Miami - The cuban touch

Miami is located at the southeastern corner of the U.S. state of Florida. While I was planning where to head to in USA while I am here at work, there were 2 choices New York or Miami. The part of my plan was to take take private salsa classes from the 'Alien Ramirez' so I wanted to choose Miami. Unfortunately she was not in town but I still decided I am going there.

And I am absolutely glad that I did! May be I would have liked the modernness of New York but I definitely loved the Cubanness of  Miami. Being a salsa dancer myself, I loved being there. Not because there were many places I could go dancing but more because I could hear some of my favorite tunes on the road, in the cars, on people's mobile phones and it was a heaven. The latin culture is quite prominent in Miami. And the cuban coffee!! OMG! If you love coffee then you must have a cuban cup of coffee for sure!

#Places to visit

Wynwood walls: The urban graffiti walls all over the place are definitely worth a visit. Michael had seen some carvings of faces and we finally found the carved faces and they were really worth the find!

There are many pubs /micro breweries which you can visit. The music, people, interiors are just perfect for you to sit around with friends! You can also taste some really interesting beer though my tongue is still not used to the bitter ones!

Little Havana: For a salsa fan, its a must to get lost on the streets of  little Havana because you will find latin music in the air. You might see an old couple just dancing around the corner of the cafe when their favorite music is played. 

There are many restaurants with live music bands and you might see people playing guiro, maracus or claves

Bayside

I was told that bayside is nice with a little flea market where only old people go but I have to admit if I had missed going to bayside, I would have completely missed the true Cuban feel of the place. There was a lady singing live and old people were dancing salsa, bachata, samba, rumba and it was just awesome to be dancing with those traditional old cuban uncles. They were true gentlemen and so awesome in their dance. 

The market in bayside is on the expensive side but worth a walk around.

You can go boating around the city for 25$ and it definitely is worth it

Downtown

Downtown is just another area full of sky lines. There are big buildings which are full of banks, offices etc. Just the walk around the downtown could be interesting. There are many bakeries that serve some really amazing  desserts

Freedom Tower

Currently used as a contemporary art museum. As refugees from Cuba fleeing arrived in Miami during the 1960s, the federal government of USA used the facility to process, document and provide medical and dental services for the newcomers

South Beach

If you are a photographer, be at the south beach by 6:30 am to take some amazing sunrise shots. The beach is green water. I have seen many clearer beaches around the world but the nice thing about this beach was that the water was perfect temperature and it was pretty flat and calm so I could swim and bathe in sea for pretty long time without any fear! And this was absolutely divine!

Ocean drive

The happening street in the town buzzing with music, harley davidson, Rolls royce and Limousine till even 5 in the morning. 

Must do

Walk around the ocean drive.

Have a mojito served in a big glass

Have some yummy cuban food

Lincoln road

The 'modern road' in Miami with showrooms of some of the best brands from all over the world. Some local people put up stalls of juices and that's really yummy and authentic.

#Food

You can get any kind of cuisine literally anywhere in Miami but some of my recommendations

Cafe Varsailles

The coffee here was just out of world. Ask for Corta dito. The first sip of this coffee calmed my senses. Even though a small cup, it just completely relaxed me , rejuvenated me and left an awesome taste in my mouth

Must try anywhere in Miami are Yuca frita with Cilantro side dip. Yuca frita are typical cuban potatoes. They are literally cuban french fries but worth a try

Yet again must try is the 'Vaca frita de pollo' : Its the shredded chicken cooked with onions and served with rice. The servings at Varsailles are pretty huge so if you don't like to waste, you might want to be cautious while ordering.

The sangria here was really nice with sapota and other fruits.

The caramel coconut pudding was really yummy too

(I just realized that I spilled out exactly what all I ate in Varsaille)

Havana since 1957 on Lincoln road

The cuban touch of the restaurant drew me to try my lunch there with great classic latin music though the food was just ok. The yuca frita seemed cooked in old oil though Sangria was very nice there

Along the ocean drive

You can eat at any restaurant on ocean drive but make sure that you sit outside and have a candle lit dinner if specially you are with your some one special :). Even though as expensive as 25 to 35$ , you must try the mojito's here. They are really good and really really big!

