It was at the evening that we decided to go to Udupi. So, we were not having a big deal in planning the journey. Our train was scheduled to arrive at Tirur station at 11.30pm but unfortunately it arrived at 01.00am. Though it was late, it ended our fear of not getting a seat in the general compartment.
We reached Udupi station by morning 7. It is a small station. We got fresh from the station and had breakfast from a small hotel there itself. There were lots of auto rickshaw available, but we decided to walk when we came to know that the bus stop is not too far. The moment we reached the bus stop, bus came to Udupi bus stand and we boarded the bus. Upon reaching the bus stand, we took the bus to Malpe beach. The bus took us to the beautiful beach which was not too rushy may be because it's early 9am in the morning. We sat there for a while and enquired about the boat to St Mary's Island. I was shocked to hear that it cost Rs 400 when I already was informed by my friends that it only cost Rs 250. Later on, we came to know that there's another boat service at the harbour which is at the other end of the beach. So we decided to walk enjoying the waves in the beach. Rs 250 is now increased to Rs 300. We took the ticket and we were informed that it takes 1hr up amd down to the island and you get 1 hour at the island. We reached the island. You can keep your bags outside the gate for Rs 20. It was very hot and the sun was shining bright. It is better to avoid this place at extreme summer and plan for the evening so that you can escape from the hot sun. We entered the island. It was extremely beautiful. The turquoise colour ocean and black stone was beautiful beyond words. Irrespective of the hot weather, the water was cool. One hour passed by so fast and we returned back to the beach. From there, we took an auto to the bus stop and later on a bus to Udupi bus stand. Had a lunch with rice, sambar, rasam, curd and payasam for just Rs 50 and then we started planning on our next destination. We decided to go to Gokarna by bus and walked from the hotel to bus stand. A bus was starting to move when we asked someone about the Gokarna bus, and the conductor of the moving bus called us and we ran to board the Gokarna bus.
There were 2 people whom we saw from the boat journey to Island. They asked where we were heading to which we replied Gokarna. Their answer to the same question was Murudeshwar. When the conductor came for the ticket, we asked which was nearer and he said Murudeshwar comes before Gokarna and it takes 2.5hour. So we planned to go to Murudeshwar first. The 2.5 hr journey helped us to relax and have a small nap in the bus. On reaching Murudeshwar bus stop, we took an auto to reach the temple which was 2km away. The 18 storied temple stood beautiful in front of us. We sat therr for a few minutes enjoying its beauty. Later, kept our chappal at the safe for 10Rs and entered the temple. It cost you Rs 10 to use the lift which takes you above the 18 floors and the view of Lord Shiva and Murudeshwar beach atop was mesmerising. After that, we explored the temple. Murudeshwar Railway station is just 3km away and you can take an auto from here.
NB:
* It's Feb and it's hot. So it's better to avoid the extreme summer months.
* Try to visit the St Mary's Island at evening so that you can escape from the hot sun.
*Don't throw away your water bottles. You will find many places with Drinking water facility so that you can fill your bottles from here and save money.