I didn't feel like leaving Madikeri. A small town with one main road, slow traffic, laid back people, amused policemen, low pollution, cool climate all year round, soaked in greenery, and totally off the tourist circuit. So, throughout the 170 km journey today, I was mentally throwing a tantrum.
Breakfast at the Mercara Golf Club (8.30 am)
Don't panic, Mercara is the local name for Madikeri. Anyhoo, to drown my sorrows, Piyush took us down to the Golf Club, where he is a member and where he goes down once in a while to waggle a nine-iron at the ducks. A more lovely piece of greenery I have not seen, nor tasted a yummier grilled egg sandwich. Most of the caddies, whom Big P practically knew by name, were groom Bangladesh, inwarded through Assam. In fact as per Big P, most of the labour at Madikeri was like that. I felt quite at home.
Lunch at Mangalore (1.30 pm)
I could see thay our route was practically bypassing Mangalore. When the ellipsoid anti-orbit came closest to M, a fine-dining joint rise out of the mist on the highway, appropriately called 'Mist'. We veered in because Panna was fed up of joints with Pure Veg in the nameplate, and here we could lunch lightly off a grilled peri-peri burger (Panna) and a pasta alfredo (I). In fact, I was pleased to now that there WERE a few establishments touting fine dining on the highway, which is not generally expected, and definitely not near Udupi which is the one who lent its name to the fast food australis.
Sri Krishna Matha at Udipi (3.30 pm)
This very famous temple was founded by the vaishnavite saint Madhavacharya, the founder of Dvaita school of vedanta, in the 13th century. The styling is different from the temples in TN and Kerala. The interior decorations are quite detailed and resembles a living ashram.
Sunset at Udupi (4.30 pm)
Udupi has strip of drivable land with hotels, which is a fantastic place to stay on, but very costly. So we opted for a place, Riverside Homestay, that on the mainland, next to the strip of water. It was a simple accomodation, but around sunset, a boatman rowed us across to the strip of land, and after a long time, we saw a sunset in all its glory.
Tomorrow morning, we leave for Gokarna, via Murudeshwar.
Photo credits: Panna Rashmi Ray