Gokarna: Cow's Ears, Sunburns, and Motorcycle Wrecks
For three days, I went to Gokarna, a coast city in Karnataka, India. Gokarna means "cow ears", and let me tell you that there are a lot of cows chilling in this town.
Gokarna is so peaceful with so many gorgeous beaches. The sand is dark and soft, and the Arabian Sea was a nice break from my internship. Many adventures came out of the trip including: motorcycle wrecks, chasing down buses, being lost, and getting caught in the rain many times.
Motorcycle Wreck
I'll start with the most exciting part of the trip, which was the motorcycle wreck that I was a part of. It really isn't as bad as it sounds. I was on the back of a motorcycle (which was extremely fun) when we happened upon a lot of mud/sludge that we had to work through to get back onto the road. Unfortunately, we didn't quite make it and we skidded onto the side and landed in the mud. I'm still not sure what happened, but I managed to scape off a couple layers of skin on my leg about 6 inches long and 2 inches wide.
This is of course was about an hour into our trip, so I spent the rest of the day with a wound that seemed fine. Once back in Bangalore 2 days later, I went to the hospital which resulted in a tetanus shot, antibiotics for 5 days, and a dressing that gets to be changed every couple days. I'll spare you the gruesome photos, but below is one of my bandaged leg.
Bus Mishaps
To get to Gokarna, it is a 9 hour bus ride from Bangalore. I booked my ticket and was on my way when suddenly someone from the bus is calling me, along with friends on the bus. Apparently our bus was no longer going to stop at my location. Luckily there was two of us (both American, unfortunately) at the wrong bus stop. We had to run and take a rickshaw to another stop. Once there, I watched as the bus drove past us, without stopping. Eventually, we got onto the metro, rode it for many many stops, and then hopped off. Surprisingly, I made it to Gokarna despite my bus driver trying everything he could to lose me.
Gokarna
The first day in Gokarna was reserved for the beaches.
Yana Caves
On our second day in Gokarna, we rented motorcycles and traveled 2 hours to Yana Caves which are this beautiful place with these large rock structures that you can walk through. It is entirely natural, so basically it involved many, many rough rocks. When you first arrive at the base of the caves, you remove your shoes and then climb lots of stairs to the opening of the caves. It is so peaceful.
More Adventures... In which you can't tell how extremely sunburnt I am
Gokarna is so peaceful with so many gorgeous beaches. The sand is dark and soft, and the Arabian Sea was a nice break from my internship. Many adventures came out of the trip including: motorcycle wrecks, chasing down buses, being lost, and getting caught in the rain many times.
Motorcycle Wreck
I'll start with the most exciting part of the trip, which was the motorcycle wreck that I was a part of. It really isn't as bad as it sounds. I was on the back of a motorcycle (which was extremely fun) when we happened upon a lot of mud/sludge that we had to work through to get back onto the road. Unfortunately, we didn't quite make it and we skidded onto the side and landed in the mud. I'm still not sure what happened, but I managed to scape off a couple layers of skin on my leg about 6 inches long and 2 inches wide.
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| The damage after 4 days. |
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| Before the wreck when I still thought riding a motorcycle was a good idea. |
Bus Mishaps
To get to Gokarna, it is a 9 hour bus ride from Bangalore. I booked my ticket and was on my way when suddenly someone from the bus is calling me, along with friends on the bus. Apparently our bus was no longer going to stop at my location. Luckily there was two of us (both American, unfortunately) at the wrong bus stop. We had to run and take a rickshaw to another stop. Once there, I watched as the bus drove past us, without stopping. Eventually, we got onto the metro, rode it for many many stops, and then hopped off. Surprisingly, I made it to Gokarna despite my bus driver trying everything he could to lose me.
Gokarna
The first day in Gokarna was reserved for the beaches.
Yana Caves
On our second day in Gokarna, we rented motorcycles and traveled 2 hours to Yana Caves which are this beautiful place with these large rock structures that you can walk through. It is entirely natural, so basically it involved many, many rough rocks. When you first arrive at the base of the caves, you remove your shoes and then climb lots of stairs to the opening of the caves. It is so peaceful.
More Adventures... In which you can't tell how extremely sunburnt I am
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| Beautiful graffiti on a random side street in Gokarna |
In retrospect, wasn't it a fun m-adventure :p
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