Jul 21, 2004 09:04 PM
2705 Views
(Updated Jul 21, 2004 09:04 PM)
Bright sunny weather changes to overcast in moments and starts to rain heavily which stops in another few minutes. Sun shines back again and the cleaned nature starts glowing. This is what typically happens at Goa in the monsoon months. After spending few days at this Heaven on Earth, Goa, everyone gets filled with internal joy and fulfillment.
Reaching Goa from Mumbai, India is very convenient. One can take a train at 10.50 pm on a Friday after busy day at office. This train reaches Karmali (one of the stations at Goa) at 9.30 am next morning which makes it easier to check into the hotel, get refreshed and start exploring this wonderful place. Alternatively one can also get down at Madgaon, which is the last station of the train. But Karmali being only 13 Km from Panaji where you can stay, makes it more convenient to get down. It takes about an hours drive to reach Panaji from Madgaon. Hotels are reasonably priced and one can get a double occupancy room with facilities like AC, TV, and Refrigerator for about Rs. 600 to 700 in off-season and about Rs. 800 to 1000 in winter or summer months. If you are lucky, you can also get a river view accommodation, which makes your stay even more joyful.
Wake up in the morning with the rising Sun, having a cup of coffee with your sweetheart in the balcony of the hotel you are staying from where you can see the Mandovi river and tree covered mountains in front of you. Sounds romantic, isn?t it? Yes, it is the best place to be with your sweetheart. After having your breakfast, one can proceed to explore Goa more. There are different tours available, most common being North Goa and South Goa. Tours are reasonably priced at Rs. 120/- per person per tour. Tour starts at 9.30 am and you are back by 5.30 in the evening which gives you ample time to either go for shopping or take a night river view cruise where in you can enjoy the focal dances of Goa. River cruises are about an hour long and would cost you Rs. 80/- per person.
If you are one of like me who loves nature, enjoys listening to the sound of sea waves, wants to wander in the beautiful mountains and likes to plenty of pictures to preserve the memories, you must visit this place. Beaches like Anjuna, Canalgute, Colva and Golden Beach are just marvelous. At Anjuna beach, you can listen to the roaring waves; take some beautiful pictures of water clashing the rocks. With coconut trees all around, photographing sea makes it even a fulfilling experience. If you enjoy reading, I feel that one can spend complete day reading a nice book sitting on the rocks or sand listening to waves. Swimming and diving is prohibited due to safety reasons. Beaches are very clean and nicely maintained by the authorities. Smoking is prohibited at public places in Goa and thus one should ask for smoking zones. If you like swimming and playing in water, Colva and Golden Beach are the best for these activities. One can easily judge the magnitude of the sea spread all over while standing on the beach. It is the sand color that differentiates the Golden and Colva beach. Sand at Colva beach is white and powdery while it is coarse on the Golden Beach. Both of these beaches are very long with one of them being approximately 18 Km. Thus one can take long walks holding hands together, sit and talk, swim, play depending on one?s choice.
Although one may get an impression that majority of community in Goa is Christian, it is not true. This goes to the old days of mythology where Shri Parshuramji established Goa. 65% population in Goa is Hindu, 30 % Christian and 5% belong to other religions. Dominance of Hindu religion makes this place have lot of beautiful and old temples like Mangeshi, Mahalasa, Shantadurga etc. One can devote complete day visiting these temples and rejuvenating oneself spiritually. Most of the temples are located in the South Goa. One can alternatively also take a South Goa tour and can visit couple of the temples. Secondly, Goa also has Asia?s biggest church and few other old and nice churches.
People here are also very helping and cooperative in nature. You can get all kinds of food at a reasonable pricing. If you are wine lover, you could also enjoy Port Wine or opt for Goa?s famous Cashew Feny. Panaji city traffic is very well disciplined with clean roads and well-maintained gardens all around the city.
The only thing that I thought, the city lacks is number of ATM centers. ATM centers are not as closely located as in other metro cities. So, make sure that you locate one by inquiring with your hotel reception once you reach.
Before you plan a trip to Goa, make sure that you take enough film rolls if you enjoy photographing nature, a nice camera, lens filters and sun gears. If you are visiting in the monsoon months, you also should take rain gears with you. Also, plan your trip for minimum of a week so that you can revisit the places you like and have enough time to roam around and explore as per you likes. Although most of the people visit this place in summer vacations or winter, I feel that monsoon season (Jun, July and August) is the best to enjoy. Visiting in these months keeps you away from rush, reasonable deals on hotel bookings and more enjoyable climate. Along with all these, you get a bonus from nature of beautiful views of long stretch of rice fields.
Enjoy !
