Updated on 02.06.09.Gokarna had it's first taste of the monsoon yesterday, with some huge clouds and rain coming in from the Arabian Sea during the morning. Today started clear, but some clouds are on the way overhead already. I went for a walk around Gokarna this morning to take some photos before the light reduces and the sky empties on us again.
In the street leading from the Kotiteertha tank to the town centre.
I saw this cow with a motorbike chain around its neck on the old road leading out of Gokarna.
Check out the old fella on the porch.
The paving around the temples in the centre of town is being renovated at present, which means there's piles of sand and bricks everywhere until it's completed.
Two lizards.
The end of Gokarna beach, with the Rama temple and our guesthouse on the headland.
Gokarna town is somewhere underneath all these coconut trees.
Gokarna beach from above.
The Rama temple next to our guesthouse, with its spring that supplies fresh mineral water.
The road from the beach into town after rain.
The end of the beach road on a wet afternoon.
The most worried-looking dog in all of Gokarna.
A cow dining on the beach.
On the beach under heavy monsoon clouds.
Allo from Gokarna.I arrived here easily last monday night, the only problem in the two flights was a cyclone in the Bay of Bengal which meant that all flights to Calcutta were cancelled, which put all other domestic flights in a mess too. I had to wait 5 hours in Delhi airport instead of 3, which wasn't all that bad compared to a 40+ hour train journey.
Gokarna hasn't changed much since I left two months ago, although the weather seems to have had its volmue turned up a notch or 5. The monsoon is almost ready to drop itself all over Karnataka, with most days being a mixture of cloud and sun, with some heavy rain at night. The monsoon was supposed to begin here tomorrow, but I read in the Hindu newspaper this morning that the monsoon will be here 5 days later than expected, so maybe we will have another 5 days of intense hear and clear skies like today, and the monsoon may begin just as Milo and I take a train down to Kochi in Kerala next thursday. Like all weather, it's a case of waiting to see what happens.
India's broadband connections are far better than Nepal's, so I've managed to upload many photos for your perusal. It takes some effort to present aspects of Gokarna that haven't already been seen on One Masala Dosa's previous visits here, but hopefully the following images will be reasonably interesting and new. Yes, I am wearing a skirt in the photo at the top.
No skirts above the cliffs, but a look at the rear of Milo's dog "Honey" instead.
Gokarna and it's main beach under heavy clouds earlier this week.
Sunset on the main beach, with litter scattered around for decoration.
More great signage - I do like a nice refeshing bowl of Furt Slard every now and then.
More great and sensible signage - the 13th body this year was washed up on the beach a couple of days ago.
Wenesday is a big day for pilgrims to bathe in the sea at Gokarna. My guesthouse is in the middle of the headland at the end of the beach.
The road from the beach into Gokarna town.
The Kotiteertha tank, as seen in previous visits but this time it is having maintenance. This draining only happens every 25 years.
The lane from the tank down to the beach.
This is something new, it's the Naga temple on the lane from the tank to the beach. People come here to increase their chances of fertility, and if successful they return and leave a stone carving of a snake as thanks to Naga the snake god.
In case I forgot how to spell "Kotiteertha".
A Cow and the Arabian Sea, with natural lighting.
India has some payphones in great locations.If I encounter anything new and interesting in Gokarna over the next several days that I have here, I'll try and show it. If I don't find anything new here, then I definitely will when I reach Kochi in Kerala next weekend. The monsoon has already set in down there, which should be very interesting indeed.
Cheers
Chris
