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Sai Vishram

Sai Vishram Beach Resort, Byndoor

Posted on May 26, 2015February 14, 2022

When I realized at the Delhi Airport that the Air India aircraft that was supposed to fly from Delhi to Mangalore was not cleared by the maintenance, I was worried about my trip. However after two hours of delay they found another aircraft to take us to Mangalore. And that is how I had a fabulous time at Sai Vishram Beach Resort in Byndoor, Coastal Karnataka. It is a resort that serves only vegetarian food and it doesn’t serve alcohol. And yet they are so popular for family vacation!

Rooms

I arrived at the Sai Vishram Beach Resort by evening. it was an overcast day.  I was so tired that when Adarsha the resort manager asked me if I would come by the beach for the evening tea, I replied in the negative. I had my tea and samosa sitting in the balcony of the earth cottage. I could gaze at the sea in far distance and I was content. Later I shifted to one of the sea cottages by the beach.

beach-cottage
The Semi Outdoor Bathing Area in the Beach Cottage

Both have their own advantages. In the Earth Cottage there was a rose apple tree right in front of my room and I could eat the fruit straight from the tree! I loved the outdoor bathing area of the sea cottage. In the end I would take the sea cottage because I could go to sleep to the sound of the sea out there.

Yakshagana

yakshagana
A Yakshagana Performance at Sai Vishram Beach resort

In the evening there was a yakshagana performance happening in the open theater within the premises. Yakshagana is the folk art of Coastal Karnataka, it is usually held from dusk to dawn. The resort performance was of one hour. As it was in the local dialect, Kannada, I could not understand the language much. But it was a privilege to watch the act of Arjun and Sudhanva and Lord Krishna being played out in elaborate costumes.

yakshagana-karnataka
The Arjun and Sudhanva Story

The story is about Sudhanva holding the horse of Arjun so that Arjun and Lord Krishna would come to his kingdom and he would get to see the Lord. In the end you don’t need words to enjoy the art. I thoroughly enjoyed my time watching the performance!

Food

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My Breakfast Plate

From the open theater I straight headed to the dining area. Sai Vishram serves excellent vegetarian food, night, morning and noon! They have a variety of food, including noodles and at least one North Indian dish.

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The Lunch at Sai Vishram

There would be many South Indian dishes. I liked the idea of having a nice fruit section for dessert apart from traditional desserts. The best was that they kept an ice cream fridge for the guests where you could go out and take out any ice cream that caught your fancy. It was hugely successful with the kids.

The artists who performed the yakshagana were having dinner at a nearby table in their normal clothes and I could hardly recognize them as the same who were performing in the elaborate costumes!

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Chaat by the Beach

They would serve the evening tea and snacks by the beach, which I loved. They would put pitchers of fresh juice on the beach during the day which was another lovely idea.

Water Sports

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The Banana Boat Ride

I crashed early after dinner and took my own sweet time to wake up the next day. That way I quite fresh in the morning again. After a heavy breakfast I went to the sea. I met Prashanth and his family and together we went on the banana boat ride.

That is when I discovered Chandravati, the dare devil female water sports instructor of Sai Vishram. I then went on the jet ski with her. She rides like really fast! She truly is an inspiration. Then I tried my hands at kayaking and it was fun too. There are many other water activities that I could not try dues to lack of time.

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Off in a Kayak!

A guest who was visiting Sai Vishram Beach Resort for the fifth time with his family told me, “We love coming here because they encourage you to go out in the sea. Not many resorts do that!”

Sunrise Walk

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Where the Sea Meets the Backwaters

The next day I woke up at 6.00 am to take a walk to a vantage point and see the sunrise. We must have walked for about a kilometer to reach the point. The view was excellent, after all I do not get to see the sea meeting the backwaters everyday! But the sun played truant, there was no sunrise, the clouds ruled. After going there, I would recommend that you go to the vantage point even on an overcast day as the views are still stunning.

