Drifting.. - still in India, this time in Gokarna

  It takes us almost 24 hours to reach Gokarna. We have a six hour stop in Mangalore, and stock up on some quality coffee and an array of alcohol. In the evening, we reach Om Beach at last, only to find out that all places are booked. Determined not to sleep on the beach (considering cows and stray dogs and all), we hike with our torches to Half Moon Beach, 20 minutes on a dark cliff trail. With no electricity, Half Moon turns out to be a rustic paradise. We set up our mosquito net in a thatched hut, and spend the evening having some beers with some reeaaally chilled out people (wink wink), listening to the sound of rolling waves. Peaceful.

Accommodation at Half Moon

  Nevertheless, the next morning we go searching for a place at Om Beach, looking for a more festive atmosphere for NYE. No luck. Resigned, we eat our breakfast at Om Santi, when serendipity steps in. I hear that someone is leaving and jump at the opportunity. We get a hut and we can stay for the next week, provided we change huts the next day. With that sorted, we start to relax. Om Santi has a laid back, almost hippie, atmosphere, with hammocks and mats and a sand floor. Our thatched hut is similar, with a raised platform for a mattress and a mosquito net. Little else. There's a shared toilet and an area for a bucket shower with no roof (we got used to those!). Simple, clean, it's our oasis for the next six days. The people are welcoming, both staff and fellow travelers. Some have been here for almost a month. We spend the days at the beach or in our communal area, catching up on reading, tanning and drinking :) We take a hike to Paradise Beach, a literal hippie paradise. People sleep on hammocks, or in make-shift tents from large cloths. They play music, sing and smoke (again, wink wink). But it's not a paradise for long, as we hear police raids the beach, cuts down the trees, and displaces them from their self-imposed solitude. Cruel but also understandable, since squatters are seldom welcome.

Paradise Beach

Laundry day - the small things we learn to appreciate

Om Santi

All the luxuries you need

Om Beach

Indian male hobby - watching Western women

And then there were cows

Om Santi

  On a roll, the police also check restaurants in Om Beach and confiscate all alcohol (individual stashes are untouched). Much of alcohol in India is sold under the table (literally!). It has to do with Hinduism, but after a month here, I'm not surprised, seeing how some Indian men react to it. Our NYE thus begins on a sedate note, with a delicious communal dinner by candlelight. 

  Before midnight, some 20 of us venture out to the beach, each with a bottle in hand, and sit around a candlelight fire (bonfires were not permitted this night), to the accompaniment of guitar and drums. The countdown starts early some three times, since no one is certain of the time. Finally, the fireworks go off. And they're small, individually - spaced, but still spectacular in this particular setting. Soon after all the midnight well-wishing, we go back to the hut, as a wall of rain hits the beach and soaks everything in sight. At least we wake up the next day with no hangover regrets :)

  On the 2^nd of the new 2013, we decide we've been lazy for long enough, and set off for Hampi, the city of ruins.