Salsa Mia/Cleveland are the two places where you will find salsa socials in the city mostly. The music switches between reggae , bachata and salsa. 

Munchees

Another cuban restaurant where you can play your own latin music as they have a juke box. The Corta dito is pretty nice here though my heart was already stolen by the corta dito at Varsailles.

#Stay

I stayed in Bed and Drinks and I totally recommend it. The crew was friendly. The rooms, toilets, beds , everything was very clean. The location is perfect. You can walk to south beach in a matter of few minutes

There are many hostels and expensive hotels available for the stay. Check more at www.hostelworld.com

#Around the city

There are few buses available from the airport and bus stand to south beach though i travelled around the city mostly in uber which is comfortable and cheap specially if you choose uberx with car pool option

Walk around the beach, ocean drive, Lincoln road, Wynwood walls and little Havana is the best way to explore the city

I took a greyhound bus from Atlanta though megabus is alot better and cheaper and faster to go around USA states.

https://www.greyhound.com/

http://us.megabus.com/

Activities to do

You can cruise  to kings island, do parasailing , water skiing and surfing in a range of 40-50$. Parasailing over south beach is definitely worth a try. 

A beautiful sunny day at Miami with water's temperature perfect, is the best place to take your bikini out!

Go go go - Gokarna!

I love Gokarna!
Located on the western coast of Karnatka, Gokarna means Cow's Ear. It is believed that Lord Shiva emerged from the ear of a cow (the Mother Earth) here. It is at the ear-shaped confluence of two rivers Gangavali and Aghanashini. Gokarna is a temple town and a holiday destination. Gokarna is full of coconut, banana and other trees, blue seas and relatively clean sands. It is a laid-back town with two main streets lined with shops and traditional tile-roofed brick houses. The beaches near Gokarna have shacks (huts) for rent.

We took an overnight bus from Bangalore. There are many options available. You can choose your options at redbus.in  or http://www.ksrtc.in/oprs-web/

#Stay and Food
There are many places where you can stay in Gokarna.
You could stay in the town. I wouldn't recommend this because then you are at this beach destination but away from the beach. This could be a good option if you are looking for some cheap rooms. You can get rooms within 400-500 INR.

You get really good Masala chai all over Gokarna and it's a must try if you are a chaiholic like me! Annapoorna hotel: 200 meters from the main bus stand, this restaurant has very nice tea. In case you want less sugar, let them know in advance :)

In case you want to stay in a place in front of the beach. There are few cafes and small resorts available.

Namaste cafe: Right in front of Om Beach. This is a nice location to stay at albeit the rooms are small, dingy and pricy. But you can get good food right where you stay and you can have all your meals sitting right in front of the beach. The rooms vary from 800 INR to 1500 INR. You might have to bargain or ask for a room for lesser price as they didn't show us the room for lesser price until we asked them.

Rooms in Namaste Cage

Get Inked

Zostel: This is definitely my recommendation. Its not right in front of the beach but you can see the Gokarna beach from the cafe. The cottages are for 1500 INR and mostly booked so you might have to plan in advance. You can get dormitories for 500 INR per day. http://www.zostel.com/zostel/Gokarna/

The food at zostel is good and the crew is friendly and well mannered.

Places to Visit
Kudle beach: Located on the other side from where all other beaches are located. Kudle beach can be reached from the town easily. The autos take around 100 INR to drop you at Kudle beach. If you are the kinds who like walking, Kudle beach isn't really very far from the town. 2-3 km of walk on a green path can make you reach Kudle beach. There are few places to stay at Kudle beach but somehow the water doesn't seem very clean at this beach  may be due to the hotels and locals around this beach.