The Beautiful Evenings at Sai Vishram

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The Sai Vishram Beach

I love sunsets by the beach. The location of the resort is such that there are only the house guests on the beach. I spotted an occasional other person from the fishermen families living nearby. I could see a few houses nearby otherwise the whole place was green and silent. The sun was merciful the second evening and gave much cheer to people on the beach!

This was my first tryst with Coastal Karnataka and I never imagined it to be so beautiful. I wonder why tourism has not developed around the coast like Kerala!

PS. I was invited by the Sai Vishram Group on this vacation.

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16 thoughts on “Sai Vishram Beach Resort, Byndoor”

  1. Ravish Mani says:
    May 26, 2015 at 3:15 pm

    Beautiful place. Lovely views. Like the first two pics most 🙂

    Reply
    1. Mridula says:
      May 26, 2015 at 11:05 pm

      Thank you so much Ravish.

      Reply
  2. Niranjan says:
    May 26, 2015 at 4:37 pm

    Sounds like a wonderful place to stay.

    Reply
    1. Mridula says:
      May 26, 2015 at 11:04 pm

      Yes Niranjan it was a wonderful holiday.

      Reply
  3. anks says:
    May 26, 2015 at 7:33 pm

    Looks so beautiful! And untouched… I too am wondering why coastal Karnataka is not well known… Kerala is quite crowded now…!

    Reply
    1. Mridula says:
      May 26, 2015 at 10:59 pm

      Anks go there before it is discovered 😀

      Reply
  4. Archana Kapoor says:
    May 26, 2015 at 10:15 pm

    Oh well, all I can say is lucky you!! 🙂 I’ve done extensive travel in that part of the country and I must admit, it’s beautiful 🙂

    Reply
    1. Mridula says:
      May 26, 2015 at 10:58 pm

      I too found it beautiful Archana and devoid of tourists as well!

      Reply
  5. Shrinidhi Hande says:
    May 27, 2015 at 12:30 am

    It is more of a sunset point, not sunrise… As sunrises in east…

    Reply
    1. Mridula says:
      May 27, 2015 at 4:02 pm

      Yes indeed Shrinidhi.

      Reply
  6. Debopam Banerjee says:
    May 27, 2015 at 1:17 pm

    What a fabulous place!!!

    Reply
    1. Mridula says:
      May 27, 2015 at 4:01 pm

      Thank you Debopam.

      Reply
  7. Amar Shekhar says:
    July 3, 2015 at 11:35 am

    Since you mentioned Yakshagana in this blog.. I thought you might also be interested in knowing about a festival called bhootha kola from the same state Karnataka….
    http://trekkerpedia.com/2014/03/bhoota-kola-tulunadu-history-culture-myth-science-behind-spirit-worship/

    Reply
    1. Mridula says:
      July 24, 2015 at 9:22 pm

      Thank you for the link.

      Reply
  8. Devidas unny says:
    March 17, 2016 at 12:23 am

    Our Kochi based family of 5 spent a week there in 2014 October. My brother, who is a travel bug and has an uncanny knack of treading the off-beaten path and courtesy his sponsorship. What fantastic memories we still carry – just about everything of Sai Vishram is magical about it. Enduring memories were the power boat rides into the sea – where small dolphins play along with you, Chandravati & Prashant – the local fisherfolk, who were so ever helpful with us, the beach side drinks, the luminescence on the nightly beach, Aah, who can miss resort’s seasoned “butler” labrador (whom we fondly called Old Man- as he posed grand for several shoots against the evening sky) or for that matter, the heavenly buffet- a must try for true veggies. Memories come thick and fast.

    Reply
    1. Mridula Dwivedi says:
      March 17, 2016 at 11:28 am

      Thank you so much for sharing your memories. I am craving beaches once again!

      Reply

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About Me

I am Mridula Dwivedi and I started this blog in 2005. It has been an amazing ride. I have visited 33 countries till date! I have worked with many tourism boards and prominent travel companies. My blog was featured on the BBC and the Guardian.

I did my Ph.D. from IIT Kanpur. I worked full time in academics till 2015! I quit my job as a professor, thinking I will take a break for one year, which turned into five.

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