This past weekend, packed into a van much to small for all of us, not an uncommon experience in India thus far, we set off down the coast for a day visit to Murudeshwar and Gokarna. Murudeshwar, known for the second largest statue of Lord Shiva in the world, is a holy place full of natural beauty. The statue is perfectly situated on a hill with its back facing the Arabian ocean. Colorfully painted fishing skiffs lined the waters edge along the beach below and visitors shrieked and shouted as they splashed in the water, fully clothed, colorful scarves and sari fabric floating in the waves. A neighboring temple tower (one of the largest of its kind), rising 249 feet from the lapping ocean waves, provided the most magnificent view of the statue, boats, and visitors below. We spent time visiting the statue and the caves beneath it that were carved with dioramas detailing the legend of the Shiva statue and took a quick boat ride around the peninsula, holding on for dear life at points when the driver rocked the boat precariously to keep things exciting. We spent the hours perpetually dodging the tourists with their cameras pointed at us and little boys selling postcards. Katie Jo came prepared, though, and we gave the boys balloons instead, which made their faces light up with joy and amusement. Later, we continued down the coast to Gokarna, a beach town popular among hippie tourists. This was the perfect place to spend the hot afternoon swimming in the warm ocean waves along Om beach (its shaped like an Om!) actually wearing bathing suits, a rare opportunity. The ride back was hours longer than expected and by the time we finally reached Manipal my legs were numb from squeezing into a row with too many people but despite the unfortunate journey it was a great day!
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AuthorAmerican University Student studying abroad in Kenya and India and wandering the world Archives
May 2015
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