Om Beach

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Alas, our time in India is drawing to a close. We think heading back to the coast and the main North/South railway will be the easiest and most cost effective way to get to Thiruvananthapuram by our deadline. Zack, Holly and Laura are heading West to Gokarna so we decide to share the road for a few days and book the same coach. Laura suggests a place called Om Beach and liking the sound of that, we follow.
We arrive in the middle of the night and stumble down a rocky headland to make camp on the sand and sleep. Dawn reveals a picturesque bay of white sand and palm trees. A cordon of wild dogs that joined us in the darkness surround us while cows plod lasily through the surf.
Yet the real magic of this place had not yet been discovered by Ness and I...


Journal excerpts:

Ness: "...We wake up wondering why the bus has stopped and hastily get our things together as it dawns on us that it's our stop. It's the dead of night and the middle of nowhere...."

Tom: "...We stay in a cheap shack with nothing but a stone floor and a grotty bed under a mosquito net. This was the upmarket option, Laura stays further down the beach. After Hampi sleeping under a roof again feels wrong.. The ants swamp the walls and bed but Ness does her best to keep them at bay. I am beginning to regret not sleeping on the beach again...."

Ness: "...We take full advantage of the tropical seas and take several dips. Tom and Zak ride the waves as human surfboards, Holly and myself searching the surface until two sodden water filled bodies reappear disorientated but grinning widely. Rushing back as we inform them of another large wave approaching...."

Tom: "...I share a chillum with a group of people outside a womans simple shack, guitars and singing fill the air. This place has a definite bohemian air and i am happy here. A fire is lit on the beach and the drinking and merrymaking continues late in to the night...."

Tom: "...In the early hours when all the lights have gone out, Ness and I follow the advice of others and take a swim. We then witness the real magic of Om Beach and the secret behind Holly and Zack's knowing smiles. The stars have fallen in to the water and play around our fingers like galaxies being born in an instant and then fading in to darkness from whence they'd come! The plankton here glows brightly when disturbed, and small sparks of light follow our every movement. I draw my arm in sweeping arcs through the dark water and stars cascade through my fingers and flow out behind me as i swim. I can see Ness as a glowing phantom in the water nearby and her laughter carries over the sound of lapping waves, joyous to behold!..."

Ness: "...A couple of drinks on, with the bonfire burning low we leave the now mixed crowd of Indians and Westerners exchanging songs to take a swim in the dark as Holly & Zak have created a growing anticipation with tales of plankton in the sea. We leave our clothes in a pile and walk out into the black with a touch of nervousness at the sound of the dark crashing waves. We meet a sight that leaves us repeating 'Oh my god!' several times in shear amazement as the plankton light up with our movements, millions of pin prick lights reacting to our now illuminated forms...."

Ness: "...I swim out with nothing in front of me but the dark ominous now placid sea, just the lights forming between my fingers before me - arching out and fading behind. Making my own path i stop and float looking into the cloudy night sky, the absent stars seem to have fallen in to the sea...."

Tom: "...Did that really happen last night? Is that even possible? It feels like a dream... Time to hit the road for our last leg, so reluctantly we say a final farewell to Holly and Zack and catch a rickshaw to the nearest town...."

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