GOKARNA DIARIES: AUG'14 - Part III

NAMASTE CAFE, OM BEACH & THE ARABIAN IN FURY!

Dubbed by many as the most beautiful beach in the state of Karnataka, the Om Beach is located at a distance 7 km from the temple town. The reason for this rather unique name is the fact that the shore line here, when seen from an elevation resembles 'Om' - the ancient Indian symbol of energy and devotion. After having snacks at a local restaurant in Gokarna, we hired a rickshaw and reached our hotel - Namaste Cafe which is situated right at the beginning of the Om beach.

Namaste Cafe is a two storied restaurant located hardly few meters from the Arabian Sea that generally serves western dishes. In fact, you will be surprised to know that one cannot get basic south Indian dishes like Idli Sambar here. Anyway, that is hardly any reason to skip this rather wonderful place. The view from the first and the recently constructed second floor of the cafe is mesmerizing; you will be spell bound to see the waves of the sea lashing against the rocks on the beach. Another reason for many to visit this place is that it serves 'liquor' which is banned inside the main town. The rooms are located behind the cafe. In fact, a better word for them would be cottages. Besides being clean and tidy, the laterite walls and Mangalore roof tiles give them a nice 'rural' feel. Priced at Rs. 800/- per day, they are quite affordable; they come with one big bed and a mosquito net. The more modern rooms cost about Rs. 1000/-.

We checked into our room and after freshening up, walked straight to the cafe for lunch. Though it was drizzling outside, the entire place was bustling with people. This being off season, there were hardly any foreigners. However, even the non-stop rains could not dampen the spirits of the domestic tourists. In recent years, there has been a steep spike in the numbers of the 'urban Indian traveler' who are always keen to visit new places and experience new things. We occupied a table on the first floor which offered a spectacular view of the beach, the green Ghats and the Arabian. The items were cheap but not very tasty. Again, as I said earlier, the view from here is so good that the food hardly matters. Right next to our table were a bunch of friends; amongst them was this one guy who was a character - the 'Cool Dude'. High on spirits, he seemed to be obsessed with two things, his guitar and the F-word. In fact, even his friends seem to have been embarrassed by his liberal use of cuss words. He did provide some free entertain for all the people around. We spent a good two hours in the cafe and went back to our rooms at 4:30 pm.

The Arabian in fury...

The brownish waters of the mighty Arabian 

Waves splashing against the rocks

Tourist having a good time.... while some spent the time clicking pics

...others were busy inspecting boats

Boats parked on the beach

For more posts in the series: GOKARNA DIARIES: AUG'14, click here (Link)