hut area… I’m alone in my hut, uh-oh… where is my swiss army knife?... Will someone be able to hear me scream over the loud waves?... These supposed ‘robbers’ are doing a pretty lousy job about keeping a low profile… Is it someone trying to get comfy in their hammock?... Damn it, a mosquito just bit me on my forehead- urgh!”
When I finally built up enough courage (and heard my fellow hut mates outside), I opened my door and found the culprit- a cow munching on cardboard and garbage- Of course, why didn’t I think of that in the first place!! I realized that it would take me a
Playing with Fire
Trust me- It's really ME!! couple of days before this scenario would come to pass as normal in my New York state of mind…
But Om beach turned out to be the perfect antidote to my wound-up, stressed out and ready to knife state of mind… I would wake up early to hike the nearby hills to watch the sun rise, I would drink chai masalas and sweet lassis while making some jewelry, I would swim and float in the water for hours at a time and I would swing on a hammock and read my book in between cat naps in the sea breeze… Yes, Om beach was the perfect antidote, for sure!
In light of these wonderful developments, I finally got enough courage to light my poi on fire. Under the crisp night sky, I spun fire for the first time to the beat of the drum and a djeridu (sp?) and it was amazing! It’s one of those moments that I have a hard time putting into words but trust me- it was incredible! I also sold my first piece of jewelry (reluctantly, albeit) to an Indian man. He liked my ring and paid 50 rupees (~$1) for it— not bad since I would have given it to him for free- He paid for my lunch that afternoon so I was happy!
It was hard to leave the pleasant little mecca that is Gokarna and Om Beach but I needed to move on- I guess that’s the New York in me- Keep on keepin’ on… I’m in Fort Cochin, Kerala now en route to a 10 day Vipassana Meditation course in the backwaters of Kerala. It’s an intense schedule of meditation, keeping silent for 10 days as they (hopefully) guide you through the meditation and awakening of the inner self. I’ve never done anything nearly as intensive as this before but a traveler friend convinced me that I must go- So I figured, why not? I will write when I return from the backwaters of Kerala and my journey of the mind...
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Marianne
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fire fire!
Wow girl, I can't believe you are actually spinning fire! It's what's you've always talked about. You are living your dream. And you're making jewelry too? Put a picture of it on the blog so we can see it. I miss you. so glad you're having so much fun! Love Marianne