Gokarna: A Hippie's Paradise

My day started late at 7:30 since I forgot to keep my alarm the previous night. I had met a guy the previous day- Vinuthan- a 19 year old from Chikmagalur, who was studying BBA in Bengaluru. We planned to go to Vibhuti Falls and Yana caves by sharing a two-wheeler that he rented. Before leaving, I bid adieu to Neha and thanked her for the amazing company. We kept our backpacks in the common room and started from Zostel at around 9:30. We asked Zostel people for breakfast place recommendations and decided to have breakfast at 'Hotel Ramnivas' near check-post, which was on our way. We refueled the bike and left to Vibhuti Falls right away. The falls is about 40 km away from Gokarna. After an hour of riding in the tree-covered roads, we reached our destination. We walked the way from parking, that leads to the falls and finally reached Vibhuti falls after 20 minutes. The timing of our arrival was perfect. With no soul around us, except for the lifeguard, the silence and the iso...

After almost 10 hours of overnight journey, I reached Gokarna check post at around 8:00. This is the last stop for all the private buses. The place was really calm and the cool breeze touched my warm cheeks. The locals stared at us, fellow tourists, with cigarettes in their hands. Although, it was an everyday thing for them, the lifestyle seemed very calm and relaxed to me. I had booked a bed for two nights at Zostel Gokarna. People usually rent two-wheelers to hop around places, here. But I had a different plan. I wanted to walk to all the places on all three days and didn't want to hire a two-wheeler. I walked my way to Zostel, admiring the streets and the culture of this place. The streets were narrow with small temples on both sides. The spiritual significance of the place was very evident. The walls were brightly colored at several places, with well drawn graffiti on them. After seeking help from the locals, I managed to reach my destination at 8:30. Zostel Gokarna didn...