The Backpack Nomad

Enroute Om beach I planned to trek to Paradise and Half Moon beach the next day, which are inaccessible by road. I woke up early and started by 730 AM from my hotel. I had to pass through Kudle and Om beach to start the trek. At Om beach the water level was higher than Kudle. It was very hot as well. I walked at the edge of the shore, trying to stay away from the sea. At the end of Om beach, a jungle trail lies. I took the trail, crawling through shrubs and bushes on all fours with a heavy backpack having my camera, lenses, tripod and other stuff. It seemed to grow heavier as I kept moving. There was no sign of rains, the temperature kept rising. I reached a point where I couldn't find a way ahead. So I took a detour and found a way to get onto another cliff next to the beach. Even here, I was on my own. The tide was high and the sea, savage. The waves crashed hard into the rocks. It was a hypnotising sight to just watch the waves, sitting there on my own, both beautiful and t...

I had company I was at Thane station by 315 PM to catch the Matsyagandha express to Gokarna. It left at 345 PM and reached Gokarna by 310 AM. I hoped that it would be late coz 310 AM was too early and I didn't want to spend 2-3 hours on the railway station. The onset of monsoon had worked wonders on the Konkan landscape. The green all around was refreshing to the eye. The roa ds, no longer unexplored, looked enticing! It is a bliss to travel in the rains, especially on the coastal route. It was still a little humid, in another week it would be perfect! My time on the train set the tone for the entire journey. I figured that I was gonna be interacting with quite a few people. The girl sitting next to me turned out to be from my company (Saw the company name on her bag). And there was another set of well-travelled guys who were on their way to Mangalore for their vacation. I played the guitar for a while and that triggered an interesting conversation. One of them filled me w...