Route to Kudle beach

Kudle beach

Om beach: The Om beach is called so because when you look at it from top it's in the shape of 'OM'. There is Namaste cafe right at the beginning but many more smaller cafes if you walk further.  Namaste cafe is open through out the year though other smaller places are closed during off season. This is a really nice beach. You could also get really nice shots if you get up early in the morning as many fishermen go fishing early in the morning. In case, you are in for some adventure, you can become friends with fishermen, pay them and go for a real fishing with them in their boat.

From Kudle to Om beach, you can walk

Om Beach

Om to Half moon beach

The trail to half moon beach

Voila , Mr. Sting

View enroute

Half moon beach: Half moon beach is a 1-2 km walk from Om beach. Part of the walk is uphill , part of it is rocky. If you loose track, you might even reach to some scary patches. We reached to one of the dead ends where government had put a board " This is not the right path. This is dangerous and many people have died here". Once you reach Half moon beach, it's a treat. You might not find many people around. The beach is quite clean and the tides are not very high ( depends on the season though)

Paradise beach: Paradise beach could really be the paradise, if you make an effort to walk all the way there. Very few people go there and once you cross the arduous rocky track, when you finally reach at the beach, it's a delight as it's almost like a private beach to yourself away from the world.
We planned to barbecue by the beach so we carried vegetables, vessels, papers etc. to light the fire. This could have been fun had rain not spoiled our plans :).

If its raining you can't really find a shelter in Paradise beach so it would be a good idea to carry your
own tent.

Paradise beach is a must go if you are travelling to Gokarna and you can trek over some bumpy, slippery stones in midst of crabs and fishes and some strong waves!

en route to paradise beach

From half moon to paradise beach

That small private beach in vision finally!

Mahabaleshwar Temple: is a famous Shiva Temple and it houses the 'Atmalinga'. It was named after Ravana referred to the linga's great strength.It is at the western end of the main street. Only Hindu's and Indians are allowed inside the temple

Maha Ganapathi Temple: built in honour of the boy Ganapathi, who deceived the demon Ravana by keeping Atmalinga on ground before Ravana returns from sandyavandanam. The deity here is two-armed, standing and at least 1500 years old. Yet again only Hindu's and Indians are allowed inside the temple

Before I close, I must say this. In case you are looking for some adventure, you must take an auto ride at Gokarna in those small thin roads. It definitely will give you the rush!

I don't know, how we crossed it!

References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gokarna,_India

Journey not the destination

Sometimes you pick up your bike with a plan in mind and then you meet a co biker who equally hates to ride on National Highways. NHs are all about speed... But biking apparently is not just about speed right!

So well we decided that we are going to Valpari (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valparai) which is around 500 Km from Bangalore and then we decided that we are gonna go there passing by country side and not taking any NH. Well, finally we didn't reach anywhere close to Valparai but we definitely did some offroading which was just amazing.We took our first diversion and Anekal and from there we don't know where we went, literally!

View from the temple

Our first part of off roading was to a temple which was pretty interesting because even in the middle of nowhere temple we saw many people praying. The view from temple was nice!

We just kept riding on the small roads. Did some off roading on a mountain. Every local person told there is no road and we still found a road through our bullets :).

This is the road we took!

We reached in the night somewhere in Tamil Nadu. Took a room which apparently was amazing for mere 500 INR. The food was good. The hospitality was good. Name of the place where we stayed... I don't know :).

Next day we started again and finally after riding for few hours reached Hogenakkal falls. The rush there was madening so we decided that to keep the spirit of just the journey and no destination we came back :).

While coming back, we again took some random roads and did some more off roading and I must tell you some of the villages just on Bangalore outskirts are amazing for off roading. At some place we passed through literally some valley sort of structure and at other times we passed by road as thin as width of our bikes. The best part was when we had to manage the passing by cows also on that same thin road :)

My bike on some random road

Passing by the villages

Sometimes, its not the destination but the journey that needs to be cherished and that's exactly what we did on this trip!!

Selfie time from the temple

After crossing the smallest 'not so road'

On our way back 

Thanks Jean! We should do it more often :)

Jean checking the temple architecture :)