Time: Feb 16th - 18th 2018
Place: Udupi & Mangalore (Panambur Beach)
Company: Family
Highlights:
Prelude: With Sri Raghavendra Swamy Saptaaha celebrations scheduled in Udupi for 2018 & considering Tontu had not visited Udupi - nor any beach in India after we relocated back - we thought it is a good time to visit the coastal city. So, booked the train tickets about a month in advance. Parents decided to stay for the entire weekend while wife, daughter and I decided to stay for just one day.
Day 0: Bangalore-Karwar train at 7:15 pm. [I guess the last time I went in this train was in 2007 but I am not sure!] It was a long time since we (family) went in a night train and it was fun, what with packed dinner and climbing ladders aboard a moving automotive!
Day 1: Reached Udupi at 8:30 am. Longish, compared to an overnight bus journey. Took an auto to the booked hotel. In the hotel room for the briefest of time - quick wash, dress up and we were off to the darshan. Unfortunately, just as we were about to enter, they stopped the queue and we had to wait for a long time. It was too hot and sunny. Finally the line moved and darshan was quick. In fact too quick that I didn't get any satisfaction because of the cop asking us to move constantly and didn't even allow for a 5 second view of the idol. Anyways. sat for about 30 minutes in the premises and did (or tried to do) some meditation. Then, it was lunch time.
Mother-in-law wanted to lunch directly from the floor (not from the banana leaf) - something unique thats done in Udupi - which I had experienced in 2007 during my solo trip. Then my wife decided on an impulse to do the same. So I decided too, and my daughter too! While it was a shocker in 2007 for me, today it was Business As Usual!
After lunch, I went for another darshan along with mother in law and daughter since the queue wasn't as big as earlier. This time I was very satisfied. The burly cop wasn't around and the new guy was endearing. He let me have my eyes' worth! Now thats my Udupi!
Unfortunately, we could not attend Saptaaha festivities because there were no events lined up in the afternoon - which was strange because it is usually an all day - seven days function. Anyways, it was time for us to leave Udupi - considering we had to catch the train back to Bangalore from Mangalore at night. Bid adieu to Mother-in-law and Brother-in-law as they caught their bus back to Hubli and we took a bus to Mangalore. I remembered the Udupi-Mangalore road and the private bus drivers of the 2000s and how each of them were trying to overtake one another. In the internet there were jokes about Udupi-Mangalore drivers but now the roads are all international standard and it isn't scary anymore. So had a nice quick nap.
Got down at Mangalore suburbs and took an auto to Panambur Beach. Initially had planned to go to Thannir Bhaavi beach but someone suggested P over TB. This beach was awesome - much better than we expected. The sand was too fine and silky - and very clean and neat. So neat that we wondered if eating snacks on the beach (which is the most common thing to do in Indian beaches) was prohibited! The waves were just perfect - not too scary. The weekend crowd too was just ideal. We went on long walks where the waves lapped at our feet. What a blessing the sea water here in India is warm compared to the chill ocean water in the US!
The beach also had just the required amount of eatery stalls which satisfied our sunset chai time! And speaking of sunset - wow, that was superb too. Unimaginable that Nature gives us this splendid show every single day and we are so engrossed in our day to day life. After sunset, it was time to depart. We took an auto directly to Mangalore Railway Central. Reached about 8 pm. Had lightish dinner at the station restaurant and caught our train back to Bangalore at 8:55 pm.
Day 2: Train was on time. Route was via Mysore, so saw the usual stations of Mandya, Chennapatna, Ramnagar, etc. Reached station at 8:30 am. Retrieved the parked two-wheeler and got back home an hour later.
Overview: Tontu knew the story of Udupi Krishna idol since about age 2, and it was nice for her to see the idol in person. The only negative points were the afternoon heat and non-availability of any Saptaaha programs. The best part of the visit was the beach. It was Tontu's first beach in India after we relocated. She loved it very much and so did the wifey. Much glad that we did this trip. It was short and sweet. Very memorable.
