This past weekend marked our first independent travel adventure. And it was an adventure! Through overnight buses we almost missed, relaxing days at the beach, hippie hostels, and the greatest food - it was one to remember. Late Friday night, long after the buses to Udupi had stopped running, we jumped on the few remaining autos to the Udupi bus station where we would catch our 9-hour overnight bus to Anjuna, Goa. The bus was a lot nicer than a lot of us had expected and only moments into the journey heads started bobbing as we all drifted into a light sleep. The journey seemed quick and before long we had reached our destination. We rolled up just after sunrise while the sky was still golden and a light mist cloaked the town. We managed to find our hostel with no more directions than “near the German Bakery, off Flea Market Road.” Everyone at the hostel was still fast asleep, likely recovering from a late night of partying, so we just headed around to the back where colorful tapestries, hanging beads, lanterns, and bean bags created the perfect ambiance to relax until the nearby cafés opened for breakfast.
As soon as it was time, we headed to the café next door and enjoyed the most wonderful breakfast yet. I had a delicious fruit salad full of tropical fruits, topped with a light honey, and a thin cinnamon pancake. The place was full of the most eclectic group of people including a middle-aged woman with brown skin, leathery from the sun, bright blond hair in two braids down to her waist with flowers pinned around her scalp, and a crop top that barely covered her; men with some crazy dreads, leather fanny packs, cargo shorts, and tall boots; a woman with a baby and another little one pulling at her loose skirt; a table of Israeli’s who, despite the no drugs sign, offered to share their pipe with us; and so many others. It was fun to see such an odd conglomeration of people half a world away from their homes all enjoying the simplest pleasures of a small hippie town on the beach. I wanted nothing more to ask all of their stories, to find out how they ended up here.
Happy and full we headed to the beach for the day. The sand was hot between our toes and the water just perfectly cool. Despite only being 10:30am, beach-side restaurants were already pumping club tunes and handing out bar menus. We staked out some beach chairs and set up camp. The day was perfectly spent swimming in the cool waves, strolling down the beach, dodging persistent women who wanted to sell us their wares, and napping in the warm sun.
Happy and full we headed to the beach for the day. The sand was hot between our toes and the water just perfectly cool. Despite only being 10:30am, beach-side restaurants were already pumping club tunes and handing out bar menus. We staked out some beach chairs and set up camp. The day was perfectly spent swimming in the cool waves, strolling down the beach, dodging persistent women who wanted to sell us their wares, and napping in the warm sun.
Late afternoon we headed back to the hostel to clean up for dinner and a night on the town. We first took a cab to a nearby town called Vagator, just a few kilometers up the beach for dinner. We stumbled upon India’s bike week, a collection of hundreds if not thousands, of people, expat and Indian alike, traveling from miles away atop their Harley Davidsons. After precariously dodging motorcycles speeding by left and right, we made our way to a Greek place with great reviews. The restaurant was perched on a cliff overlooking the ocean, sparkly lights and white walls, loud music, and energetic people made for the perfect atmosphere. We grabbed drinks at the bar as we waited for a table and encountered an unfortunate situation when one of the girls in my group didn’t get her change back after paying for her drink. After lots of arguing, the manager finally came over, gave her the change, and bought a very expensive round of shots for us all. Not a bad start to the evening. The food was nothing short of amazing either. The veggie dish I ordered completely made up for the lack of fresh veggies I’ve had so far in Manipal.
After dinner we took a cab to another nearby town, famous for its incredible night market. There were hundreds of vendors set up and hundreds more shoppers. The market was placed on a mountain so as you climbed to the higher stalls you had a view of the entire thing below you. The stalls ranged from more traditional Indian and some Tibetan items, clothing and tapestries, spices, jewelry, stalls run by expat artisans and craftsmen, and more! After only a short time at the market most of the group decided to leave to check out a nearby club, but not thrilled by the huge cover fee, another girl and I stayed behind to wander the market, people watch, and listen to the (very weird) live music. It ended up being a really fun night and we met some pretty interesting characters.
After dinner we took a cab to another nearby town, famous for its incredible night market. There were hundreds of vendors set up and hundreds more shoppers. The market was placed on a mountain so as you climbed to the higher stalls you had a view of the entire thing below you. The stalls ranged from more traditional Indian and some Tibetan items, clothing and tapestries, spices, jewelry, stalls run by expat artisans and craftsmen, and more! After only a short time at the market most of the group decided to leave to check out a nearby club, but not thrilled by the huge cover fee, another girl and I stayed behind to wander the market, people watch, and listen to the (very weird) live music. It ended up being a really fun night and we met some pretty interesting characters.
The next morning we were up long before the group who had gone to the club so we decided to check out the German Bakery, famous in the area, for some chai and pastries. Some friends from the hostel wandered in and joined us at our table. Once the rest of our group made it over we ordered more food, including the best avocado toast, and more fruit salad.
We spent the rest of the day on the beach, enjoying watching the cows sunbathe (only in India...) and catching some rays ourselves. We grabbed some quick dinner and the best mango juice back in Anjuna before heading off to catch our bus back home. Once in town, surrounded by people and tons of buses, it seemed almost impossible to figure out where we were supposed to catch our own bus. As some of the group got distracted looking for food; we asked many unhelpful people and wandered in the wrong direction until we got a call from the bus company asking where we were. Though we were at least 15 minutes by that point, they gave us directions and waited for us to board – something that would never have happened in the US! Once we were off and had wound down from almost missing our bus, we all drifted off to sleep for the rest of the ride.
We spent the rest of the day on the beach, enjoying watching the cows sunbathe (only in India...) and catching some rays ourselves. We grabbed some quick dinner and the best mango juice back in Anjuna before heading off to catch our bus back home. Once in town, surrounded by people and tons of buses, it seemed almost impossible to figure out where we were supposed to catch our own bus. As some of the group got distracted looking for food; we asked many unhelpful people and wandered in the wrong direction until we got a call from the bus company asking where we were. Though we were at least 15 minutes by that point, they gave us directions and waited for us to board – something that would never have happened in the US! Once we were off and had wound down from almost missing our bus, we all drifted off to sleep for the rest of the ride.