My Adventures in Coffee Land (Part V): Udupi to Mangalore & Mumbai

Tags

Arabian Sea, Coastal Karnataka, coffee, Ideal ice cream, Kapu Lighthouse, Karnataka, Kaup Beach, Mangalore, Mumbai, travelogue, Tulu, Udupi

Hey guys 🙂

Hope you enjoyed reading the previous four parts of my travelogue on my 12-day trip through the coffee land of Karnataka, India. For first-time visitors to my blog, here are the links:

My Adventures in Coffee Land (Part I): Mumbai to Mangalore 

My Adventures in Coffee Land (Part II): Mangalore to Madikeri 

My Adventures in Coffee Land (Part III): Madikeri to Chikmagalur

My Adventures in Coffee Land (Part IV): Chikmagalur to Udupi 

And now, here’s the fifth and the final part in the series… happy reading 🙂

 

December 23rd, Udupi/ Mangalore

After a light breakfast of uttapam (a rice-crêpe like dish) and coffee, I leave for Kaup Beach at around 9:00 pm.

Kaup Beach (pronounced as Kapu in the local Tulu language) is 12 km from Udupi on the way to Mangalore.

I reach the bus station just in time to catch the bus leaving the gate. The 20-minute bus ride to Kaup costs eight rupees. Getting off at my destination, I enquire about the autorickshaw fare to the beach at a nearby shop. Twenty rupees. I ask for the fare before getting into a waiting autorickshaw. It’s twenty rupees. Good. The road to the beach passes through a quaint little village dotted with tall coconut trees.

The beach is lovely… and not a single soul in sight! Well, it’s only 9:30 am.

Watch this video: Kaup (or Kapu) Beach I

Watch this video: Kaup (or Kapu) Beach II

Watch this video: Kaup (or Kapu) Beach III

The presence of rocks in the coastline makes the sea rough. Sitting on one of them, I get a good feel of the power of Arabian Sea in its crushing waves which touch my feet.

Watch this video: Kaup (or Kapu) Beach IV

Watch this video: Kaup (or Kapu) Beach V

Another main attraction is this 100 feet high lighthouse built by the British in 1901…

Kaup or Kapu Beach is truly a lovely and serene place. No wonder it’s a popular filming locale! I spend an hour or more basking in the early morning solitude till people start arriving.

As the sun shines brightly, it starts getting hot. I buy an ice cream bar and start on my way back to the bus stop. It turns out to be quite an enjoyable walk in the scenic landscape. I spend some time at a small temple near the bus stop. By the time I return to my hotel, it is 12:30 pm. An hour later, I have lunch at the hotel restaurant: Fish fry, prawn curry, steamed white rice and cassata ice cream. At 3:30 pm, it’s time to leave Udupi. While going through the hotel bill, I notice that the front desk manager has given me a 15% discount on room tariff. A nice surprise! He doesn’t mention the discount. Thank you, sweet fellas! When I reach the bus station, the bus for Mangalore is about to leave. I quickly climb aboard it.

Mangalore is 60 km away from Udupi. It takes a little more than an hour to reach there and the ticket costs 55 rupees. In Mangalore, I have decided to stay at Hotel Veenu International which is conveniently located along the main road, not far from the hotel where I had stayed earlier at the start of my 12-day trip.

The bus reaches Mangalore at around 5:00 pm. I catch sight of my hotel and get off at the nearest stop. Saves me the auto rickshaw ride from the bus station! The hotel has an A/C studio room. It’s small but quite nice at 900 rupees including breakfast. At 8:00 pm, I order a sweet corn chicken soup in my room and by 11:00 pm, I go to sleep.

 

December 24th, Mangalore

After a light breakfast of idli-vada and coffee, I step out for a look around the area. I reach the Balmatta junction where Hotel Prestige is located. I had been here for dinner on the first day of my trip and had loved the food served at its fine dine restaurant. This time, I decide to have lunch at its seafood restaurant. It’s a budget restaurant and looks good from outside. It’s 10:45 am and the scorching heat has already taken its toll on me. I return to my hotel. On the way, I stop to buy the local sweet – banana halwa. I cannot resist buying a chocolate ice cream bar before proceeding to the Hampankatta junction where the famous Ideal Ice-cream parlour is located. The ice-cream parlour is just as crowded as it was on my previous visit to the place. This time I order a Tiramisu ice cream. Totally sapped of energy, I was hoping that the chocolate would make me feel better. Instead the chocolate overdose worsens my condition. Tired, I look forward to a good rest in my room.

