It was December 25th, the Jingle bells hadn’t rung yet, but we (Jai, Daya, Sambit and me) were all gearing up for a long weekend get away and all set to start the journey as early as 1.00 am.
The List of places we had considered were
- Horanad
- Sringeri
- Agumbhe Ghat
- Kollur
- Ghokarna
- Murdeshwara
- Udupi
- Mangalore
- Kasarghode
- Dharmastala
- Khoke Subramanya
- Sharavanabhelegola
We had not decided on the places to visit till the previous day night, leave alone the route to take. We obviously had 3 days to spend (25th, 26th, 27th). We decided to leave as early as 1 a.m so that we reach the first destination by morning.
One of the biggest concern was the roads. Many had advised against taking the Haasan – Mangalore straight route as the roads were being laid and thus caused traffic along with bad roads.
Obviously, I din’t want a pilgrimage and wanted to spend more time near the beach. Based on the google map routes we decided to skip a few of them so that we have more fun. The Final driving direction was
Horanadu-Kudremukh-Sringeri-Agumbe-Manipal-Udupi-Malpe-Kaup-Maravanthe-Murdeshwar-Jog Falls Google Map showing the direction we took
Thus we decide to go till Haasan and then take a deviation to Horanadu via Bellur so that we avoid the sakleshpur road.
Bangalore to Horanadu (320 km) <25th Dec>
Road was good till Haasan and then decent till Mudigere. We wanted to visit the Annapoorneshwari temple and have breakfast there. 
We made frequent halts to refresh ourself where ever possible
Finally we reached there by around 10.30 a.m to see huge rush. We realised it was a bad time to visit a popular temple and so we took darshan from outside, thanks to the LCD monitors.
Horanadu to Kudremukh (22 km )
This was through the forest and the roads were good. The drive was pleasant and we enjoyed the forest atmosphere and my silent LPG car :D. 
Sambit, who initially din’t want to enter the water, struggled his way through the slippery rocks to the water falls and we followed him
We had awesome fun and a much needed refreshing bath!!
Kudremukh to Sringeri and Agumbe (46km + 45 km)
Driving though the ghats was fun. Reached Sringeri and visited the Shardamba temple and quickly moved on to agumbe so that we don’t miss the Sunset point. But the roads were not in our favour and we reached 5 minutes post the sunset. Nevertheless we took some pics and quickly decided to reach Manipal for the stay over night.
Agumbe to Manipal (60 km)
Sambit had made a suggestion before we started for this trip – that manipal being a college city would be a good place to stay and get the college atmosphere again :). He was right, we ended up getting a good accommodation for really good price (300 per room). To top that we even entered a Disc only to find a few guys dancing together with random laser light going every where. Ghosh bangalore is much better. We had dinner and came back to the hotel tired and exhausted after a whole day of journey.
Jai was keen to get up early morning to visit Udupi Krishna and move on to the beaches.
Manipal to Udupi to Kaup (5km + 20 km)<26th Dec>
Waking up early was never in my agenda. By the time we got to the temple it was already 8.30 a.m and there was a long queue. It took us nearly 2 hours to come out after a good darshan. Udupi Krishna is unique in the way that we see the God from the backside of the temple.
Legend has it that once Kanakadasa, a dalit worshipper who was so pious and devoted to Lord Krishna, was not allowed entry into the temple. It didn't upset him, but instead made him pray with intense devotion. Lord Krishna was so pleased to allow the disciple to gaze upon his heavenly form through a small window at the back of the mutt (monastery). Till today, devotees still worship Lord Krishna by praying through the same window that Kanakadasa was blessed with a view.
Having visited 3 temples in 2 days, this would be the last for that day. It was a BEACH DAY. we had planned
- Kaup beach
- Malpe beach
- St. Mary’s Island
- Maravanthe beach
- Murdeshwar beach
Kaup was a good less crowded clean beach with a light house. To our tough luck the light house was undergoing repainting so could not go up and enjoy the see view from the light house. The sun was scorching hot and we could not stand it. after a some refreshments we headed straight to the car and were wondering if we could enjoy the other beaches.
Kaup to Malpe (17km)
Thank the heaven, by the time (2 pm) we reached Malpe and got a ticket to St. Mary’s Island the clouds were out and the heat had subsided. St. Mary’s Island is one of the best place to hang out. The shore is not filled with sand but with shells. I wonder how so many shells got accumulated in one place. You get shells and only shells as you dig deep into the ground.
It is like a private beach and we all were in the spree to take pics. There were so many crabs, snails of all sizes. The island was fun.
On the way back to Malpe we spotted Dolpines swimming in the Ocean. Gosh I wish I would breathe in water – I would also swim with them!!!
Maple beach had the water bike and costed Rs 300 per ride.
We had dinner as the sun set into the ocean.
Maple to Maravanthe and Murdeshwar (45 km and 60km)
We headed towards Murdeshwar and since Maravanthe was on the way we 
stopped by to enjoy the beach in dark :D. Luckily we noticed a street dance show going on and decided to stop by to get a feel of it – A true Road trip.
We reached Murdeshwar by around 10.00 pm and had dinner. We knew it would be tough getting a decent place to stay but never expected so much crowd – we could see people sleeping outside near the streets everywhere. We din’t want to spend a hefty price for a average room and so started looking out for alternatives. Near the temple there were a few guys asking tourist if they required a room. I enquired and they were quoting Rs 1200-2000 for a room without Bed – they would provide mattress and pillow. With no better option and totally tired all we needed was a good safe place to sleep, so we decided to take one such room.
Though we thought it was a below average place to stay, we actually enjoyed the atmosphere in the morning. The house was amidst of a farm which was near the beach so in terms we were staying in a farm house resort.
It turned out to be a good experience to get ready the traditional way – Brush using Mugs, fetch water from the well, heat the water using wood and coal, store it in a large container, share the water, have coconut milk early morning!!! Refreshing and out of the world!!!
Murdeshwar to JogFalls and Lion safari
We played in the beach and then got ready in our “farm house resort” and visited the Murdeshwar temple. The temple has so many tourist attraction points that we spent nearly 2 hours seeing in and around the temple
We started from Murdeshwar back to Bangalore via Jog falls and Shimoga. 
We had a hectic two days and had a days driving still left. We made frequent halts to refresh ourselves and to
have coconut milk. Road was pretty decent for most of the parts till shimoga.
bangalore. On our way we noticed a Tiger and Lion Safari and stopped by to see it. We were the last batch to go for the safari.
We called it a TRIP and headed straight back to Bangalore. Took the NH7 and then went to NH4 and joined the NICE road. Dropped Jai and Daya and reached back to my adobe by 1.00 pm. It was an eventful journey and the longest drive in my car.
Life is so beautiful!!
