Glorious Goa

My last trip to Goa was back in my childhood….The beautiful beaches & the gothic churches always stood out in my memory.

In recent times, one always associates Goa with a party hotspot. You will always hear about some happening New Year party in Goa…or some celebrities chilling out in Goa….& off course some friend of yours who would have just visited Goa & can’t stop raving about it ! (pun intended 😛 ).

I usually don’t chronicle my visits….but my recent 3 day trip to Goa was something totally out of the world for me….So I was forced to revisit my earlier ways & record this special trip !

3 things that stuck me about Goa :

1. The easy way of life here….lots of space…people walking about at an easy pace….mostly headed towards the pretty beaches. Truly a vacation hotspot.
2. The beautiful style of the old structures. The Portuguese have left but they have left their permanent mark on the place with their 450+ yrs stay.
3. The foreigners here. Their sheer numbers probably match each Indian out there. 1 can understand why Goa is India’s richest state with tourism being their prime source of revenue.

Due to its dependence on tourism, the rules in Goa are implemented so as to favour foreigners & make it as homely to them as possible. You won’t feel like you are in India at all here. 1 can rent a bike or any other 2 wheeler easily here without any checks. The beaches here are modeled after their counterparts in the US complete with sunbathing benches & umbrellas. A number of water sports keep things very interesting & you will probably be at the beach all day long ! The pubs here close very late (4am) allowing 1 to truly party all night long !

The very fact that its so different from the rest of the country makes it all the more interesting. Even more due to its close proximity & easy connectivity to the rest of the country.

The original plan was to live in North Goa & visit Central/South Goa at some point of time to see the famous structures out there (like the Bom Jesus Basilica). Well….we didnt follow it. We wanted to …..but we didn’t. The plan…….was postponed till next time 😀

North Goa is the happening part of Goa. Many beautiful beaches (Calangute, Baga,Vagator,Anjuna & my fav – Condolim) are here. Anjuna & Vagator are a little far but the others are right around Calungute Circle. For water sports I would highly recommend Condolim beach. Be sure to go for the scary but fun filled Banana Ride !
Also be sure to visit Fort Aguada…thats where the iconic hindi movie ‘Dil Chahta Hai’ was shot.

The night is probably when Goa comes alive full time. You have 2 options :

1. For those who wish to have a quiet conversation with friends over dinner, I recommend the lovely candle light dinner setups at the beaches like Baga.
2. For those who wish to party the night away , the recommended pubs are Cape Town, Titos & Kamaki, all located near Baga beach. Believe me – even if you are some1 who doesn’t dance, the music at these places will get you on your feet in no time !

There are also places where one gets food throughout the night (World Cuisine near Calangute circle) so don’t ever worry about going hungry here.

There are quite a few Tibetans settled out here. Tibetan markets & restaurants can be seen at many places here. Before heading out of Goa, we did have lunch at 1 such place.It had the best Veg fried rice I had ever had !

Well that sums up my trip to Goa. I recommend travelling to/from Goa via the rail route(11 hrs?). A good chance of coming across genuine Goans who are willing to swap insightful stories about Goa with you & the scenic beauty along the way is an added bonus ^_^.

I loved every part of my Goa Trip. I will be back here for sure….The best time to visit is during winter…can’t w8 till then !