Outside, I spend about ten minutes waiting for a chance to cross the busy one-way road. And then, there are just two buses on the road. Correction… two speeding buses! I realize my mistake a few seconds later when I’m standing right in the middle of the road. The bus along the other side of the road suddenly gains speed. Feeling very weak and tired and with slow reflexes, I realize that I cannot turn back. It would mean getting mowed down by the second bus hurtling towards me at full speed. I’m trapped! I have no other alternative but to turn sideways and stay put in the small gap between the two buses. I go numb on seeing them charge at me. My head starts spinning and my legs get wobbly. I try my best to remain steady… an inch here and there and I’m dead! A second later, I’m sandwiched between the two buses. As the gap narrows, I feel claustrophobic. To add to my horror, I see the rear wheels of the bus that I’m facing, about to run over my feet. Terrified, I stand still, my feet rooted to the ground, my knees locked. My eyes remain fixated on the wheels and then… the wheels move away. My knees feel like jelly. On a sudden impulse, I land a hard punch on the bus. Thud! The sound is so loud, it resonates. To my surprise, my quick action gives me strength and my legs feel solid again! I think my ordeal is over but… only for a second! When I turn to face the road, I see the speeding cars behind the two buses. They continue on their path like they haven’t seen me. Heyyy…have I become invisible or what??? Words fail me so I wave at them to stop. They don’t. They just pass by me like I didn’t exist. Stoooop!!! I want to scream loudly but I cannot. I have become numb again and somewhat distraught this time. Am I the only human here??? The next instant I hear a male voice shout “Stop!” Wonders never cease! I have human company!!! Wait a sec… is he standing in the middle of the road too??? The cars stop immediately. A*******s!!! They finally noticed me!!! As much as I want to turn around to thank the guy, I don’t. My mind commands me to just move ahead. I storm off the road in disgust oblivious of the attention I have generated around me.

By the time I reach my hotel room, I have made up my mind.  Instead of having lunch at Hotel Prestige’s seafood restaurant, I’m going to have spaghetti with prawns and beer at Café Diesel, its Italian restaurant. Three hours later at around 3:00 pm, I take an auto rickshaw for the restaurant.

It’s a nice little place. Only three tables are occupied. I choose a corner table. An international football match is playing on the large-screen TV. I place my order: A small bottle of Kingfisher beer and spaghetti with prawns. Very soon, a large bottle of beer arrives at my table. Great! Like I wanna drown my sorrows in alcohol! The guy with whom I placed the order must have either misheard me or misjudged me. “I asked for a small one.” The flustered guy in front of me immediately returns with a small bottle and a glass with a lemon slice in it. I tell him to take away the glass. I prefer drinking straight from the bottle. A short while later my pasta arrives. Absolutely delicious! I feel considerably better. Instead of walking back to my hotel, I choose to take an auto rickshaw. I stop at a cybercafé opposite my hotel to do web check-in for my next day’s flight back to Mumbai. It’s around 4:30 pm and there are hardly any vehicles on the road. Later in my room, I lounge in bed, listening to music till it’s past 9:00 pm. By that time, I’m down with fever so I order a sweet corn chicken soup. It makes me feel slightly better. Sleep comes to me past midnight.

 

December 25th, Mangalore/ Mumbai

I wake up a bit late at 8:30 am. I have the usual breakfast and step outside. Being Christmas day, the entire area looks sleepy. The road is desolate even at this hour. I check the time to be sure. Yes, it’s 10:00 am. My Jet Airways flight departs from Mangalore airport at 3:00 pm so I have to leave the hotel by 12:45 pm. I relax in my room till it’s time to leave. The tourist taxi for the airport arrives on time. I settle my hotel dues and then I’m off to the airport.

At 4:30 pm, I’m back in Mumbai. When I walk out of the airport, my well-roasted arms are proof enough of a great deal of time spent under the scorching sun of coastal Karnataka.

Well, that’s it guys! I hope you thoroughly enjoyed reading this travelogue 🙂 I look forward to sharing my next adventure with you all.

If you’re interested in reading about my adventures across Mexico and all about Mexico, do check my three e-books which are available for sale on this blog:

Discovering Mexico

Mexico: The Country, Its History & The Maya World

A Guide To Mexican Cuisine

If you’re a fan of Mills & Boon novels or love reading romance novels, here’s one for you available for sale on this blog:

The Blue-Eyed Prince of Natlife

Thank you for visiting my blog… do keep visiting!

See you soon…till then, take care 🙂

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