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Published: April 7th 2010
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view of Om beach from above Gokarna is a very holy town. More temples and sacred spots than convenience stores and cows. The area here is a large peninsula with a narrow causeway to the mainland. It is a pilgrimage site for hindus all year round with hundreds and thousands visiting each day, depending on how auspicious the occasion. Just southwest of the small town is a walking trail that leads to a forested playground of beaches separated by large cliffs jutting out to the ocean. The trail is 10km long and scales cliffs up and down passing all the beaches along the way. You really have to try to get here. You CAN take a taxi to nearby one beach but the others are only accessible by hiking with all your gear. This area is somewhat world renound but not for package tourists how never stop to look at the countryside between big monuments and cities.
It is really cheap to stay here so many folks come for 3-4 months or more. We aren't much for being TOTAL beach bums but for a one week stay this is the place to wind down and recharge before the long road ahead.
Our next major stop
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our hut is the state just south of here, Kerala. Its the furthest south on this coast and is an oddball for the developing world. In the 70's they were the first place to ever elect a communist government and those days are past but it still a socialist state that albeit culturally reserved, (as in dress and public behavior) it is very open minded, rich in tradition and has strong workers' rights. The literacy rate is 91% which is one of the highest in the world, let alone the developing world and especially India so we are looking forward to a shift in the landscape and an opportunity to learn.
We are going to study at a martial arts school in the ancient tradition of Kalarippayatt. It is as aged as yoga and is believed to be the precursor to almost every eastern martial art. (like kung fu 😊) We singed up for a one month training course and will be learning every day. The art was almost lost under british rule as the colonial oppressors banned the practice of martial arts. Only in the last 60 years has the art begun to resurface with more practitioners and slowly it
is growing. For us this is close to our hearts as our favourite art, WING CHUN Kung fu, was also baned when Japan took over China and thousands of years of development was threatened. Kung fu strives forth with a vengence and is practiced across the world in massive numbers but Kalarippayatt is still struggling slightly to gain popularity. We hope to carry with us kalari's history and strength as we try to with kung fu and let both traditions help us to be better people.
(for our Kung fu friends reading this: For the record wing chun still rules all and nothing will change that for us .. don't worry)
We are having trouble getting pics uploaded as some of these internet cafe's are bare bones.
Thanks for having a look and we miss you all
Watch out for Zombies!
Brian and Jenna
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Dean
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How much?
So how much does the hut cost? Food prices? I am enjoying your trip reports. More would be nice but I know how hard it is to find internet places and time.