GOKARNA

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Trip to gokarna was only for close to a day . Took a bus from panjim to Karwar, which went through south goa (was tempted to get down at palolem). Karwar(though we did not visit ) looked gorgeous too, speacilly the island(devbagh, I think). People looked fairly conservative(change from shorts to full cargoes). There are buses going from karwar to gokarna every half hour.
Reached at 8 pm and stayed at gokarna internatioal( big rooms, have balconies, leaking walls,and eerie feeling).I was desperately waiting for the night to pass quickly.Got up the next morning and went to the gokarna village. Small alleys, lots of cows and cow shit. Felt like a village still in an ancient time period. Looked like a tight knit religious community, mostly brahmin dominated. You could still find people staying in wooden houses, probably sleeping on the floor, totally untouched by modernity(if that word exists). Temples-3 major ones or the ones that we went to. Guys are asked to take off their shirts. I am still trying to figure out why that happens though ( its probably to identify a brahmin from another, the scared thread, a friend says, though its probably more out of respect maybe is my guess but then i still cant figure out a conection) . No foreigners are allowed to this temple. Cant understand why. Why any kind of differenciation.But I have heard of temples where women are not allowed to enter, I am not sure if this is how it was suppose to be or if this is how people interpreted it ( to suit themselves). The temples were very crowded and overwhelming for me. The pandits made you chant some prayers with them, which made me feel very cool and like we were doing something serious and important. But all in all I have nt seen a more religion driven community.
Our loyal friend through this journey was the lonely planet guide, which i think i got a little too dependent on.

We later went to the gokarna beach. Had coconut water. Sat around for a while and after having coffee at mahalakshmi( which would cater to foreigners: cornflskes,oats, etc, english speaking owner) were off to the kudlee beach.

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