Adventure Budgeting: Beach Budget Bingo – Part Two
As you may remember from my last Adventure Budgeting post, we were finding some great deals on the beautiful beaches of Goa, but were also becoming increasingly irritated with the scenesters that crowd out any real sense of escape. So we headed south, taking a train to the first stop just beyond the border of Goa state and making our way to Gokarna, a small beach town that serves as a modest vacation spot for locals. For foreigners like us, it doubles as a jumping off point for any of the series of hike-in beaches that are between 45 minutes and three hours walking time further south, depending on how secluded you want to be. The seclusion more than made up for the sparse accomodations, especially on Om Beach, where we spent most of our time. Our time there was by far the best value of our entire six months in Asia.
Here’s the breakdown, again keeping in mind that these expenses were for two people:
January 2, 2005 – Arriving in Gokarna from Goa and hiking to the beach
- Train from Palolem, Goa = $1
- Bus from train station = $1
- Food: Two meals each at tourist cafes, one at the train station = $7.50
- Internet Cafe = $1
- Supplies: Batteries, bottled water, souvenirs = $5
- Lodging: An old mat on the dirt floor of a straw beach hut. Not the best. = $1
TOTAL = $16.50 ($8.25 / person)
January 3, 2005 – Hiking on to Om Beach
- Food: We found a fantastic tourist cafe with Indian, Western food and plenty of Kingfisher beer = $8.50
- Supplies: Bought a handmade hammock and an English novel = $5.50
- Lodging: Nicest place on Om beach had private rooms with fan, shared bathrooms = $3
TOTAL = $17 ($8.50 / person)
And it went on like this for the rest of the week. Sidenote: The seclusion and scenery were so wonderful, that on one day we hiked to the southernmost beach and spent the afternoon. By the end of the day, we were engaged to be married.
Next time: A Day in Delhi
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