Place: Udupi & Mangalore (Panambur Beach)
Company: Family
Highlights:
Prelude: With Sri Raghavendra Swamy Saptaaha celebrations scheduled in Udupi for 2018 & considering Tontu had not visited Udupi - nor any beach in India after we relocated back - we thought it is a good time to visit the coastal city. So, booked the train tickets about a month in advance. Parents decided to stay for the entire weekend while wife, daughter and I decided to stay for just one day.
Day 0: Bangalore-Karwar train at 7:15 pm. [I guess the last time I went in this train was in 2007 but I am not sure!] It was a long time since we (family) went in a night train and it was fun, what with packed dinner and climbing ladders aboard a moving automotive!
Day 1: Reached Udupi at 8:30 am. Longish, compared to an overnight bus journey. Took an auto to the booked hotel. In the hotel room for the briefest of time - quick wash, dress up and we were off to the darshan. Unfortunately, just as we were about to enter, they stopped the queue and we had to wait for a long time. It was too hot and sunny. Finally the line moved and darshan was quick. In fact too quick that I didn't get any satisfaction because of the cop asking us to move constantly and didn't even allow for a 5 second view of the idol. Anyways. sat for about 30 minutes in the premises and did (or tried to do) some meditation. Then, it was lunch time.
Mother-in-law wanted to lunch directly from the floor (not from the banana leaf) - something unique thats done in Udupi - which I had experienced in 2007 during my solo trip. Then my wife decided on an impulse to do the same. So I decided too, and my daughter too! While it was a shocker in 2007 for me, today it was Business As Usual!
After lunch, I went for another darshan along with mother in law and daughter since the queue wasn't as big as earlier. This time I was very satisfied. The burly cop wasn't around and the new guy was endearing. He let me have my eyes' worth! Now thats my Udupi!
Unfortunately, we could not attend Saptaaha festivities because there were no events lined up in the afternoon - which was strange because it is usually an all day - seven days function. Anyways, it was time for us to leave Udupi - considering we had to catch the train back to Bangalore from Mangalore at night. Bid adieu to Mother-in-law and Brother-in-law as they caught their bus back to Hubli and we took a bus to Mangalore. I remembered the Udupi-Mangalore road and the private bus drivers of the 2000s and how each of them were trying to overtake one another. In the internet there were jokes about Udupi-Mangalore drivers but now the roads are all international standard and it isn't scary anymore. So had a nice quick nap.
Got down at Mangalore suburbs and took an auto to Panambur Beach. Initially had planned to go to Thannir Bhaavi beach but someone suggested P over TB. This beach was awesome - much better than we expected. The sand was too fine and silky - and very clean and neat. So neat that we wondered if eating snacks on the beach (which is the most common thing to do in Indian beaches) was prohibited! The waves were just perfect - not too scary. The weekend crowd too was just ideal. We went on long walks where the waves lapped at our feet. What a blessing the sea water here in India is warm compared to the chill ocean water in the US! 
The beach also had just the required amount of eatery stalls which satisfied our sunset chai time! And speaking of sunset - wow, that was superb too. Unimaginable that Nature gives us this splendid show every single day and we are so engrossed in our day to day life. After sunset, it was time to depart. We took an auto directly to Mangalore Railway Central. Reached about 8 pm. Had lightish dinner at the station restaurant and caught our train back to Bangalore at 8:55 pm. Day 2: Train was on time. Route was via Mysore, so saw the usual stations of Mandya, Chennapatna, Ramnagar, etc. Reached station at 8:30 am. Retrieved the parked two-wheeler and got back home an hour later.
Overview: Tontu knew the story of Udupi Krishna idol since about age 2, and it was nice for her to see the idol in person. The only negative points were the afternoon heat and non-availability of any Saptaaha programs. The best part of the visit was the beach. It was Tontu's first beach in India after we relocated. She loved it very much and so did the wifey. Much glad that we did this trip. It was short and sweet. Very memorable.
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