Gokarna to Goa

Yesterday, still at Gokarna, I went for a little hike. I hiked over the hill to Om beach, then over another hill to Half Moon beach. It was a very nice hike, with just small paths through the dense forests, between the beaches. I also saw some more monkeys!

I spent the afternoon at the various beaches, then settled back in at Kudlee beach for dinner. As it got dark the weather turned from overcast to thunderstorms. I met some Englishman at dinner and sat, talked, and attempted to take pictures of the lightning. I succeeded on a good one, as you can see.

This morning I headed over to the train station (a $3 cab ride), then bought a ticket on the local train (30 cents for an hour and a half train ride). It is considered a local train, so there aren't any a/c options or advanced booking (which was just fine). I hadn't ever taken what they call "Second Class", which consists of bench seats and barred windows. It was okay for a short journey, but if I was going overnight or for many hours it would not be fun.

Anyway, I made it to Palolem (after a 4km walk), in Goa. It reminds me of Pokhara, Nepal, in that there are a lot of tourists along with shops and restaurants that cater to tourists. The only real difference is the ocean instead of a lake.

I grabbed a spot along the beach for some pakora (curried, then fried vegetables) and Kingfisher beer. I had a Kingfisher in Kochi and it was pretty much terrible, as well as 100 rupees ($2), but in Goa the taxes on alcohol are much lower and the beer isn't mixed with the preservative it is elsewhere in India. The result is much better beer half the price, even in a tourist restaurant on the beach.

The weather continues to be unseasonable, as it rarely rains in November around here, yet it has rained every afternoon for the past three days in Gokarna and Goa.

I had read that Goa would be heavily influenced by the Portuguese as it was their territory fairly recently, but I have yet to see it. Maybe I will as I stay here a little longer. One bit of tourist luck is that they actually sell swimsuits here! I've been swimming in my underwear, like the locals (except theirs is a bit more revealing), but now I finally have a legitimate swimsuit to wear, which is very exciting.