Far from the Madding Crowd

I had long wanted to do this lonely trip, just for a day, where I transport myself to an almost alien place and spend a day far away from the concrete jungle and free from the clutches of technological encumbrances. I was successfully able to execute my plan on the Friday the 25th and it sure was one very enjoyable and pleasant day I spent.

I boarded the KSRTC Volvo bus on Thursday night at 10.30 pm. Well, actually I boarded the bus at 10.35 pm thanks to my indifference towards being on time and of course to Murphy for the traffic jam at the 11th hour. If not for Gansal, I wld've definitely missed the bus and I know one person
who will be insanely happy about it. Anyways, having successfully boarded the bus, my journey did start. I was supposed to reach Mangalore at 6 am in the morning, but
some freak accident on NH 48 caused an unprecedented delay of three hours (maybe Murphy was just following me silently!). As soon as I got out of the bus at 9 am, I caught a local bus that was heading towards Udupi. I wanted to go to Udupi and pay a visit to the Krishna Temple and the Mutt out there. It was a 90 minute drive on NH 17 and I enjoyed every bit of the drive gazing through the green pastures and the blue backwaters of coastal Mangalore.

I reached Udupi at 10.30 am and checked into Udupi Residency-a place I would very much recommend for folks planning a trip to this place. Having completed my morning ablutions, I headed straight for the temple. Lucky for me, the temple was sparsely crowded and I was able to have a good "kidiki" darshan of the residing deity. I spent 15 minutes in the temple, letting the serene environment of the place absorb me.
It was quite a tranquil experience and a much needed one for me. After that, I headed back to the room, packed and hit the bus stand.

I got into an "Express" bus that was heading to Mangalore and reached there around 1.30 pm. I got the local bus number to go to Ullal-a small hamlet 12 kms from Mangalore. This place has a cool resort called Summer Sands. The resort has a private beach and I had planned to spend the rest of the afternoon there. I reached the place around 2.15 pm and immediately checked into the room I had booked. I had a refreshing bath once again to beat the summer heat and immediately ordered some food (as I did not have anything to eat since morning). It was delicious lunch served right in my room and all I knew after eating was that I had dozed off. I woke up to the sound of my ringing mobile (wasn't I supposed to switch it off?) and the time was close to 6 pm. I answered the call, while getting ready to hit the beach. I went to the beach just in time to catch the lovely sunset. The confluence of the sea, the sky
and the sun is a sight that can anytime potray the most beautiful surrealistic backdrop. Having captured it my mind and my camera, I took a nice walk along the coastline which seemed quite endless. I would've walked for about 15 minutes after which I sat down on the sand and once again let nature embrace my mind and soul in its captivating surroundings. It was total bliss and I can't describe the moment of satiation I felt in mere words. As the dusk turned to dark, I headed back to the resort. It was close to 7.45 pm. I ordered a light dinner and then called the cab to drop me at the railway station.

The West Coast express left Mangalore at 9.15 pm and reached Coimbatore on Saturday morning 6.30 am. As I was leaving Mangalore that night, I knew my day was made. I felt good, rejuvenated and replenished with energy. I did something different that day, something totally out of my daily wonts. It was good to meet a very different set of people, it was good to be alone and finally it was best to be far away from the madding crowd.