Goa, Part 8: "DON'T Go To Gokarna!" (A 24 hour side trip )

 No, no one actually spoke these words to me, but I sure wish that someone had! I had intended to go for a week...instead, I was barely there for 24 hours before high-tailing it back to Goa. Thankfully, it was only a 2 hour train ride each way, plus half an hour by taxi on either end. Not an inexpensive excursion, but it could have been worse... the upside was that it inspired me to stay the extra week in Goa instead of Gorkarna--a truly good choice! 

To explain: The Airbnb I had reserved was a complete disaster... 4 times the price it should have been... and I was completely misled by the greedy and devious host. This man listed the guest house as having a kitchen. What he FAILED to mention was that the  "kitchen" belonged to the cafe/restaurant that the majority of guests ate at! It was NOT a kitchen for guest use. I wouldn't have cared if it were only going to be for a night or two...but a whole WEEK?? I simply HAVE to be able to do my own cooking, or suffer dire consequences. (Too much oil and carbs in Indian restaurants, not to mention a total lack of fresh vegetables....unless one wants to run the risk of dissentary from  eating food that has NOT been disinfected properly! Simply put, if I want to stay healthy in India, I have to seriously limit my intake of restaurant meals. It also gets too expensive over the long haul.) 

Besides the lie told about there being a kitchen for guests, I was utterly appalled by the truly horrible condition of the room and everything in it. You will now see exactly what I mean: 

The bed: draped in mosquito netting for good reason! This guest house--located out in farm fields-- had mosquitoes buzzing around the size of ravens. OK, that may be a BIT of an exaggeration, but not by much!!! But nevermind, there is the net... so let's check out the bed, shall we? OOF! It is rock hard, as are the pillows... and...why only a thin, badly worn blanket? Oh, silly me... this really bad, overpriced guest house doesn't provide a top sheet! Why would I ever think it ought to?!?!!

Have the feeling of being in a prison cell?! That is how this room seemed to me... dirty walls, everything bare, basic and UGLY! Note the "shelves" beside the bed: 2 square plywood boards, suspended from the ceiling by ropes! True story! Unbelievable!

The very basic, very dark, ugly bathroom... with the old-fashioned variety of "squatter" toilet! (that is to say, you can actually put your feet on it and squat! Take care not to fall in, though...) Oh, and NO toilet paper OR towel provided! I asked for both... got the cheapest brand of TP (you know, like sandpaper) and the "towel" was actually a sheet made for lying on the beach. NO absorptive quality to the fabric... when expressing my amazement to the owner, he shrugged and said, "people who come here bring their own towels." I have NEVER heard of such a thing before at ANY Airbnb!!! 

As you can see, the wall separating the bathroom from the "bedroom" doesn't even go up to the ceiling.. imagine sharing this shabby space with a significant other?!!? You would have to be VERY nonchalant about bodily noises, yes?!?

A closer look at the "shelves",  lest the exquisite artistry involved escapes you! 

A little hard to tell in this photo, but the padlock for the room was SO rusted out, it appeared to have been rescued from the bottom of the ocean 50 years ago!!! (From a shipwreck, perhaps?!?) 

I wanted to make sure you got a good look at the "shelf" by the sink!! Clearly, the person constructing these for the room considered himself to be infinitely clever! 

And here, my friends, is the "closet"!!!!!! 

Now, is it any wonder I blew a gasket when I set foot in this place?!? I immediately got on the phone with Airbnb, asking to cancel my reservation and get a FULL refund, within the first 20 minutes I was there. No small matter, I can tell you. Airbnb makes this process next to impossible. It took about 2 hours on the phone, explaining the issues to more than one customer service representative, for them to finally agree to the cancellation and refund. Mind you, this occurred only AFTER those same reps talked  to the HOST and got HIM to agree to a full refund! Incredible, no?? Why should he have had ANY say in the matter at all?!?!!? The horrific misrepresentation obviously meant nothing...it always has to boil down to whether or not the guest feels "unsafe",  or is confronting a serious health issue. I told them that the place was unhygenic, and that, by NOT having a kitchen, was untenable because of my dietary needs. Normally, fraudulently listing an important amenity--LIKE a kitchen-- results in a fine for the host... but this sleezy man talked his way out of it. Why?? Because he is a classic con man--as well as a successful businessman--clearly accustomed to worming his way out of sticky situations. Also, shockingly, he had good reviews on Airbnb! The mystery of a CENTURY! Most of his guests were/are Russians, just like in Goa...so, I suppose that, compared to standards in Russia, this place must have seemed entirely acceptable! Or....something. Truly unfathomable to me!

So...after the cancellation and refund was arranged, I set about--frantically--looking for another place to stay. I checked on Airbnb, AND strolled along the beach in BOTH directions..to no avail. Being the weekend, there was absolutely NO acceptable/affordable place to be had at such short notice! Truly appalling... so, I slunk back to this nightmare of a place, and bargained with this horrible host to let me stay--and pay him cash--for just the one night. I assured him I would head back to Goa the very next day. So...that is what happened. 

