When you live a busy and stuck up life the way I do,even if it's something you love doing, you need a let out. A random day you would get up in the morning and decide to take the first bus or train away from the routine. Well, that was my trip to Malpe beach in Udupi.
I had heard a lot about it ,some good, mostly bad. The people I knew from the District told me the only memory they had of Malpe was the fish smell and dirt but yet an impulse is hard to resist and boy, was I glad I didn't resist. Malpe was far from anything dirty and the fish smell was only present on the route and not at the beach. It reminded of something out of an old hindi movie but I think that was mostly cause of the weirdly likable old soul music playing in the background that was heard all over the beach.The stalls just added an extra factor to the whole experience selling everything from ice candy, chaat, chinese to very typical coastal food and for those of you who have extra fuel in your impulse engine there's a tattoo shop right there that would cater to it,although I wouldn't exactly recommend that.
Malpe welcomes you with a spectacular view of the sea meeting the horizon and if you're as lucky as I was you'll have a grand view of the sky reaching down and maybe even see one of the clouds drenching an island.It's a fantastic place for a weekend getaway with hotels and cottages right on the shore for very decent prices and a carnival every now and then. Like every beach however, the best part about this was submerging your feet into the cold waters,collecting shells and lying on the sand as if time froze just so I could enjoy those moments.
Another attraction to this beach is St. Mary's Island that's located within a 20 minute ferry ride away from Malpe. This tiny island boasts of volcanic rock formations which is the main tourist spot and the way the sea surrounds the island.You can lose yourself with the variety of fish or the colours of the sea or just climbing the rocks but you are for sure bound to lose yourself.
It's a recommended getaway for people in and around Udupi and a definite spot to visit if you're ever nearby.