In the journey of life, you think that travelling takes you to places but the hidden truth is that it takes you to people. The pivot of this revelation lies in the fact that you let yourself free to explore and interact with the souls you meet. You get to discover yourself, spend some me time to get your questions answered and ponder on things you are troubled by.
Gokarna was one such journey for me.
It was still dark when I reached Gokarna around 5 in the morning. I was lucky enough to meet two very amicable co-passengers with whom I shared the ride to the hostel. I met this girl Cara from Wales in my dorm and instantly got comfortable talking to her and she also insisted on exchanging our phone numbers so that we can reach out to each other easily. With this surprising gesture of hers, I was ready to explore my Day 1 at this beautiful place, Gokarna.
I spent the morning at Om beach. While the sun shone brightly, I sat under a tree pondering how much courage it took for me to come on this solo trip. My next stop was Kudle beach- known for its picturesque sunset. I didn’t forget to carry my mini companion, Little Diary, along with me. It had been a while since I wrote something on it. Thoughts were gushing through my head and I jotted them down. I wrote about life in general- my journey till now, things that make me happy and how I could improve upon them. In that moment, I felt my soul as it healed and I came closer to myself.
At dawn, I laid down on the beach, enjoying my book, watching the sunset and observing people. That evening while the waves kept on arriving and receding back, leaving my feet wet, I learnt from the shore- the art of letting go. The shore embraces the shells which the waves leave by, without trying to hold on to the waves, happily accepting the way things are. May be some day in life you and I will ace the art of letting go as the shore does.
While I was having these thoughts in my mind, Cara joined me. We enjoyed the deep orange and purple hue of the sky over drinks and food and talked about our different cultures, food and personal lives. We walked back to Om beach to gaze at the beautiful night sky. Walking back, I realized that it wasn’t the same path which I had taken in the morning. We were a bit scared because it was getting dark. Had we been alone, we would not have had continued on that path but together we gathered courage as we discussed how sometimes 1 plus 1 becomes 11. That’s the kind of power companionship has and how much strength we derive from the people around us and sometimes we just forget to acknowledge it.
It was an eventful day. Having being tired to core, I just wanted to crash but the Universe had a better plan for the night. I joined a group at the hostel who was going for a night trek from Om beach to Paradise beach, crossing Half Moon beach. It was a difficult trek with no well-marked trails. The night was quiet and one could see and hear the waves splashing on the beach, walking along the cliff.
We reached the Paradise beach around 1:00 A.M. and could feel the cold breeze straight on our faces. It was the perfect moon lit landscape for some bonfire and music. The water was sparkling with those aesthetic phytoplankton visible in it. The entire imagery seemed to be daunting. Trying to absorb the scenery with my eyes, I dozed off and woke up to these two cute little puppies lying beside me.
While we trekked back in the morning the sky was at its best, changing colors from white to blue with a tinge of light orange, pink and purple. While my trekking companions wrapped up to go back to their homes, I spent the day on the beach with Cara. As we enjoyed in the water and clicked pictures, I fell in love with the beauty of this place.
I was ready to head towards another city leaving behind Cara who stayed there for a few more days. As I bade her goodbye, I realized how much I enjoyed her company and found a friend I never thought I would have met otherwise. This moment gives an epiphany that solo trip is just like the journey of life. People keep on entering and leaving your life and you too move ahead embracing what they leave behind.
Have you ever wondered why we don’t have such thoughts in our routine lives? Sometimes we need to look at our lives from faraway places, away from everything that normally surrounds us. In those distant moments we are able to analyze things from a new perspective. So, don’t just travel to tick the check boxes but to meet people, to go on the unexplored trails and most importantly to talk to yourselves on that journey and be grateful for everything that makes you happy. Travel with your hearts open, not just making your body travel but also your soul.
“To travel is to live.” – Hans Christian Anderson
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