Mother Nature's Cruel Joke

The towns of Karwar and Gokarna

This was a trip I went on with another AquaSafi intern the first weekend I was in Hubli. We planned the trip the day before using Google Maps and by reading other people's blogs... no tour guides, no help from locals. To make it more exciting, when my parents suggested I learn Hindi when I was younger, I had refused. So neither I nor the other intern would be able to communicate properly with the locals.

We started off Saturday morning by taking a three hour state bus from Hubli to Karwar, a coastal town in the state of Karnataka. We traveled through the mountains and the drive was breathtaking.

Upon arriving in Karwar, we headed straight for the beach as the weather was beautiful. We walked through a local market on the way there:

Just before getting to the beach, we picked up some mangoes... but soon realized we got ripped off. We got to the beach and walked for a little bit. We were curious as to why nobody was there on such a beautiful Saturday. All of a sudden, our questions were answered... The sunny skies abandoned us and dark clouds moved in. Within minutes, we were soaked to the bone and then some. Fifteen minutes later, the rain stopped and we returned to the town. However, when we did... we noticed the most incredible thing... everybody was completely dry! How? They continued on as if nothing had happened.

Anyway, we headed to a restaurant and ordered some food, and had our mangoes. To this day, this is the greatest mango I have ever had. The texture was perfect, and it was incredibly sweet... I believe the guy ripped us off knowing they would be worth it.

After lunch, we had had enough of Karwar and decided to head to the town of Gokarna. This meant catching another state bus... but in India, driving is the best part (once you're out of the city at least). If you can get over the bumpy roads and the lack of clean washrooms, the scenery is always there for you.

We arrived in Gokarna by evening and walked around the town. Gokarna is a small tourist town, but attracts many people as it is cheaper than going to Goa and is less commercialized. However, as we walked around the town... it started to rain once again. This time we were smarter, we took shelter under a lady's necklace stand and decided to wait it out. Here is a video I took... I have never seen rain like this.

It rained like this for thirty to forty minutes. Soon, the streets were flooded... so maybe it was not so smart to wait it out. I wanted to buy a necklace from the lady to say thanks for keeping us dry, but there was so much rain, she packed up her things.

Eventually, the rain stopped... and we had only one option: brave the flooded streets. I will not tell you what was in this water... but I will tell you I have never washed my feet as well as I did that night. Eventually, we got to the restaurant below where I would have a meal that nearly brought me to tears. We had Dal Fry, Paneer Kaju Masala and Roti. It was incredible. All of this for the price of a value menu combo at McDonald's (a McDouble, fries and a drink).

The following day, we headed to Om beach where the waves were massive. Against my mother's warnings, I went in the water... it was too tempting. When the waves hit you, they carry you back to shore... there is no way you can stand in one spot.

Afterwards, we walked over a hill to Kudle beach. The trek was nice, but the beach was dirty... so we left. We headed towards the main road to go back to Gokarna, but got a little lost on the way. Thankfully, a car stopped and a guy with a massive saw stepped out! Actually, they were very nice guys, and one of them was heading back to Gokarna, and offered us a ride. I would be lying if I said that I was not a little worried traveling with this stranger. Anyway, he took us back safely and for free! We got back, had another amazing meal, and decided to head back to Hubli. However, this journey would not have been complete without getting stuck in the rain once again... just a 100m from the bus stop.

I found out later that there was a huge storm in the area and that is why there had been so much rain and huge waves.