Road Trip - Day 3: Beachy Day

(Read about the previous day - Day 2)

It's tough waking up at 6:00 am on any given day. Now when you've had your fill of beer the night before and need to drive throughout the day, it's even tougher. And this was the exact situation I was faced with when I woke up on Day 3.

Anyway, cutting a long story short, we bid adeau to Madikeri on a foggy morning (it was surprising because for the first time, that day the hill station actually looked like one!). We were headed to Uchila beach in Udupi district of Karnataka. First stop was planned at Mangalore. We were to stop there for food and to take out cash because we couldn't expect an ATM on the beach, could we?

The best part about the road trip has always been the drive and this morning was no exception. The hilly roads leading down to Mangalore were nothing to complain about - which is good. It was not a cold morning, but it was kind of foggy. And it felt good. On our way we crossed some rubber plantations. I'd studied about latex and rubber in primary school but had never seen a rubber tree up close. I did that day.

The drive to Mangalore from Madikeri was about 120 kms. We got lost along the way (thanks to Ashok's magnificent navigation skills!). We lost time because of that and thus skipped going to Mangalore city. We checked the dough on all of us and figured it'd be enough to last us a day - we could drop in at Mangalore the next morning and collect the dough, we decided. And so on we went.

Uchila beach lies about 40 odd kms from Mangalore. The road that leads to Uchila goes through the docks, and it also goes through Suratkal of the NIT (National Institute of Technology) fame. This stretch of the road however, was terrible to say the least. It was under construction and it was just horrible. But then, to look at the brighter picture, it's an expressway under construction. So if we ever happen to road trip Uchila again, then that time it's hopefully going to be a zipper of a drive. Fingers crossed!

Post Suratkal the road was really good. Our destination was Akuna Matata resorts at Uchila. We reached our destination at about 1:30 pm - famished to the bone. However, amidst our hunger pangs, we mustered courage to check out the location and the resort. It was beautiful! The resort was comfortable with decent shacks, but the beach, that was the jewel on the crown. It was white, and empty. Just for the residents of the resort. Aah.. bliss! The ocean roared and the waves lapped as we finished our formalities and settled into our "beach outfits". First thing we ordered - beer, cigarettes and food (in that order).

The order took a really long time to arrive - we later learnt that they had to bring in the goods from Uchila town which, though not very far, was incumbent. Anyway, after having a much delayed meal, which incidentally also happened to be sumptuous, we headed out to the beach.

It was awesome! The only beaches I'd been to before had been in Goa and Chennai. Those beaches were always crowded and I am not overly fond of crowded places. This was perfect! The whole shoreline to ourselves! For some of us this was the first time to a beach and it was a sight worth relishing. We played and swam and sipped beer, sometimes mixed with the salty water of the Arabian Sea. The journey this far had definitely been worth it all!

After a few hours we retired to our shack and prepared for the evening ahead. Nothing fancy, it was just another night with booze and guitar - the only difference was that instead of listening to the crickets and watching the fireflies, tonight we'd listen to the waves crashing in and the roar of the ocean so close.

For more pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/rahul.pradhn/RoadTripDay3

(Read about the next day - Day 4)