I am not sorry for the day in Gokarna-- the beach was mostly dreadful-- SO very hot, humid, trashed, ugly--but the trip to town was at least interesting. It was a very old, traditional Indian village, filled with the hustle and bustle of daily life. Sadly, this made the contrast with all the touristic, beach-going aspects all the more paradoxical and disturbing! I just couldn't WAIT to get back on that train to Goa!! (It left at 7 p.m. on my second day there...the sheister host charged me a whopping 600 rupees-- double what it should have been--to store my stuff until it was time for me to head to the train station.) I was SO glad to have left it all behind me! But, as stated, there WERE some interesting, photo-worthy sights. 

NOT photo-worthy! But...had to show you what the outside of my "prison" room looked like!

Another hilarious bit of fraudulent advertising on Airbnb: This nightmare of a guesthouse and restaurant was called the "Lagoon Guest House and Cafe". There WAS no "lagoon"--only a fetid, stinky swamp that one had to delicately cross over (via rotted planks!) on the way to the beach. Unabashed lies and more lies!!! (The one redeeming feature actually WAS the cafe: I ate one meal--a veg curry and rice--that was actually decent. The restaurant owner--Yuri--was hoping to move his location soon and get away from the terrible guest house owner himself!) 

I didn't eat here, but this was what a typical beach "shack" looked like. 

On the other hand, there were very poor people living in ACTUAL shacks along the beach. No fun tourist vacation getaway for the likes of these folks...

As you saw previously in my post about animals, These camels were on the beach for the tourists to ride. In the day I was there, I never saw these sad animals being ridden...so they must have had to stand like this, all day, under the scorching sun. Definitely a form of animal abuse... 

It was terribly hot and muggy here...  it DID  rain a bit, which was a relief! When it got cloudy, I was actually able to take this rather pretty shot. 

Pretty in a shabby sort of way, this small temple was home to some indescernable deity, right on the beach. 

A not uncommon sight in these touristic, beachside towns... 

In the heart of the Gokarna village, there were lots of interesting and colorful shops to peruse. 

A covered street, protecting shoppers from the scorching sun. 

The main attraction, as stated online, was the somewhat famous Shiva temple at the center of the town. I was REALLY bummed NOT to be allowed inside. You cannot read the sign in this photo, but it clearly states, "No foreigners allowed!" SO unfriendly... police are stationed inside to ensure that no one white, like me, tries to sneak in... (yes, of course I thought about it!)

This interesting creation was clearly part of some important religious festivity, but there was no one around whom I could ask about it, unfortunately. 

A fascinating array of thousands of items made from metals... deities, trinkets of various sorts, and vessels for storing food. 

HUGE bags containing beans, grains, and who-knows-what-else! 

Milk sweets... too sweet for me! But VERY popular with Indians. 

These strange and colorful blocks of various substances are used as incense, and given as offerings inside the Shiva temple. As commonly happens in most Indian villages, one finds the majority of stalls on the streets near the temple, which is the main attraction and centrally located. 

Can you tell that I was infinitely fascinated by the vast array of goods?! No clue what most of it was...sure wish I had had a guide who could have told me!

Walking from the guest house into the center of the town, I passed many farm fields like this one. I marveled at how huge the furrows were, and how deep the gulleys between them! (Is that what they are called?! I am a city girl, after all!)  

Yep, as always...country or city, there is the "obligatory" trash dumped willy nilly everywhere... 

One of the prettier fields I passed on my stroll... 

Pretty cool house! The owner was clearly passionate about potted plants!

Like the trash, every road has its obligatory, wandering cow(s)... 

A rather nice mural of Shiva and his "pet" cobra... 

Another lovely field... how DO they manage to make them SO straight?!

Back to repose at the Lagoon cafe and order a refreshing drink. Oddly enough, as hot as it was, there were NO ceiling fans here! Dripping with sweat, I sat and drank...kindly Yuri brought me my own, personal standing fan to help me cool off! 

Seriously?!? As hot as it was here, it was too dangerous to swim in the ocean?!!? Yeah, just another reason to get the heck outa here!!! 

Back in the train station, being amused by the station's cows begging for food. The station attendants would chase them out, but they would only turn around and wander right back in again! 

On that blessed train! Actually, this photo was taken on the train on the way DOWN to Gokarna FROM Goa. This was the "general seating" car, the only one I could get. This is where I sat across from the young boy, Eric, and his grandma... (see blog on "The People" for more about that.) 

Nice, "modern" cooling system in the general seating car...heh heh heh! Why its the cheap part of the train... 

On my way BACK to Goa, however, I treated myself to the AC "sleeper" car. Didn't need to sleep, since it was only a 3.5 hour ride (the train was badly delayed--should have actually  been a mere 2 hours). Besides which, I joined the "party" happening with this fun group of guys in my car!  They were all on vacation, headed for a good time in Goa!